WASHINGTON — Like so many people during the coronavirus pandemic, Sara Vaziri of Rockville, Maryland lost her job. After six years of working as a local hairstylist, her salon permanently shut down, leaving her out of the work that she loved.
With only a couple of contacts from old clients on her phone, she reached out to see if anyone could still use her services. She found that people still wanted to get a fresh cut or style, but they were nervous about being indoors for so long when getting their hair done.
"So I said we're going to do this outside, and they loved it," Vaziri said. "Now everybody knows me for the outside hairstyles. Right now I feel like a gardener because all I'm doing is cutting hair on decks, backyards, playgrounds."
It’s not just a quick cut that she does in a local park or driveway, either. It’s everything you can get done in a salon, from highlights to blowouts and beyond.
"There's nothing I can't do or I don't do," she explained.
Now, Vaziri spends her weeks driving all over the DMV, giving styles to people that are sometimes as far as a three-hour roundtrip away.
"It's a little more stressful," Vaziri said. "I have to be more prepared for each visit. And [I just have to] think about what can go wrong, and what they could need."
In the last two and a half months and after styling more than sixty clients, Vaziri said creating her own schedule and connecting with clients makes it all worth it.
"I love it when I see my clients happy at the end because they needed the haircut," she said. "It's really satisfying. That's what keeps me going, seeing my clients happy."