ABOUT US
BARBER GRADE SINCE 2009.
Built behind the chair. Proven by professionals. Trusted around the world.
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OUR STORY
Imperial Barber Grade Products was founded in 2009 by master barbers Scott Serrata and Pedro Zermeno out of Razorbacks Barber Shop in Long Beach, California.
After decades behind the chair, they saw the same problem over and over: too many grooming products forced a compromise between performance, washability, shine and fragrance.
They believed they could make something better. So they did.
More than fifteen years later, the products have evolved and the brand has traveled around the world.
But the principle that started it all remains the same: make products professionals can stand behind and customers can depend on.
BARBER GRADE IS THE STANDARD.
FOUR DECADES AND GOING
Experience behind the chair.
BARBER GRADE
The professional standard.
MADE IN THE U.S.A.
Hair, skin and jars.
TRUSTED WORLDWIDE
From Long Beach to the world.
OUR ROOTS
IT STARTED AT RAZORBACKS.
Before there was Imperial Barber Grade Products, there was the chair.
Scott and Pedro spent decades cutting, styling, listening and learning from the people sitting in theirs. Their experience was shaped by the craft itself and by the barber cultures of Los Angeles, New York and London. But the idea for Imperial Barber Grade Products took shape at home in Southern California, inside Razorbacks Barber Shop in Long Beach.
Razorbacks was not created to sell grooming products. It was, and still is, a working neighborhood barbershop owned and operated by Scott and Pedro. Their chairs have seen everything from children getting their first haircut to lifelong customers returning month after month. Different generations, backgrounds, hair types and styles have all come through the same doors.
That experience taught Scott and Pedro what worked, what did not, and what people actually expected from the products they used every day. Eventually, they knew exactly what was missing.
Razorbacks Barber Shop
Long Beach, California
A BETTER PRODUCT
THEY DIDN'T NEED ANOTHER PRODUCT.
Years behind the chair had exposed Scott and Pedro to just about everything on the shelf. Some products were too thick or sticky. Others were greasy, overly shiny or difficult to remove. Traditional wax and petroleum-based products could provide serious hold but remain in the hair for days. Other formulas washed out easily but could not provide the performance professionals needed. Fragrance was often too strong. They needed a better one.
There was always a compromise.
Scott and Pedro wanted serious hold with low shine, easy washout and a clean, understated fragrance. They wanted a water-based product versatile enough for different hair types and styles, made in America and good enough to use every day behind the chair.
Most importantly, they wanted something they would use themselves, use on their customers and confidently recommend for use at home. So they made it themselves.
FROM THE BEGINNING
LET THE PRODUCT SPEAK FOR ITSELF.
Scott and Pedro were barbers. They understood hair, knew what they wanted a product to do and believed that if they made something good enough, performance would do the talking. Their work was their credibility.
Imperial Barber Grade Products first found its way into other barbershops and salons, then into retail and the culture surrounding the professional grooming community. The audience grew, but the expectation did not.
IT HAD TO WORK.
READ THEIR STORY
Master Barber
Master Barber
THE CLASSIC POMADE
THE PRODUCT THAT STARTED IT ALL.
In 2009, Imperial Barber Grade Products launched its first product: Classic Pomade. Launching it did not mean the work was finished.
For approximately two and a half years after launch, Scott and Pedro continued refining the formula through hundreds of samples, months of feedback and constant real-world testing. The laboratory was part of the process, but the real proving ground was behind the chair at Razorbacks.
They used it themselves. They used it on their customers. They worked it through different hair types, lengths and styles. They listened to what people liked, what they did not and what could be better. Then they refined it again.
- TEST IT.
- USE IT.
- LISTEN.
- REFINE IT.
- REPEAT.
The goal was not to meet a launch calendar. It was to get the product right. That pursuit shaped Classic Pomade into the heavyweight, water-based formula the brand became known for: serious hold, versatile control and clean washout without the commitment of traditional petroleum-based pomades.
Customers would come to call it:
THE STRONGEST WATER BASED POMADE IN AMERICA.
Classic Pomade put Imperial Barber Grade Products on the map, but more importantly, it established the standard every product after it would have to meet.
OUR JOURNEY
FROM LONG BEACH TO THE WORLD.
1988/89
THE CRAFT
Pedro Zermeno begins his career in the hair industry.
LONG BEACH
RAZORBACKS
Scott and Pedro build their craft and reputation at Razorbacks Barber Shop.
2009
IMPERIAL LAUNCHES
Imperial Barber Grade Products is born. Classic Pomade launches.
2009–2012
REFINE UNTIL IT'S RIGHT
Approximately 2½ more years of samples, feedback and testing behind the chair.
THE LINE EXPANDS
MORE PROBLEMS. MORE SOLUTIONS.
Gel, Fiber, Matte, Blacktop, Freeform and the shave collection expand the standard.
GLOBAL GROWTH
THE STANDARD TRAVELS
The brand reaches professionals, retailers and customers across North America, South America, Europe, the UK and Asia Pacific.
2020
WHEN THE CHAIRS WENT EMPTY
The professional grooming industry shuts down. Imperial Barber Grade Products endures alongside the community that built it.
2025
AN ICON'S CHOICE
Pierce Brosnan names Classic Pomade as part of his grooming routine in The Wall Street Journal.
2026
GQ. AGAIN.
GQ recognizes Imperial Barber Grade Products again.
2026+
THE NEXT CHAPTER
New styling, hair care, ingredients, technology and education. The products evolve. The standard does not.
3 OF 11
WHAT WE STAND FOR
WE DON'T PUT PRODUCTS OUT JUST TO PUT PRODUCTS OUT.
We would rather take the time to get the right product than rush the wrong one to market. Listen. Test. Learn. Refine. Improve. It is how Classic evolved after its 2009 launch. It is how we intend to keep building.
PEOPLE FIRST
This business exists because of the customers, professionals, partners and people who choose to stand with us. Treat them accordingly.
NEVER COMPROMISE THE CUSTOMER
If a shortcut makes something easier for us but worse for the person using the product, it is not worth taking.
ALL FOR ONE. ONE FOR ALL.
Our success is connected to the professionals, independent businesses, partners and communities that helped build us. We grow together.
DO THE WORK.
Quality is not something we can claim into existence. It has to be demonstrated in the product, the service and the experience.
NEVER STOP IMPROVING.
There will always be another formula to refine, another problem worth solving and another way to raise the standard.
WHO IT'S FOR
BUILT FOR REAL PEOPLE.
For many customers, the relationship with Imperial Barber Grade Products begins in a chair. A barber or stylist understands their hair, creates a look and recommends the product that will help them recreate it tomorrow.
But the people who use our products extend far beyond the professional grooming industry. It is the mother buying for her child before the first day of school. The partner buying something for the person they want to see looking and feeling their best. The teenager experimenting with a new style. The young adult figuring out how they want to present themselves. The person getting ready for work, a first date, an interview, a wedding or simply another day.
Different generations, backgrounds, hair types, textures and styles bring people to our products for different reasons. What connects them is the expectation that the product should perform.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO STAND BEHIND THE CHAIR TO DEMAND BARBER GRADE.
BUILT TO LAST
CLASSIC NEVER GOES OUT OF STYLE.
Scott and Pedro have spent enough time behind the chair to watch trends leave and come back again. Hair gets longer, then shorter. Slick backs return. Side parts disappear and reappear. Styles move from clean and controlled to loose and textured and eventually circle back again.
The details change, but great grooming does not go out of style. As customer needs evolved, so did the line. Classic Pomade was joined by Gel Pomade, Fiber Pomade, Matte Pomade Paste, Blacktop Pomade and Freeform Cream, giving professionals and customers different levels of hold, shine, texture and control. The same philosophy eventually extended into shaving, skin care, hair care, travel and lifestyle.
We do not believe everyone needs the same product or should wear the same style. We believe every product should have a reason to exist and perform the job it was made to do.
OUR COMMITMENT
MADE HERE FOR A REASON.
American manufacturing is not decoration on our packaging. It is part of the standard.
Our hair and skin products are made in the U.S.A., along with the jars they go into. That is a deliberate choice. We believe where and how something is made matters, and we are proud to support American manufacturing while holding our products to the standards we expect.
Our roots are in Southern California, but our appreciation for classic American grooming goes deeper. It is a culture built around craftsmanship, independence, hard work and products designed to be used rather than displayed. We are proud to carry that forward.
MADE BY BARBERS.
MADE TO WORK.
MADE IN THE U.S.A.
OUR COMMUNITY
BUILT BY A SMALL BUSINESS. PROUD TO SUPPORT OTHERS.
Imperial Barber Grade Products was not created in a corporate boardroom. It grew out of a working barbershop through long days, thousands of haircuts, customer conversations, trial and error and the determination to build something better.
That matters because many of the professionals who support this brand are building businesses of their own: shop owners opening the doors in the morning, independent barbers building a book one client at a time, stylists turning talent into careers and cosmetologists opening their first studios.
We understand what that takes because small business is part of our story too. The professional community helped build Imperial Barber Grade Products. We do not take that relationship for granted.
THEIR SUCCESS WILL ALWAYS MATTER TO OURS.
WHAT'S NEXT
STILL NOT FINISHED.
Imperial Barber Grade Products began because Scott and Pedro believed there was a better product to make. That pursuit did not end with Classic Pomade, and it does not end with the products on our shelves today.
We are expanding the next generation of Barber Grade styling and hair care with products including Sea Salt Spray, Texturizing Clay, Hair Serum and Leave-In Conditioner, alongside formulas designed around not only styling performance but the care of the hair and scalp beneath it.
That means new ingredients, new technology and new ways of solving problems. It also means better education so professionals can recommend with confidence and customers can understand what they are buying, why it works and which product is right for them.
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SEA SALT
SPRAY
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TEXTURIZING
CLAY
-
HAIR
SERUM
-
LEAVE-IN
CONDITIONER
BACK WHERE IT STARTED
STILL HERE. STILL CUTTING. STILL GRATEFUL.
More than fifteen years after Imperial Barber Grade Products began, Razorbacks Barber Shop is still standing in Long Beach, California.
Scott and Pedro still own it. They still work there. Customers still sit in their chairs. Hair still hits the floor. And after four decades and going, the craft that shaped this company remains part of their everyday lives.
Imperial Barber Grade Products has traveled from Long Beach to cities and countries around the world, but its foundation has not moved. It remains rooted in working professionals, real customers and a simple belief that has been there from the beginning: make a great product, take care of the people who trust you, and let the work speak for itself.
Styles will change. Products will evolve. New generations will sit in the chair. We will keep listening, keep refining and keep doing the work.
But the standard remains.
BARBER GRADE.
MADE BY BARBERS. MADE TO WORK. MADE IN THE U.S.A.
SINCE 2009.
