Getting to Know the Founder: Joel Phua

Hi, I’m Joel Phua, founder of Hairsauce and co-founder of Rogue & Beyond.

I’ve been working with hair for more than 20 years, and honestly, I still love what I do. I’ve spent most of my life behind the chair—cutting hair, talking to clients, working with different hair types and constantly learning.

And that experience is really where Hairsauce came from.

How It Started

My journey started simply because I loved hair.

I trained at Sassoon in Costa Mesa, California, and that experience completely shaped the way I look at the craft.

It taught me that a good haircut isn't just about making someone look good when they leave the chair. You need to understand their hair, their head shape, their lifestyle and how they're actually going to style it when they wake up the next morning.

That philosophy has stayed with me throughout my career.

Creating Rogue & Beyond

After years of working in the industry, I wanted to build something that represented how I felt men's hair should be done.

So in 2017, together with my business partner, we created Rogue & Beyond.

I wanted it to be more than just another barbershop.

I wanted a place where we took the craft seriously. Where education mattered. Where we focused on precision, suitability and really understanding the person sitting in our chair.

Over the years, I've had the opportunity to work with thousands of people—and that's also where I started noticing something about the products we were using.

I Couldn't Find What I Wanted

I tried so many different products throughout my career.

Some gave me great hold, but made the hair stiff.

Some created amazing texture, but left the hair feeling dry.

Others were too greasy, too heavy or just didn't feel good in the hair.

There was always a compromise.

I remember thinking, why can't I have everything I want in one product?

I wanted hold, but I still wanted movement. I wanted to be able to run my fingers through the hair. I wanted something that lasted throughout the day without making the hair feel like it was covered in product.

Most importantly, I wanted to create products that didn't just make your hair look good, but helped keep it feeling good too.

So eventually, I decided to create it myself.

Why Hairsauce Took Time

Our first product, Texture Balm, took three years to develop.

I could have released something much earlier, but I didn't want to create another product just for the sake of having my own brand.

There were plenty of versions that were good.

But good wasn't what I was looking for.

I wanted something I would genuinely use every day behind the chair and confidently recommend to my clients.

So we kept working on it.

Testing it. Changing it. Using it on different hair types. Going back and improving it again.

Until eventually, we had something I was proud to put the Hairsauce name on.

Hairsauce Comes From Behind the Chair

Everything we create comes from real experience.

I've spent more than two decades touching, cutting and styling people's hair every day. You learn a lot when you're actually working with hair—not just about what looks good, but what people struggle with at home.

That's what I want Hairsauce to be about.

I don't want to create products just because they're trending.

I want to create products that solve real problems.

Products that perform.

Products that are easy to use.

And products that consider the health and feel of your hair while still giving you the results you want.