When most people picture a barbershop, a shop sandwiched in a strip mall with a flashy red, white and blue barber pole outside comes to mind—but for the loyal high school customers of JeongsBlendz, their idea of a barbershop is a dimly lit townhouse garage run by two students.
Disillusioned with the quality of his haircuts, sophomore Tyler Jeong decided to take matters into his own hands and start JeongsBlendz with his friend Lucas Jeong, a sophomore at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJ).
“Lucas and I used to get haircuts together, and [our hair] would get messed up really bad,” Tyler said. “So we started watching haircutting videos, but we could only learn so much from watching a screen. We cut each other’s hair every week until we got good enough to charge people.”
The garage doors opened for the first time in December of 2023, with Lucas as the barber and Tyler as the marketing manager. Within months, the pair filled Lucas’s garage with hair- cutting tools from eBay and Amazon. Business started slowly, but as customers trickled in, Tyler took up cutting and styling hair as well.
“My specialty is called a low taper on the sides and back, and the front is just called a fringe,” Tyler said. “Everyone’s head shape is different. If someone has a narrow face, I make sure not to cut the sides too short, and if it’s wide, then I can make the top longer.”
JeongsBlendz has served around 50 unique customers across the DMV, with a large portion of their customer base consisting of students from McLean or TJ.
“$20 is considered pretty cheap for a haircut in this area, and the quality of their cuts is worth the price,” sophomore Jony Li said. “The haircut definitely boosted my self-esteem, since my hair was unstyled before.”
Social media has played a crucial role in expanding the business. Their Instagram account, @jeongsblendz, has over 160,000 views and regularly posts hair transformation reels and hair product reviews.
“Their social media strategy is similar to other online barbers, but what really separates JeongsBlendz from other online barbers is that a lot of their clients are their friends or just people from around the DMV area,” said Aben Bhattachan, a senior at TJ. “A lot of the time, the client also reposts their [hair transformation] video on their own story. Through that strategy, they’ve been able to expand their network from TJ and McLean kids to other clients across Northern Virginia.”
Unfortunately, their road has not all been smooth-shaven. Managing a barbershop without any professional or parental help, the two faced various complications with shop location and logistics.
“Lucas’s parents used the garage to park their cars, so space was tight,” Tyler said. “It was also way too cold in the winter—there was no heating in his garage. Fortunately, my parents don’t use our garage often, so everything worked out in the end.”
In Virginia, all barbershops must have an administrative permit and a special permit, which costs at minimum $535 combined.
“We don’t have a permit, but it’s not really enforced when you’re working in a private place,” Tyler said.
Prospective barbers must also complete a 1500-hour training program and graduate from an accredited barber school before earning their license.
“When you’re not working in a real barbershop, you don’t really need a license,” Tyler said. “I plan on getting a license, but most barber schools require a high school degree to apply.”
While Tyler and Lucas don’t plan on continuing JeongsBlendz past high school, the pair will continue to deliver haircuts that boost their clients’ self-esteem.
“Hair can change your entire appearance, and I like when people mess with my work after I give them a cut,” Tyler said. “Their confidence goes up, and it’s really fulfilling for me when our clients are satisfied with the outcome.”
