New men’s grooming brands launch all the time, but who has the bandwidth to decipher buzzwords and newfangled ingredients to find the soaps, creams and scents that are actually worth adding to your routine? We do, which is why we’ve put together this column, The Best Grooming Brands to Know Now. In this edition, we’re highlighting STMNT, a newer grooming brand with serious pedigree, barbershop-cool sensibilities and a deep bench of styling products for virtually every hair type, texture, and finish.
Buzzy haircare brands are everywhere at the moment. (Here at InsideHook, you’ve probably noticed we’re on a bit of a hair styling kick.) Niche, elevated brands with quality formulations, modern textures and flaunt-worthy designs are changing the way guys think about styling products, turning what was once a drugstore afterthought into personalized, ahem, statements.
STMNT is one such brand, sitting at the intersection of professional barber culture, modern grooming and the ongoing appeal to scalp care. Launched in 2020 and co-created by globally renowned barbers Julius Cvesar, Sofie Pok and Miguel Gutierrez, STMNT was built around a simple idea: the folks spending eight hours a day behind the chair often have a better understanding of real-world styling needs — and it shows.
A grooming brand created by actual barbers, STMNT is built less around hero products and more around what it calls “stacking” — combining products to create personalized, tailored routines. This ethos — treating grooming as an extension of personal style and self-expression — runs throughout STMNT’s line, from its professional-grade meets consumer formulas to its apothecary-inspired aesthetic. (It feels a bit like bringing that hip barbershop energy home.)
STMNT’s styling collection remains the brand’s beating heart, and the creator collections reinforce its layering philosophy, with each founder bringing a distinct aesthetic, scent profile and approach to styling. Some days you want a matte clay, some days a cream, some days a fiber pomade. You can switch it up or even layer depending on the products, your hair or whatever vibe you’re feeling, or obviously, use as standalone stylers (they all smell good, too). The Dry Clay is my current favorite for that lived-in texture that speaks to summer.
Recently, the brand has tapped into the broader grooming sphere, too. With launches like the Hydro Shampoo, Shave Gel and Beard Oil, the collection now covers hair, beard and body products, with an emphasis on scalp health, hair wellness and ingredient-conscious formulations that feel purposeful rather than gimmicky as more men embrace paying attention to what goes into their products.
STMNT may ooze cool-guy appeal on the surface, but there’s genuine substance beneath: a brand built by professional barbers, backed by real-world experience and formulated to help guys express their unique style while keeping their hair healthy. In a market crowded with new launches and endless claims of innovation, that’s a STMNT worth making. The styling lineup is stacked, and almost every product rocks: below, a few of our favorites.
Housed in a massive bottle, this shampoo is one of the newer additions to the STMNT lineup and has quickly become a staple in my shower. The sulfate- and silicone-free formula contains allantoin (soothing), bisabolol (calming) and ginseng (strengthening) for a scalp-first approach that prioritizes hydration. Plenty of shampoos leave your hair feeling clean. This also leaves it feeling healthier and helps wash out styling products with ease. Add in the excellent citrus, lavender and tonka bean scent, and you’ve got your new summer sudser.
Summer is matte-paste season, gents, and STMNT’s is in my rotation. It delivers pliable hold without the dry feel, creating the kind of lived-in texture and separation that pairs perfectly with summer heat. It’s versatile enough to use before blow-drying or as a finishing product. For those of us with finer hair, especially, it will help you achieve that cool, timeless “I woke up like this” finish.
Want the final boss of oil absorption and gritty texture? STMNT’s Dry Clay delivers strong hold, impressive volume, and one of the most matte finishes I’ve ever encountered in a styling product. Fair warning: it’s not for everyone. If your hair tends to run dry, you’ll probably want something a little less aggressive. But if you’re after texture, hold and a truly matte feel (that also rinses out well), few rival it.
Chalk it up to nostalgia, but as slicked-back styles continue to look cool, STMNT’s new Gel feels well-timed. Far less drugstore, much more niche, it’s a modern firm-hold gel infused with charcoal that delivers control and polish with a satin-like finish that lands between glossy and matte. Whether you’re going for a sleek, combed-back look or need a little extra structure and definition, it’s pretty darn versatile. Best of all, it skips the flakes, stiffness and sticky residue that gave traditional gels such a bad reputation in the first place.
Bearded gents, this one’s for you. As STMNT continues expanding beyond hair styling, the Beard Oil is another grooming homerun. It’s lightweight, absorbs quickly, and softens facial hair without the greasy, overly shiny finish. The scent is excellent too, blending citrus, incense and woods for a distinctly STMNT barbershop-meets-forest cool. Whether you’re rocking a short or longer beard, it’s a no-brainer for keeping facial hair looking healthier, feeling nourished, and much easier to manage.
Shaving Gel (as opposed to cream) aligns with STMNT’s barber-first ethos. The clear, non-foaming formula lets you see what you’re shaving, making it useful for line up work, maintaining beard edges, mustaches and sideburns. This gel softens stubble, glides smoothly and helps minimize irritation and razor burn. I also appreciate that it multitasks as both a pre-shave treatment and a standalone shave gel. Finished with the brand’s signature blend of citrus, lavender and tonka bean, it goes without saying that it smells darn good, too.
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