After 15 years, Zéba Hair Salon finding new vibe, customers

Zeba Hair Salon 15 years old — *“COVID changed everything,” Zéba owner Sima Abbasi said. “Some for the better, some not.” ECN photos*

In January, Zéba Hair Salon marked its 15th anniversary, a testament to the resilience of a small business that like many of its kind had to weather a devastating blow when it was closed at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Making changes along the way was nothing new for owner Sima Abbasi, who started a hair-care and makeup business started at the Merchants Festival Shopping Center in 2008.

She opened a second location at the Shallowford Falls Shopping Center in 2017 and developed a loyal staff and clientele. One of her stylists, Paige Whiffen, had come on board as a business partner, as Zéba built on being a L’Oréal Elite salon with other colorists specializing in Redken and INOA.

Then the unthinkable happened, when Gov. Brian Kemp’s emergency order kept many personal-care businesses, restaurants and other public-facing enterprises shuttered for weeks. To be declared non-essential, Abbasi, said, was a surreal experience.

Zeba Hair Salon 15 years — *Zéba partner Paige Whiffen*

“We were so numb,” she said, sitting down with Whiffen in a recent interview with East Cobb News. “COVID changed everything. Some for the better, some not.”

After being closed for two months, Zéba couldn’t reopen fully due to social-distance requirements, and it wasn’t until November that they “were okay again. But we could only see so many people.”

Business at Zéba’s two salons had barely rebounded when 2021 arrived in “one of the worst” stretches of time as the pandemic continued.

“It was a lot of everything” said Whiffen, who oversees the Shallowford Falls salon.

“People weren’t coming back to work so they didn’t need a haircut as much,” she said. And there were those who were still feeling apprehensive about returning to closed indoor spaces.

“Some couldn’t wait to get back, but others weren’t so sure, Whiffen explained. “We tried to do curbside service as much as possible.”

Zeba Hair Salon 15 years

Along the way, Zéba used the occasion to assess many aspects of the business.

“The biggest blessing was that it helped us re-establish our culture,” Whiffen said. “We needed to care care of these people [their employees].”

Along the way, a “better family dynamic” emerged, and there was the usual turnover that is standard in the hair-care industry. Zéba currently employs around 25 people at both locations.

More than anything, Whiffen said, she and Abbasi saw their employees and clients in a new way.

“It was cool to see how much you impact their lives,” Whiffen said. “We’re super fortunate that our new clients are more now that we have ever had. And the trends have completely changed.”

Among them are what Whiffen calls lived-in haircoloring that lasts longer and grows softer.

“A lot of pe0ple just want a more natural look,” she said. Zéba Hair Salon 15 years

She said some clients also come to get hair care less than before, but their appointments tend to last longer.

Zéba also has become dedicated to recycling many of its products, including shampoos and coloring materials, hiring a private service that does come with a cost.

“But people love it,” Abbasi said. “They care about the environment.”

The salons have several events during the year to help local charities, donating 10 percent of proceeds on a Saturday in the spring to the Atlanta Humane Society, and another Saturday in the fall to benefit MUST Ministries.

Zéba also invites women from a local homeless shelter to help themselves to shampoos and other products that are no longer for sale.

Zéba continues its emphasis on education for its staffers and especially its colorists, with the aim of helping them understand the broader dynamics of the business.

“It’s not just about doing hair,” Abbasi said. “It’s everything. It’s connecting with people.”

As her business passed a milestone, she said she attests Zéba’s staying power to “a lot of faith and hard work and persistence.

“I just want us to be better today than we were yesterday.”

Zéba Hair Salon 15 years

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