Пусть салон и далеко, моя подруга всё равно ездит туда, потому что ей нравится мастер.

Not exactly. Here пусть is being used in a concessive meaning: even if / although / granted that.

So in this sentence:

Пусть салон и далеко...

it means something like:

Even though the salon is far...
or
Granted, the salon is far...

This is different from the command-like пусть meaning let.

A very common pattern is:

Пусть X и Y, ... = Although X is Y, ... / Even if X is Y, ...

So the sentence means:

Even though the salon is far, my friend still goes there because she likes the stylist/specialist.

That и is part of the concessive pattern. In this structure, пусть ... и ... often means:

even though ... is ...
granted that ... is ...

So:

Пусть салон и далеко
literally feels like
Granted that the salon is indeed far...

The и does not simply mean and here in the normal sense. It helps create the idea of concession: yes, that's true, but...

You will also see similar patterns with other words:

• Хотя салон и далеко... = Although the salon is far...
• Пусть это и трудно... = Even though this is difficult...

Because салон is the subject of the clause, so it stays in the nominative case.

In:

Салон далеко

the structure is basically:

• салон = subject
• далеко = predicate adverb/state word meaning far

Russian often uses words like далеко, близко, холодно, жарко as predicate words.

So:

• Салон далеко = The salon is far
• Дом близко = The house is near

There is no verb is in the present tense, but the meaning is still there.

Because Russian normally omits the verb “to be” in the present tense.

So:

• Салон далеко literally looks like Salon far
• but it means The salon is far

This is completely normal in Russian.

Compare:

• Он врач = He is a doctor
• Она дома = She is at home
• Салон далеко = The salon is far

If you want past or future, then forms of быть appear:

• Салон был далеко = The salon was far
• Салон будет далеко = The salon will be far

Всё равно here means all the same, still, or anyway.

In this sentence:

моя подруга всё равно ездит туда

it means:

my friend still goes there anyway
despite the fact that the salon is far.

So the overall logic is:

• Yes, the salon is far
• but she goes there anyway

This phrase is very common in Russian.

Examples:

• Холодно, но он всё равно гуляет. = It’s cold, but he still goes for walks.
• Я устал, но всё равно работаю. = I’m tired, but I’m still working.

Because ездить is used for going by transport or for repeated trips.

Here, your friend goes to the salon as a regular activity, so ездит makes sense:

• ездить = to go/travel regularly, usually by vehicle
• ездит = she goes / she travels

Why not the others?

• идти = to be going on foot right now, in one direction
• ходить = to go on foot regularly or back and forth
• ехать = to be going by transport right now, one-directional
• ездить = to go by transport regularly / habitually / repeatedly

Since the sentence describes a habitual action, ездит is the natural choice.

Туда means there/to there, showing motion toward a place.

Since the sentence is about going to the salon, Russian uses туда:

• ездит туда = goes there

Compare:

• там = there (location, no movement)
• туда = to there / there (motion toward)
• оттуда = from there

So:

• Она там работает. = She works there.
• Она ездит туда. = She goes there.

Because нравиться works differently from to like in English.

Russian uses this pattern:

• the person who experiences the feeling goes in the dative
• the thing/person that is pleasing goes in the nominative

So:

ей нравится мастер
literally feels like
the specialist is pleasing to her

Breakdown:

• ей = to her (dative)
• нравится = is pleasing / appeals
• мастер = subject, nominative

This is one of the most important Russian sentence patterns to learn.

Compare:

• Мне нравится музыка. = I like music.
• Ему нравится этот фильм. = He likes this film.
• Им нравятся эти книги. = They like these books.

Because the verb agrees with мастер, which is singular.

In Russian, with нравиться, the verb agrees with the thing that is liked, not with the person who likes it.

So:

• ей нравится мастер = she likes the specialist
  (мастер = singular, so нравится)

But:

• ей нравятся мастера = she likes the specialists
  (мастера = plural, so нравятся)

This often feels backwards to English speakers, but it becomes natural with practice.

Not in the English sense of master as in expert ruler/owner. In contexts like a salon, мастер usually means a specialist, technician, stylist, or the person who does the service.

Depending on the salon, it could refer to:

• a hairdresser/stylist
• a nail technician
• a brow/lash specialist
• another beauty professional

So in natural English, you might translate it as:

• the stylist
• the technician
• the specialist
• sometimes just the person who works on her hair/nails

Yes, very naturally.

For example:

Хотя салон и далеко, моя подруга всё равно ездит туда, потому что ей нравится мастер.

This means almost the same thing:
Although the salon is far, my friend still goes there because she likes the stylist.

Difference in feel:

• хотя = straightforward although
• пусть in this pattern can sound a little more like granted that / even if / sure, it’s true that...

So пусть adds a slight flavor of concession: yes, the salon is far, but that doesn’t change the result.

Because Пусть салон и далеко is a concessive clause, and it is separated from the main clause with a comma.

Structure:

• Пусть салон и далеко, = subordinate concessive idea
• моя подруга всё равно ездит туда... = main clause

Russian punctuation often marks these clause boundaries clearly.

You could think of it as:

Even though the salon is far, my friend still goes there...

The comma works much like it does in English with although/even though.

The word order can be changed, but the original order is natural and emphasizes the contrast well.

Original:

Пусть салон и далеко, моя подруга всё равно ездит туда...

This puts the obstacle first:

• the salon is far

and then the surprising result:

• she still goes there anyway

You could also say something like:

Моя подруга всё равно ездит туда, пусть салон и далеко, потому что ей нравится мастер.

But that is less neutral and can sound more marked or stylistically different.

In general, the original version is a very natural way to present:

1. the difficulty
2. the fact that it doesn’t stop her

They do both contribute to the contrast, but they do different jobs.

• пусть салон и далеко = even though the salon is far
• всё равно ездит = still goes anyway

So together they create a strong and very natural Russian pattern:

Although X, she still Y.

This kind of double marking is common and sounds good in Russian.

Compare in English:

• Even though it’s expensive, I still want it.
• Although he’s tired, he still works.

Russian often likes to express both sides clearly:

• concession/problem
• result despite the problem