Henley High senior learns skills of barbering

June 2, 2025  / Henley High School senior Julious Villanueva gave his first haircut in January 2022 — to his late cousin, Jose — while following a YouTube tutorial.

Today, Julious, who cuts hair under the name CachiBlends, has built a loyal clientele of more than 400 people who count on him for regular haircuts. He doesn’t charge for his services, though many clients voluntarily contribute to help cover his costs.

While not an official business, CachiBlends has allowed Julious to develop and refine a skill he loves, all while taking meaningful steps toward becoming a licensed barber. He participates in the Klamath County School District’s College Now program, which pays for high school students to take college-level courses. He's also a member of Henley’s DECA Club, a business-focused organization that’s helped him learn how to secure contracts and potentially lease a building in the future.

By the time he graduates high school on June 7, Julious will have completed eight Klamath Community College classes toward his cosmetology certification.

“I believe this gives me a head start and has saved me a lot of time and money,” he said. “A big part of what I love about barbering is the client interaction. Cutting hair is teaching me valuable life skills—for my future and my career.”

Julious is known for his attention to detail, carefully refining every edge with his clippers.

“I take my time to make sure it comes out really good. My motto is quality over quantity,” he said. “I focus on the quality of each haircut.”

Henley teacher Brian Stock has been one of Julious’s regular clients for the past few years. Just before spring break in March, Julious arrived in Stock’s classroom with his barber kit and gave him a mid-taper fade while chatting about his future plans.

Stock gets his hair cut by Julious three times a year — before school starts, before spring break, and at the end of the school year.

“Then I let it go all summer and have to find him when school starts again,” Stock said.

Word-of-mouth about Julious’s skills has brought in clients from the Oregon Tech basketball and baseball teams.

“Once I realized I loved it, I started asking friends if I could cut their hair. Little by little, my client base grew,” Julious said. “What I love about a service business like this is if I give someone a great haircut, they’ll tell their friends and family. It’s a cycle—that’s how I went from one client to over 400.”

In addition to offering mobile, on-site cuts, Julious also built a dedicated shed in his backyard where he works during the summer—sometimes for 12 to 15 hours straight. He promotes his work through a website, social media, an app, and Snapchat.

The middle child of seven, Julious was born in Klamath County but lived in Mexico as a toddler, returning to the area at age four. Spanish was his first language, and he learned English in school. Being bilingual, he says, has helped him connect with a wider range of clients, some of whom speak only Spanish.

After graduation, Julious plans to attend the College of Cosmetology at KCC to earn his barbering license. His next goal is to join the Air Force with a goal of becoming an Air Traffic Controller. 

“In the future, I see myself doing both — the Air Force and barbering.”

Every haircut since that first one is a tribute to Jose, who passed away from cancer at age 17. Julious honors his cousin with a cancer awareness ribbon shaved into the back of his neck and a bracelet he wears every day.

“I never take it off,” he said. “Jose is a big reason why I do what I do. He helped me start this, and I want to make the most of it. He was a great guy — really funny. He’s the reason I strive to work as hard as possible. I want to live life to the fullest and this keeps me working hard.”