JJ Savani, 36, who lost his sight in 2017 due to keratoconus, has built a successful career as a celebrity barber after corneal transplants partially restored his vision. He now works with leading brands, celebrities, and at fashion shows, and runs his own salon in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire.
Vision loss and diagnosis
Savani began losing his sight in 2017, when he was 26. It started with blurred vision, until one day he woke up in "a complete blackout" and went to his local opticians for an assessment. He was referred to Moorfields Eye Hospital in London, where he was diagnosed with keratoconus, a condition that causes the cornea to become distorted.
After three surgeries, including corneal transplants in both eyes, his vision was partially restored. He still has good days and bad days and is extremely sensitive to light.
Career loss and mental health crisis
At the time, Savani was working a corporate job within the NHS, delivering training to healthcare professionals. After being advised that his eyes would be extremely sensitive to light after his procedures, he was forced to give up his job as he could no longer work for long periods using screens.
In a short period, he lost his job, went through a divorce, and grieved his father. He felt like he had lost "everything I've worked for." He said: "I just felt like everything had been stripped away from me." He ended up in hospital because he was self-harming. After being discharged, he was supported with accommodation in hotels before being offered social housing, reliant on food banks for his meals.
Anonymous donation and barbering career
In July 2018, Savani was told he had been enrolled on a barbering course at the London School of Barbering, with his course fees, transport, and equipment funded by an anonymous donor. He still doesn't know who that person was. He had always had a penchant for hairdressing: his mum was a hairdresser, and he would help her out in the salon as a child and often cut hair for friends and family.
After completing his qualifications in 2018, he secured a job at a barber shop in The Quarters, Wellingborough, where he needed to pay £150 a week for his chair and would be paid a percentage from the services he provided. He initially struggled to meet his weekly rental fee, saying: "Although I've had years of experience before, I'm still new to the game. Nobody likes trusting a new barber. Secondly, you're walking around with black shades, having eye drops – not a lot of clients are really going to want to trust you."
Celebrity clients and new ventures
With hard work, his career took off. He was offered a teaching position at the London School of Barbering and began posting on social media as @jjsavani, which led to brand work. In 2023, he styled Indian rapper Divine after his team noticed his Instagram page. This opened doors to more celebrity work, brand deals, and work with fashion houses, and he opened his own salon in Wellingborough.
He also founded The Global Stylist Blueprint, offering bespoke mentoring to stylists, and has published his first book, POSITIONED: How Barbers And Hairstylists Go From Behind The Chair To The Global Stage, pledging to donate all author profit to the Moorfields Eye Charity.
This week, he is working with Justin Cassin and Lovebirds Studio at London Fashion Week. He remains grateful to the surgeons at Moorfields, to the Moorfields Eye Charity, and to the organ donors who gave him his sight back. He said: "Although the London School of Barbering helped me, although the contacts I had helped me, without the transplants, I would not be where I am today."
He added: "I legit thought everything had been taken away from me. But it's (about) showing people that there is always a new lease to life, and raising awareness of Moorfields Eye Charity, so they can be supported in their innovation, and even getting people on the donor register. Because if there were no donors, I would not have had my eye transplant."
