The Grooming Clinic is a fantastic online store where you can purchase male grooming and skincare products handpicked by a team of industry experts.
After buying a few items from their website, I immediately fell in love with this online store. Not only did it have an amazing selection of products but the easy navigation of their website and speed of delivery made it stand out for me.
I thought it would be a great idea to catch up with Steven O’Neill, one of the founders of the company, to learn more from him and how The Grooming Clinic blossomed into the thriving company it is today.
Before embarking upon the TGC journey, Steven spent 12 years as a flight attendant with British Airways. During his time travelling, he had access to cosmetics that not everyone could purchase at home so his interest in skincare and male grooming was completely satisfied by what he had access to. He always had a strong interest in male grooming products and enjoyed experimenting with androgynous ranges that gave faster, better results. Overhearing friends and colleagues chatting about cosmetics and their skincare concerns, he knew that his next challenge was to help to solve theirs, and as many other people’s, skincare concerns, and so the journey began.
How and Why did you decide to start The Grooming Clinic?
The Grooming Clinic started in 2010 after establishing a male grooming blog back in 2006 which attracted more attention the I could ever have imagined. The blog, then called Sartorial Male, was one of very few male grooming blogs around at that time and the traffic to the site was huge. After being approached by advertising agents and brands wanting advertorial content published, I quickly realised there was more to this than just ‘hobby blogging’ so The Grooming Clinic was established.
What makes the grooming clinic stand out from the crowd compared to other men’s grooming websites?
Having come from a strong customer service background, my focus was always about keeping the products right and our customers happy. Loyalty is very important to us so we take care of every single customer and treat them like friends (take a look at our reviews!!!). When we established TGC, eCommerce was seen as the wild west of retailing with many online stores losing touch with their customers and failing to connect with their needs, At TGC we always put ourselves in the customer’s shoes before we make any decisions which could affect how they shop with us or how they feel when they interact with us. We pick the very best male grooming products from all four corners of the globe to curate a collection our competitors can only aspire to have.
What is your best piece of advice when it comes to men’s grooming?
Do your research. It’s not always the case that the most expensive products have all the answers to your prayers; sometimes the un-sung heroes [as we refer to them] are the best. Look beyond branding and aesthetics. You don’t apply branding to your face, you apply ingredients. When you find a product you like the look of, turn the packaging around and look at the ingredients list. Good ingredients are more important than good design.
What products from the grooming clinic do you recommend?
There isn’t one product listed at The Grooming Clinic that I wouldn’t use myself. Every product we sell has featured, and will feature again, in my own bathroom cabinet. However I do have favourites; Molecule 01 by Escentric Molecules is my go-to scent, Anthony Glycolic Facial Cleanser is my first point of call for a face wash and Dr Dennis Gross Oil Free Hyaluronic Moisture Cushion is my number 1 moisturiser. When it comes to haircare, Sachajuan Thickening Shampoo and Baxter of California Clay Pomade are always in my bathroom.
Who researches your products and decides what to include in your extensive online collection?
TGC is all about separating the wheat from the chaff and curating a collection which we’re happy to use ourselves. Our products are cherry-picked based upon a. ingredients, b. performance and c. price. During selection, if the products don’t pass all three stages of the process then they don’t get a listing. It’s important to us that our customers are completely happy with what they purchase from us. If we get the selection wrong then this could be affected and that’s a gamble we’re simply not prepared to take, we have to have the best.
Last but not least, how do you see the future of men’s grooming and The Grooming Clinic?
In the 11 years I’ve been in the industry I’ve seen the research and development that goes into products grow year and year, and as the market becomes saturated with brands, the stakes are hotting-up so we’ll be seeing much more of this, resulting in more targeted, more powerful products. For brands to survive they need to be crafting ground-breaking products as our demands and expectations are rising much faster than their innovation. I predict we’ll see some of the less innovative brands struggle and the cutting-edge creatives gather pace. What to look out for at TGC? In February next year we release our re-brand which sees a new logo, a new, – all-singing, all-dancing – website and a whole host of new brands arriving. During 2018 we’ll be breaking more male grooming trend news than any other outlet so stay tuned for the latest info.
Thank you Steven, we look forward to it!
Watch out for my future blog post, where I give my top grooming products, some of which I received from The Grooming Clinic. Meanwhile if you are looking for that special Christmas gift for the man in your life, head over to thegroomingclinic.com now.
