Manifesto
Josh Rosebrook reflects on his journey, overcoming imposter syndrome, and what he loves (and doesn’t love) about the beauty industry
Josh opened his first salon in Portland, Oregon, when he was just ten years old. Making use of an antique barber’s chair found in his family basement, he was soon styling and fixing the hair of all the kids in the neighbourhood. The now founder of his namesake skin and haircare range, Josh Rosebrook might be a name emblazoned throughout Vogue and Vanity Fair but he’s still down-to-earth and doing what he does, for the love of it.
Speaking over Zoom from his Palm Desert headquarters, our interview begins in the early hours New Zealand time. It’s pitch dark outside, but Josh brings all the warmth and light of the Californian sun. Graciously kind and unassuming, it feels like talking to a friend you’ve always known.
Finding his spark
Whether realised in the moment or later in life, every career journey begins with a spark. Josh found his early on and although he didn’t know what his final destination would be, he always found himself coming back to beauty. “I think early on as a kid, when you first start to realise you’re good at something, it defines you so deeply and yet you don’t really know it at the time. You just know it makes you happy and it makes you feel good.” His talent, it seems, was instinctual. “Being able to see somebody’s hair, know how to style it and how to achieve the style even without them having the haircut…I think that was the beginning of me experiencing myself as an artist. Ultimately, I think artists are really good at making something out of nothing”.
At Headway, we believe the true meaning of a passion is that you’ll continue to explore your hobby, no matter the obstacle. When Josh didn’t have the funds to go out and buy top-of-the-line skincare, he made his own. “When I was giving my clients the product, they thought more of it than I did, because I was downplaying it. They thought it was amazing and were getting incredible results. I then started surrounding myself with people who knew more than I did, primarily chemists and herbalists. It was just so fun and exciting and fulfilling. At the same time, it was overwhelming, expensive, and daunting. I didn’t know what I was getting myself into.”
Imposter syndrome
A refreshingly open book, Josh recalls the imposter syndrome he experienced in the early days, that sense of self-doubt. Now, he adds, “I’m really good at overcoming that. I realised we have specific skills, traits, talents and experience, but early on, nobody really knows what they’re doing and we’re all just trying to figure it out. When I started out, I was like, I’m not a chemist. Who am I? And my rebuttal to that was, ‘chemists aren’t hairstylists and haven’t been studying skin for the last six years that I’ve been doing this’. So I began to understand what I bring to the table. When I started talking to chemists, I realised they didn’t have the expertise that I had from working with clients hands-on. That boosted my confidence and made me think, well, they have something to learn from me and I have something to learn from them.”
“Supporting your own beauty and what makes you feel your best - that’s what I care about.”
The industry fighting itself
Josh speaks joyfully about his admiration for the way beauty standards are changing and what is now being celebrated and upheld. “I’m so happy to be a part of the industry and a part of changing the perspective and what we define as beautiful. Expanding it to include all race, size and age.” Our chat digresses to the polarity of the beauty industry and he’s not shy about venting his frustrations. “You find that we want to celebrate skin and ageing, but yet we’re always trying to find these topical products and treatments to minimise wrinkles so that we feel beautiful.” He refers to it rather poetically as “the industry almost fighting itself”. Reflecting on his place in the conversation, he says, “I really feel like my voice in this is that beauty is an individual journey. What’s right for you is what’s right for you. You may love and embrace your fine lines. The next person finds it really difficult to embrace and they don’t want to see the wrinkles—that’s their beauty. Beauty isn’t a singular path. We can’t force people to embrace signs of ageing or shame people if their beauty is achieved through machines, technology or surgery. It seems there can be a sense of egoic pride if results are achieved naturally and someone has relied solely on physical methods, like facial massage and gua sha. Like somehow that is more admirable.” He has a point. Most people I speak to in the industry wax lyrical about au-natural, but to Josh, that’s not the problem. The point he’s making is a much deeper one, it’s about judgement. “It can be infuriating because everybody wants the same thing. We want to improve our appearance, we want to feel confident and beautiful. I don’t care if you want a facelift. I don’t care if you only want to take the natural route if that makes you feel better. All of it is supporting your own beauty and what makes you feel your best - that’s what I care about.”
We continue our conversation with Josh in the next issue of Headway, as we talk entrepreneurship, the importance of slow growth and life-work separation.
@joshrosebrook | joshrosebrook.com
Words Brooke Duder