Journalist Inge Theron had no idea her business idea would become a multi-million dollar beauty brand. Here editor Trudi Brewer shares a multi-discipline brand that resonates with women of all ages. Learn more about FACEGYM and the founder behind it.
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FACEGYM founder Inge Theron with the Supreme Restructure Collagen-Boosting Ceramide Cream, Weighted Face Ball, Active Blast Concentrated Collagen 7-Day Daily Treatment + Hydro Bound Serum, and the Multi-Sculpt High-Performance Gua Sha.
Writing about wellness trends for The Financial Times in the U.K. was Inge Threon’s dream job. But in proper journo form, she was still searching for the ultimate face therapy, and that was when she realised a missive gap. Plenty in the skin lifting category included products, cosmetic medicine treatments (one left her housebound as she recovered), and dozens of relaxing facials, but nothing to treat the face holistically like you would your body. So in 2014, FACEGYM was born, then the skincare in 2021. Combing ancient massage techniques, including unique pinching and knuckling movements with modern, high-tech tools, this skin system was made to improve blood circulation and release toxins while winding a few years off the clock. Yes, Inge Theron is a disruptor in the beauty industry, and at 47, she looks bloody fantastic. She shares her journey and what to expect if you become a FaceGym junkie.
How did you come up with the concept of FACEGYM?
I’ve always been passionate about skincare, beauty and wellness, which brought me to start my career as an editor. I landed a job at the Financial Times and became known as ‘The Spa Junkie’, where I spent over ten years exploring the latest high-end aesthetics, fitness, and nutrition treatments, putting them to the test and reviewing them for my column. As time passed, the treatments became more invasive, and the real turning point was after a particular thread lift facial, which left me housebound. I thought there must be a better way to age confidently and gracefully. It was my eureka moment. I started developing this idea at home – I’d been thinking about the body and the gym and the endless benefits we see for our muscles and skin when we regularly work out and think, why don’t we do the same for our faces too? Our face is made up of over 40 plus muscles; many people don’t know we have so many but also haven’t connected the dots that if you train the muscles in your face consistently, they will retain memory and prevent sagging, much like working out your body. I want people to realise that facial muscles are the same as the muscles in your body; you need to adopt a facial fitness routine like in the gym for your body to see fantastic results.
Who did you have in mind when you created the brand?
Myself, and the millions of women like me who feel this constant pressure to have invasive treatments and procedures to feel good about ageing – we need to stop vilifying age. I always say that FACEGYM is not in the beauty industry; it’s in the confidence-boosting industry. We start at a place that says, you are already GREAT! And we amplify that great version of you, making you the absolute best version of yourself. We give you that kick-ass, empowered feeling when you leave the gym - but for your face plus your skin.
How hard was it to launch this brand?
Throughout my time as a journalist, I already had extensive knowledge of skin, muscles and the skincare industry, so I had that covered, but before I launched FACEGYM, I had never done anything operational before; I just had this great idea then all of a sudden when the chairs were full, I realised this is happening. I had no idea how to run a business. I remember the first 12 months were tough – one vivid memory I have is being seven months pregnant and traffic-stopping in Selfridges to try and get people to come to the pop-up and try a workout. The breakthrough success came from the celebrity fans —they tried it, loved it and started spreading the word about this new gym for the face. It snowballed into a huge deal. From then on, we took off on an incredible trajectory. The community was growing by the day, and the bookings were flying off the system – we had waitlists to get people into the studios.
Inge Theron’s skincare morning routine
FACEGYM founder @ingetheron76 shares her go-to two minute morning facial routine, her secret to her glowing skin.
What have been your biggest challenges?
The COVID pandemic was a devastating time for everyone and a challenging time for all businesses. It was probably one of the most pivotal moments for FACEGYM. It was heartbreaking to close the doors to our studios, but I was determined to get up and fight, so I galvanized the team, and we got to work. We had to pivot our long-term plans, and in the space of a week, we digitised the whole experience. We launched our digital studio and online workouts with incredible success. We became Lockdown's go-to beauty brand; it exceeded all expectations. We had thousands of people joining every day – it really took it back to our roots about being community-first. We could unite people around the world and make them feel good by working out together. They came to us for uplifting content, and we delivered that – plus, we transformed their skin too. With each challenge we’ve faced, I’ve always found my way, and together with my brilliant team, we always get through it and come back stronger than ever.
How about the career highs?
Where to begin? There have been so many career highlights I’d need a whole book to tell you everything. There are the early memories of laying the flooring down at our first pop-up in Selfridges London in 2014 and introducing the world to FACEGYM for the first time ever – such a huge moment. Following the instant success, we stepped up a gear and opened the doors to our first standalone studio in London before taking FACEGYM stateside and opening studios in New York and LA. Then, of course, our skincare launch in 2021 was a dream come true. Being about to use my extensive skincare knowledge and work with some of the best scientists and formulators in the world to create solutions to boost collagen and transform the skin from home. Fast forward to 2023, where we’ve launched with incredible retail partners, including MECCA and are busying ourselves with a second LA studio launch, this time in Santa Monica. It has truly been one highlight after another. The rapid growth of the business has been remarkable, and I’m so grateful every day that so many people worldwide believe in the brand and products, and they can achieve their skin goals with our help.
I read you are into slow beauty. What is that, and why?
I call FACEGYM ‘slow beauty’. You cannot get a six-pack from one session. Unrealistic expectations of achieving results quickly surround us. We put all these acids on our faces and use injectables because we think we need to achieve our goals in one session. With FACEGYM, we’re about opening a never-ending dialogue with our community – where are you today? Where can we get you? What is a realistic timeline for this? Our empathetic approach is all about setting realistic expectations, which can be hard to find when so many beauty brands go down the ‘hope in a jar’ route instead. We have to change how we approach beauty, give people permission to age, and stop penalising them. I want everybody to feel comfortable in their own skin, which means saying goodbye to quick, radical routes that can often be so damaging to both long-term skin goals and self-esteem.
How does this brand fit into beauty routines for women with cosmetic procedures, such as fillers and Botox?
When I founded FACEGYM, it was on the belief that there must be a better way to age confidently and beautifully than feeling like you had to constantly seek out aesthetic treatments, which are often very invasive and can do more damage than good. It’s our purpose and mission to give you ultimate skin confidence through our workouts, skincare and tools. The combination of our techniques, methodology and advanced technology provides natural, non-invasive alternatives to ‘tweak-ments’ but still delivers visible results and lasting benefits for both the skin and muscles alongside value for money and no downtime required post-studio or at-home workout. We’re constantly inundated with client feedback telling us how impressed they are with the results, so much so that often they never feel the need for more.
FACEGYM PRO, $1267.
The latest top tool was created for muscle stimulation to re-energise your face. Boosting with triple-wave technology to firm and tone the skin. The first wave is low frequency and designed to lift and tighten the second wave targets beneath the surface to help boost collagen production. Then the third way deeper again to give the skin a full toning workout.
To use: Theron recommends using a facial serum to glide the tool over the skin. She suggests placing the device where you want to work out the skin and then moving it upwards and outwards using light to medium pressure for 20-30 seconds.
What advice would you give other women launching a skincare brand?
Self-belief will be your superpower. Don’t let anyone crush your dreams, goals or confidence, and certainly don’t let anything or anyone hold you back. I always say if you can see it, you can be it – and what I mean by that is, you have to be able to close your eyes and see the big picture, see yourself as the boss, see yourself at the head of the table, see yourself running the show and never lose sight of that.
New FACEGYM
FaceGym Liftwear Brightening Vitamin C Gel Cream, $108.
Theron calls this cream ‘shapewear for the face,’ a triple brightening complex that is a blend of vitamin C, niacinamide, amber microalgae, instant powerlifting SIRTALICE™ and energy boosting ICEAWAKE™all whipped into a lightweight cream-gel that you can use morning and night.
What's your favourite product in the collection and why?
That’s such a hard question; they’re all my children. If I have to narrow it down, my absolute must-have ingredient is biotech collagen, and so for me, our world-first Active Blast should be in everyone’s skincare routine – it’s my best-kept beauty secret for serious results! This clinically proven vegan collagen skin booster is the daily dose to boost collagen levels and keep your skin looking plump, smooth and radiant. Trials have also proven it is up to 200 times better performing compared with traditional collagen. It’s perfect for all ages. Whether you target the first signs of ageing or collagen decline, this is the holy grail. I use one Active Blast collagen sphere every day as part of my morning routine, mixed with our multi-award-winning Hydro-Bound serum for the ultimate collagen hack. If you have an event coming up, a party, wedding, use this for the week leading up, and I promise your skin will look amazing. All of my celebrity friends use it before a red carpet too. Tool-wise, If you only invest in one tool – make it the Hydrating Active Roller. At FACEGYM, we believe that success in the skin is the combination of tools and actives, and in some cases, like the roller, we put everything in one because we’re always looking to get better results. This game-changing tool combines skincare actives and micro-needling techniques in one to deliver a targeted skin treatment. Why would you tap in your hyaluronic or vitamin C when you can roll your actives onto your skin with direct penetration, which means the good stuff gets straight to where it needs to go much faster? I’m all about multi-functional products, and these rollers are so clever; not only do the crystalised microneedles contain a cocktail of pro-grade actives, they help to stimulate the fibroblasts to boost collagen production plus, you get multiple skin benefits, such as sculpting, draining, lifting, plumping and brightening, leaving you with a complete skin transformation.
Our favourite
FaceGym Hydro-Bound Hyaluronic Acid + Niacinamide Serum, $132.
Stacked with two of our favourite ingredients, the moisture magnet hyaluronic acid and the skin barrier booster vitamin B3 or niacinamide. This is a skin reset in a bottle with bio-ferment ingredients to lock in moisture and help with skin resilience during the day. If your skin feels parched, this serum offers a potent hydration punch.
What is next for you?
All of my passion and energy are focused on continuing to drive the success of FACEGYM. Innovation plays a huge part – we have become renowned for our advancements in skincare, tools and workouts, which remains a key focus for us as a business to develop the next big thing. We have some ground-breaking launches on the horizon, which you’ll start to see from September this year; Active Blast fans, in particular, will be thrilled. We’re also looking at more global expansion, more countries, more studios, more retailers and, of course, continuing to build on our brilliant community, which is at the heart of why I do all of this – I can see that we’re making a real difference in people’s lives worldwide, which continues to fuel my fire.
And discover her French beauty brand that has just launched in NZ.