In Los Angeles, he graduated from beauty school and opened a shop on
Fairfax Avenue, designing and building it for less than $500. Sebring cut hair for 13 hours a day, sleeping in the back, but was challenged by mounting costs. His innovations including shampooing men's hair before styling it, cutting their hair with scissors instead of clippers, and using
blow dryers, which were popular in Europe but not well known in the United States. His breakthrough happened after meeting actress
Barbara Luna at a party. She told
Vic Damone, who liked him enough to fly him to Las Vegas for a trim. In turn, he introduced Sebring to
Peter Lawford and
Frank Sinatra. His hairstyling clients included
Warren Beatty and
Steve McQueen. He flew to
Las Vegas every three weeks to cut the hair of Frank Sinatra and
Sammy Davis Jr. His business, Sebring International, was flourishing by the late 1960s, with profitable salons in
West Hollywood, New York City and London. Sebring maintained a playboy lifestyle, with high-profile Hollywood personalities like Beatty among his closest associates. Sebring assisted with launching the film career of
Bruce Lee, after meeting him at the International Karate Championships in
Long Beach in 1964. He introduced Lee to his producer friend
Bill Dozier, who started Lee's career with
The Green Hornet. Although not seeking an acting career himself, Sebring made a cameo appearance in a
December 1966 episode of the TV show
Batman, playing a character based on himself called Mr. Oceanbring. Sebring also appeared in a 1967 episode of
The Virginian titled "The Strange Quest of Claire Bingham", playing a frontier barber. Sebring also appeared as himself on the January 28, 1963 episode of
To Tell the Truth. He received three of four possible votes. Jay Sebring was one of the people profiled in the 1967 cult documentary,
Mondo Hollywood.
Bobby Beausoleil, a future member of the notorious
Manson Family, was also seen in it. Beausoleil was arrested for the murder of
Gary Hinman two days before the
Tate–LaBianca murders that took Sebring's life. Back in 1969, Sebring was nicknamed The Candyman and was said to have used his salon to peddle drugs to the stars. Jim Markham was Sebring’s protege and business partner in a budding franchise of men’s hair salons and has made this statement publicly. ==Relationship with Sharon Tate==