Thanks to surgery at Moorfields Eye Hospital, JJ Savani has had vision restored in one eye, but this is only half the story – his life has been completely transformed; and as a thank you, JJ is giving all author profits to Moorfields Eye Charity.
JJ, whose Mum had been a hairdresser, had a successful career in the NHS, heading up a learning and development team. His vision gradually deteriorated, though, until he woke up one morning with one eye “a complete blackout,” the other one blurry, thinking, “my night out wasn’t that heavy.” His optician gave him an urgent referral to Moorfields.
Dan Gore, consultant ophthalmologist at Moorfields Eye Hospital, who pioneered the use of a femtosecond laser in corneal surgery said: “When JJ was first seen at Moorfields, his vision was already deteriorating, more so in the right eye. We diagnosed a condition, keratoconus, that causes the front window of the eye (cornea) to become distorted. As a result of this, vision progressively blurs, despite wearing glasses.
“We were able to offer immediate corneal cross-linking (CXL) to the left eye to try to slow down the progression of his keratoconus, but the right cornea was too thin for this.
“To restore the vision in his right eye we initially performed a corneal transplant using a femtosecond laser which restored his vision back to above the driving standard. Unfortunately, the left eye continued to deteriorate, despite the CXL, and JJ decided to proceed with the same laser-assisted corneal transplant on the left eye.
“Corneal transplants have been performed for keratoconus for many decades but, in more recent years, as with other types of surgery, lasers have been developed to assist surgeons. For JJ, the laser was used to improve precision; we were able to apply the laser to a level of accuracy within a hundredth of a millimetre when transplanting the cornea. This made the operation safer and reduced the longer-term risks of transplant rejection. Recovery still takes time, as we need to keep stitches in place for corneal transplants for a year or more. So JJ’s recovery wasn’t quick, but he’s had a great result and his vision should hold for decades to come.”
Sight loss had a dramatic effect on JJ. He said: “I won’t dress up what that period was. I had a full mental breakdown and needed specialist support, including supported housing. I shut out my family and my friends. It cost me my home, my relationship at the time and my business. I started again with a sofa bed and government support. That was my starting line, the second time around.
“The second operation was the turning point. My sight came back quicker in my left eye, and, for the first time in a long time, I could look forward instead of just getting through the day. The problem was, all I knew was corporate training. But hair had been in my life since I was a boy – my mum was a beautician, and the salon she worked in had a barber’s shop on the top floor, where I’d worked as a Saturday boy. Then, out of the blue, someone paid for me to attend a course at the London School of Barbering – anonymously. To this day, I don’t know who it was. Whoever you are: that gift changed everything.
“I’m still partially sighted, and I’m sensitive to intense light. Bright lights and my eyes have an arrangement – the shades are the treaty. I’ve worn them for twenty years under the brightest lights of an industry that gave me my life back.
“This book is the first time I’ve ever explained the sunglasses, let alone opened up about my mental health. Moorfields gave me their expertise, their determination – and hope. Donating every pound of my author profit to Moorfields Eye Charity is the least I can do.”
JJ has worked his way up from earning £100 a week to working with celebrities during major fashion shows, splitting his time between India, Dubai and the UK. His salon is in Wellingborough.
JJ’s sight could not have been restored without donated corneas – please make sure your preference is recorded on the NHS organ donor register.
POSITIONED: How barbers and hairstylists go from behind the chair to the global stage is released on 16 September 2026 in paperback and Kindle editions, available from Amazon. Readers can find out more about the book and the method behind it at globalstylistblueprint.com/positioned.
Every pound of JJ's author profit is donated to Moorfields Eye Charity.
