In Belize City, an 18-year-old young man is challenging long-held gender stereotypes in the country’s beauty sector, turning a spontaneous home experiment into a promising professional path. Allon Pacheco has emerged as one of just a handful of certified male beauticians across Belize, building a growing client base at a local salon after chasing his passion against social pushback.
Pacheco’s journey into beauty work began with an unplanned, casual moment with his mother. One ordinary morning, he offered to give his mother a pedicure on a whim. When he finished, the result was far neater and more polished than anyone expected. Impressed by his natural skill, Pacheco’s mother encouraged him to pursue formal training and connected him to her friend working in the beauty industry.
To turn this casual hobby into a legitimate career, Pacheco committed to a rigorous six-month professional certification program. After mastering the core skills of nail care, pedicures, and multiple other beauty services, he landed a full-time position at Deluxe Corner Beauty Bar, one of Belize City’s popular local salons, where he now serves clients on a regular basis.
Like many people who enter gender-nontraditional fields, Pacheco has not been immune to criticism and bias. Deep-rooted social norms in Belize have long framed beauty services as exclusively women’s work, and Pacheco says many people have questioned his career choice. He recalls facing constant comments that push him to leave the industry and take what is widely labeled as “traditional men’s work” such as manual labor.
What critics do not know is that Pacheco already has experience in those conventionally male-dominated fields. Before committing to beauty work, he held jobs in mechanics and electrical work, roles that fit the common idea of “male employment.” For Pacheco, however, none of these roles compared to the fulfillment he finds in beauty services. He describes the work as genuinely interesting, notes that it provides a stable, solid income that meets his needs, and most importantly, it is a career he genuinely enjoys.
As Pacheco continues to build his clientele and advance his career, his full story is set to air in a primetime segment on News 5 Live this evening at 6 p.m., offering audiences a deeper look at his journey breaking into a female-dominated industry.