October 28, 2025
Cutting Through Bars: How a Prison Barber School is Changing Lives
First Licensed Barber School Opens in California Prison, Giving ‘Hope’ to Those Who Make the Cut Inside the walls of a California State Prison, something remarkable is happening — something that’s giving incarcerated men not just a skill, but a renewed sense of purpose. The buzzing of clippers, the smell of hair products, and the laughter between mentors and students fill the air at the first licensed barber school ever to open inside a state correctional facility. It’s called the VicBlends Academy — founded by celebrity barber Victor Fontanez, known to millions as VicBlends, and film producer and social justice












