She’s So Cult: Inge Theron of FaceGym

Like a personal trainer for your face, FaceGym combines one-of-a-kind workouts with results-driven {skin care} and cutting-edge {tools} to deliver results in real time. With skintellectuals from far and wide travelling to the brand’s IRL studios — over 250,000 faces have been in their hands — it’s undeniable that the brand is taking the beauty industry by storm. That’s why we couldn’t wait to catch up with  Inge Theron, former beauty and wellness columnist (she was lovingly dubbed the ‘Spa Junkie’) turned Founder and Creative Director... 

{Cult Beauty} First things first, can you tell us a little bit about the brand’s beginnings? 

FaceGym was founded in 2014, I can’t believe we’ve been going for eight years already. I’ve always been passionate about skin care, beauty and wellness which is brought me to writing my wellness column. I landed a job at the Financial Times How To Spend It and became known as ‘The Spa Junkie’, where I spent over ten years exploring the latest high-end aesthetics, fitness and longevity treatments. During my time as a columnist I tried and tested multiple, often invasive, procedures which left me suffering the impact of injectable abuse. It wasn’t until one particular face-lifting procedure left me housebound, that I realised enough was enough, and I decided there must be a better way to age confidently and beautifully. That was my ‘eureka’ moment and the start of FaceGym coming to life. I knew I wanted to change the beauty industry and the demonisation of ageing — getting older is a privilege and should be celebrated. I wanted to empower women and men to love the skin they are in at whatever age. 

{CB} Can you describe FaceGym in just three words for us please? 

Collagen, results, confidence. 

{CB} What does ‘facial fitness’ mean to you? 

Everyone thinks facial fitness is just about training our facial muscles, but it's not! It’s about collagen creation for really healthy-looking skin. What many people don't know is that massage, even the little bit that you do at home when you apply your skin care, is stimulating collagen production, helping to condition and strengthen your skin. Our unique ‘Face Workout’ technique has been honed over many years and over 1 million faces, so it's easy and effective. It stimulates the forgotten 40 face muscles, drains and de-puffs the toxins and supports healthy, firm and plump skin. Regular ‘working out’ will improve suppleness, firmness and overall muscle health and skin health too. We give you a personal trainer in a box to guide you every step of the way on your facial fitness journey towards conquering your skin goals — and maintaining them. 

{CB} And for those unfamiliar with FaceGym, which product is certain to kick-start an obsession? 

100% {Active Blast}! It’s my Holy Grail product and everyone who tries it becomes instantly obsessed! It’s a vegan collagen skin booster that’s clinically proven to boost your 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’re looking to target the first signs of ageing or collagen decline. I use Active Blast collagen every day as part of my evening routine mixed with our multi award-winning {Hydro-Bound Hyaluronic Acid and Niacinamide Serum} for the ultimate collagen-boosting hack. If you have an event coming up — a party, wedding etc. — use this for a couple of weeks leading up and I promise your skin will look amazing. All of my celebrity friends use it before a red carpet too, it’s a best-kept beauty secret for serious results. 

{CB} From one female-founded company to another, we’d love to hear your advice for women hoping to carve a space for themselves in the industry… 

My advice to other brand makers, entrepreneurs and founders is that self-belief will be your superpower! If you are sure you have a really differentiated concept or can do something better, faster or cheaper, then run at it! I always say, if you can see it, you can be it.  

Surround yourself with smart people, be careful who you take finance from and make sure they are in for the good and bad times — you will need support from a real partner. Then work really hard and manifest your success.  

{CB} When designing your forthcoming launches, how do you know when you’ve nailed it? 

As a medi spa designer by day, I am fortunate to be surrounded by the most amazing thinkers in beauty and wellness. So, when designing new launches we have access to all the innovation from cutting-edge ingredients, formulas and technology to skin care and tools. We won’t just jump on a trend because it’s the latest hot ingredient; our focus and our mission is to create the products that our clients really need. 

Because we’re the brand for real people, the consumer always comes first, so every product we create needs to make a real difference for them — just like our workouts in studio give instant and long-lasting results. We ask, we listen and then we go and create the solutions they need for better skin. It’s important to me that together with my clinical team we research, research, research and then we test, test, test. The stress test always comes down to the three Es: efficiency, ease and exceptional. Clinically proven, efficacious formulas, easy to use for everyone, everywhere and delivering exceptional results every time. The feedback from our community is a huge part of the process too, if we can transform their skin and deliver the results in real time that we’re known for then we know we’ve nailed it.  

{CB} From your time as a beauty columnist until now, you must have put countless beauty treatments to the test. Which one do you still swear by? 

I’ve tried hundreds of treatments over the years — but nothing compares to the feeling you get when you leave the chair after a FaceGym workout. It always delivers that instant, visible skin transformation. I love that I can switch it up every visit depending on what my skin is in need of that day.  

If I’ve been travelling a lot, I love the Cryo Contour for a rejuvenating shot of hydration and serious skin plumping. If I have a big event coming up that night, the Clean & Lift gets me red carpet ready in minutes — celebrities and make up artists love this workout too. I have regular Radio Frequency sessions too to help stimulate collagen and elastin production to keep the skin firm and lifted. Some sessions I’ll just have a hands-only workout to really work on and release the built-up areas of tension in the face muscles. What’s so great about our workouts is that you can completely customise your session with our menu of add-on boosters, so you can always tailor a workout to you and your skin’s specific needs. 

My other go-to treatment that I’m loving right now is regular NAD drips with Dr Koniver. It’s a new, cutting-edge IV drip that takes minutes rather than hours to administer a plethora of vitamins, minerals and amino acids — it’s genius. 

{CB} How have you seen the beauty industry change in the last five years? In which ways would you like the industry to change and evolve? 

I created FaceGym having spent years working as a beauty journalist and realising there was a fundamental problem with the beauty industry: it was too focused on topical solutions and I knew we needed to go inside out to effect change. We needed to take a training approach to get a beauty result. That means stimulating the muscles with massage, incorporating beauty tech like RF and Skin IV together with biotech ingredients. I believe this is a much healthier approach to early signs of aging than injectables. I want the industry to educate and advocate for starting injectables (if you want to) later in life to avoid the addiction I went through in my early writing years.  

{CB} And when it comes to a mantra or motto, is there a ritual or affirmation that you always live by? 

Imagine what you’d do if you weren’t afraid to fail! 

{CB} Finally, what’s next for FaceGym? 

The future is looking so bright for FaceGym and I couldn’t be more excited about what’s to come. We kicked off 2023 with our launch in Australia and we’re just gearing up for our next product launch {Acne Light Shot} — the future of blemish control, I can’t wait for you all to see it! It’s our first foray into LED and comes after years of clients feedback and requests for something to deal with breakouts.  

Aside from that, our main priority is to continue to innovate and open in more locations, so more of you can experience the transformational skin care and service. We have become renowned for our advancements in skin care, tools and workouts and that remains a key focus for us as a business to develop the next big thing. We have some more ground-breaking launches on the horizon — I can’t reveal too much as my team have my lips sealed — but, what I will say is the skin care game is about to change again, so watch this space.