Slick Gorilla

Slick Gorilla is a British men's grooming brand founded in 2016 by brothers Ari and Ash Farbod, who started the company from a barbershop in Leeds [1]. It built its reputation on a single product, a volumising hair styling powder, before expanding into a wider range of styling, hair-care and, more recently, skincare lines. The company describes itself as "The Forward Thinking Men's Grooming Brand" and remains commercially active, with new retail and product launches recorded into 2026 [3].

The brand grew from an online-only operation into physical retail during the early 2020s and now distributes internationally. According to the company, its products are sold in 62 countries; earlier trade coverage put the figure at more than 50 countries, a difference the brand's own materials treat as consistent rather than contradictory [4][5].

Slick Gorilla began in a single location, a Leeds barbershop, where Ari and Ash Farbod launched what the company calls its "number one worldwide best-selling volumizing hair styling powder." The brothers own the business, and no parent company or later acquisition is on record. Trade press has consistently placed the founding in Leeds in 2016, matching the company's own account [5].

From the start, the brand tied itself to barbershop and street-fashion culture. It frames its identity around individuality and creative self-expression, saying it was "founded on embracing individuality and the raw power of creativity, standing for the bold, the strong, the creators and innovators" [1]. That positioning targets style-conscious men engaged with barbering and street fashion.

For its first several years the brand operated online, growing an international audience and what trade titles have described as a cult social-media following. In Spring 2023 it made its physical retail debut, expanding into more than 450 Boots stores across the UK and Ireland — a move a company spokesperson called "a pivotal moment ... as we make the move from online-only and into the physical retail space" [5]. Around the same period, Cosmetics Business reported a social following of more than 500,000 across platforms [4].

In 2025 the brand extended beyond hair into men's skincare, led by a 5-in-1 Super Serum. In January 2026 it was added as a new brand on the fashion retailer ASOS, tied to a men's-haircuts editorial feature [3].

The volumising Hair Styling Powder remains the brand's signature product and the one most often cited in trade press as its market leader. Around it, Slick Gorilla has built a styling range that includes a Clay Pomade, the Lightwork hair clay and a Sea Salt Spray, several of which the company markets as paraben-free. Its 2025 skincare line centres on the 5-in-1 Super Serum, which the company says "hydrates, smooths texture, balances oil, brightens skin, and targets fine lines daily"; the manufacturer also reports up to a 14% improvement in skin smoothness within four weeks [6].

The company states that its products are vegan and made in the United Kingdom [1]. It has carried the self-applied marketing label "The King of Hair Products," a phrase trade coverage has repeated while noting it as the brand's own claim [4].

Distribution is multi-channel, spanning the brand's own regional online shops, wholesale trade supply and mainstream retail through Boots. Barber-industry press has also highlighted the brand's collaborations, including projects with the trainer-customisation brand Matt B Customs and the Leeds brewery Northern Monk, framing Slick Gorilla within barber and community culture.

Slick Gorilla is an active and expanding brand. Its most recent recorded activity includes the 2025 skincare launch and a January 2026 ASOS listing, alongside continued international distribution [3]. No controversies are on record.