The Story
ABOUT
FROM A PAIR OF CLIPPERS TO A SHOP OF MY OWN.
“I STARTED CUTTING HAIR AT 13, WITH A PAIR OF CLIPPERS AND NO IDEA WHERE THEY WOULD TAKE ME.”
— Yandel Solorzano, Founder
THE FIRST CLIPPERS
I, Yandel, started cutting hair at 13 while living in California. In the summer of 2019, I became interested in barbering after watching my cousins cut each other’s hair. I worked at my uncle’s juice bar in Orange, California, to save up for my first set of tools. Once I had them, one of my cousins trusted me enough to keep going — and that was the beginning.
TEXAS
In 2021, I moved to Angleton, Texas, where my mom was already living. I brought my clippers with me, not knowing where they would take me.
SPIDER-MAN NIGHT
Then came early 2022. At 16, my friends and I went to the theater to watch Spider-Man: No Way Home. We were all hyped on the way back to the house, and one of my friends decided to take a chance and let me cut his hair. I remember that night clearly — not just because of the haircut, but because of the people, the energy, and the feeling of being young and figuring things out together. It became one of those core memories that stays with you.
TAKEN SERIOUSLY
The next day at school, people started noticing the haircut. That moment gave me the confidence to take barbering seriously. From cutting wherever I could, to working out of a shed, to building my own private suite, and eventually opening my own shop, I built everything one step at a time.
EL NAVAJÓN
Somewhere along that journey, El Navajón was born. The name represents what I wanted my work to feel like: sharp, clean, confident, and rooted in the Latino culture that shaped me.
MORE THAN A BARBERSHOP
Today, El Navajón is more than a barbershop. It’s where barbering, art, and Latino culture come together — a place built from where I started, everything I’ve learned, and everything I’m still building.
El Navajón — Angleton, Texas
