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Need some new businesses to shop from this weekend? 🎁 Shop these Latino and Latina-owned businesses in our Holiday Gift Guide.

Meet the Founder Building a Modern Men's Haircare Brand

By the time Chulo officially launched, Armando Vital already knew the brand’s foundation would come from culture, family memories, and redefining what it means for Latino men to take care of themselves.

“Growing up, I used to hang out with my grandpa a lot,” Armando says. “His hair was always amazing. So slick and wet, even if he had a big farmer's hat on, his hair was always perfect underneath. For me, that was so interesting, and I wanted to be like him.”

Armando’s mother later shared with him that his grandfather used manteca de res [beef tallow] to slick his hair back. “At the time, I thought it was gross,” Armando laughs. “But it stuck with me.”

Growing up as a first-generation Mexican American in Los Angeles to immigrant parents, those early memories of family, culture, and appearance left a lasting mark. “I grew up going back and forth to Mexico a lot,” Armando says. “I was privileged that I was able to go back and explore the country as much as my home country here.”

“I think everything I do now is through my culture. And Chulo, that name was what my grandpa and my mom used to call me whenever my hair looked good…chulo.”

From Marketing to Men’s Beauty

Before launching Chulo, Armando worked in marketing, primarily with tech brands, and eventually became a content creator in the men’s beauty space. “I would do hair tutorials and skincare stuff, like tinted moisturizers, random little creator things.”


Eventually, Armando felt a pull to build something of his own. “I thought to myself, I need my own products. I need my own thing,” Armando says. Chulo was launched, though it took nearly a year of development and self-reflection.

Creating Space for Latino Men

For Armando, Chulo’s mission goes far beyond pomades and pastes. It’s about challenging deeply ingrained ideas around masculinity, grooming, and self-care, especially within Latino communities.

“I was asking myself, ‘What am I really doing here?’ because I’m not just going to sell a product. I wanted to advocate for the idea that men's beauty requires space. A lot of the conversations I had with my brothers or cousins felt like Latino men are really shy. It’s almost taboo to want to look good,” Armando explains.

Chulo aims to change that. That connection between appearance and mental well-being is personal.

“I want to create space for that, and I want men, Latino men, to feel comfortable enough to ask questions and discover new products. I want to build this new concept of looking good and feeling better.”

Hair, Identity, and the First-Gen Experience

Hair, as Armando explains, carries a particular weight in immigrant and Latino households.

“You immigrate to a new country, and you want to look your best,” Armando says. “You don’t want to be perceived as run-down. It’s a signal that you’re equipped to succeed.”

That pressure shaped his upbringing. “My mom wouldn’t let me leave the house without looking good,” he recalls. “She’d be like, ‘You can’t go out looking like that.’ They exaggerate, but you internalize it.”

As a first-generation Mexican American, Armando also speaks candidly about the identity tension that comes with existing between cultures. “I went through an identity crisis when I lived in Mexico City,” he says. “I realized how American I was. That scared me.”

“It felt like I split myself in half,” he says. “But now I’m learning that it’s okay to be both.”

Armando wants Chulo to provoke these conversations. To make space in beauty for these conversations, for this unique perspective of being part of two cultures.

A Brand Before a Product

Despite a crowded grooming market, Armando doesn’t view Chulo as competing with other brands.

“I try not to focus on the competition. I know there's a lot, but to be completely honest, I don't feel like I am in competition with anybody,” Armando explains. “I feel like, if anything, I'm in competition with myself and my ability to create and continue creating without side-eyeing what the others are doing.”

That mindset stems from Chulo’s strong positioning and brand foundation. Unlike legacy grooming brands that focus solely on accessibility, Chulo prioritizes storytelling, culture, and community. “I don’t ever want it to just be about the product,” Armando says. “There always has to be messaging beyond that.”

Activations and Barbershop Culture

Chulo’s activations often reference the Latino barbershops many grew up visiting.

“The activations we've been doing with the barbershop setting, people ask, ‘are you a real barbershop?’” Armando says. “And the point is that neighborhood barbershops were community spaces. I want to elevate that and make it feel cool and intriguing, not just a corner mom-and-pop.”

Lessons in Letting Go of Perfection

If there’s one lesson Armando returns to repeatedly, it’s this, perfectionism stalls progress.“ Perfectionism will get you nowhere,” Armando says. “Consistency is everything.

“It's not about waiting for something to be perfect to put it out. It's just about getting it out and getting the ball rolling. Once you have the ball rolling, it rolls, and it rolls, and it just becomes this big ball. All of a sudden, you have a brand and people are buying.”

Armando learned this firsthand after initially positioning Chulo as a hair-growth pomade. “After a month, I realized, this is not who we are,” he says. “I don’t want to be clinical.” The messaging changed, and quickly, along with the copy on the product tins.

@chulo.hair

trust your unc 💎 #menshair #menshairstyle #hairtutorial

Launching on TikTok

TikTok has also played a role in Chulo’s growth, though getting approved for TikTok Shop wasn’t easy. “There were FDA requirements, UPC codes, things I never even thought about,” Armando says.

Chulo’s products are now live on the platform, and Armando serves as the brand’s primary on-camera presence.

“People want to connect with a human,” he says. “They want to feel spoken to. It's so nice to see the growth and people reacting to the products and relating to Chulo’s mission.

Armando offers advice for founders looking to launch on TikTok and TikTok Shop, with the number one piece of advice - staying consistent. ⬇️ 

What’s Next for Chulo

Chulo currently offers a pomade and a paste, each designed with intention.

• Pomade: high shine, moisture, slick styles

• Paste: texture, control, and a more natural finish

Looking ahead, Armando envisions Chulo extending beyond products. “I think Chulo will eventually become a physical barbershop,” Armando says. “Not a typical one, but an open, welcoming space where men can work on themselves.”

Retail is also part of the long-term vision, alongside a broader cultural association. “Ultimately, I want Chulo to be tied to confidence and Latino men’s beauty,” he says. “Looking good makes you feel good, and feeling good makes you look even better. If you get it, you get it. And if you don’t, you don’t.”

“This idea that looking good can make you feel good and feeling good makes you look even better, you know? It's this little wheel,” Armando says.

Check out Chulo Hair and connect with Armando and the Chulo team on TikTok and Instagram.

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In your inbox next Monday 📬️

Don’t miss our final issue for the year, Mexican American workwear and apparel brand Graziano and Gutierrez. Each item is handmade, patterned, cut, and sewn by hand by Alejandro Gutierrez. Graziano and Gutierrez collaborate with artisan textile makers in Chiapas and Oaxaca, México. In your inbox next Monday. 📬️