September was the month you proved us wrong.
Last month, we tried something new. We looked at what you'd been buying all summer and made three predictions about September.
Shave would come back. Beard would wake up. Hair would finally give up a little ground.
Three predictions. Three misses.
Apparently you guys did not get the memo.
Instead, you bought even more of the hair products you'd already been buying, turned one moisturizer into a bona fide breakout, started pairing it with a face wash, bought fragrance, and spent more money on shampoo than we expected anyone to.
Also: September passed August, which had been our best month of 2026.
So, thank you. Especially to all the guys who found Henkey's for the first time last month.
But the most interesting thing about September wasn't how much you bought.
It was what you bought next.
A shampoo led to a conditioner. A moisturizer led to a face wash. And guys who started by simply upgrading something they already used began venturing into categories that require a little more commitment.
That's exactly how we think a grooming routine should happen.
One product at a time. No 10-step routine required.
Here's what rose to the top.
BYRD took the top spot again.
But here's the more interesting part: the shampoo and conditioner are increasingly traveling together.
Guys aren't really treating these as two separate grooming products. They're treating them as a system, which makes sense. If you're going to upgrade what you wash your hair with, why follow it with the same conditioner you've been buying at Target since college?
The Purifying Shampoo gets sweat, oil and styling-product buildup out without nuking your scalp. The Lightweight Conditioner puts moisture and softness back without weighing your hair down.
And neither requires you to learn anything new.
You already wash your hair. You already condition it.
You're just replacing two bottles.
That's probably why this continues to be one of the easiest upgrades we sell.
You don't need a better hairstyle before you have better hair. Start underneath it.
Revival has quietly been one of the most consistent products at Henkey's almost since we opened.
September wasn't quiet.
Guys bought a lot more of it. Returning customers came back for it. Some put it on subscription.
And we get it.
Moisturizer is probably the easiest entry point into skincare because the instructions are basically:
Dry face. Put this on face. Done.
Revival is a lightweight gel moisturizer with niacinamide, hyaluronic acid, ceramides, squalane and panthenol. It's fragrance-free, doesn't leave your face shiny, and has the National Eczema Association Seal of Acceptance.
But ingredients aren't really why we think guys keep buying it.
It's because you notice the difference.
Your skin doesn't feel tight after you wash it. Your face looks calmer. It works after shaving. And you don't spend the next hour feeling like there's something sitting on your face.
Which brings us to something we've suspected for a while:
You may not dislike moisturizer. You may dislike your moisturizer.
If skincare still feels like an entire thing you're not sure you want to get into, don't get into skincare.
Buy a good moisturizer.
See what happens.
This may be our favorite thing that happened in September.
As Revival took off, something else started happening: guys began buying PrettyBoy's Fresh Start Cleanser with it.
A lot.
And suddenly we had the skincare version of what's been happening with BYRD.
Shampoo + conditioner.
Cleanser + moisturizer.
Two products. One job.
Fresh Start is a gentle cream-gel cleanser that gets oil, sweat and whatever else your face collected during the day off your skin without leaving it feeling stripped afterward.
And if you've spent years washing your face with body wash, or whatever soap happens to be within reach in the shower, this is an extremely easy upgrade.
Sink. Water. Cleanser. Rinse.
Follow with Revival.
Congratulations. You have a skincare routine.
We promise not to tell anyone.
Fragrance has been one of the slower categories for guys to discover at Henkey's.
That changed a little in September.
Santalum was the fragrance you gravitated toward most, and what we especially liked was how you bought it: guys were willing to experiment.
Travel sizes moved. Discovery Sets moved. Some of you went straight for Santalum.
That makes sense to us because fragrance is different from shampoo or moisturizer.
You need to live with it.
Santalum is warm, woody and close to the skin: sandalwood, amber, leather and iris, with some spice underneath it. It smells finished without announcing itself from across the room.
And that's probably a useful distinction if you've never really been a fragrance guy.
You don't have to become one.
You don't need six bottles lined up on a shelf. You don't need a "signature scent journey." You don't need to know what oud is.
You need one fragrance you really like wearing.
Start with a travel size. Wear it to dinner. Wear it on a date.
See if somebody gets closer.
This one surprised us.
There were several products competing for the final spot this month, but Patricks SH1 told the more interesting story.
We've talked a lot about thinning hair at Henkey's because it's one of those grooming problems where the options get overwhelming very quickly.
Do you need a thickening shampoo? A treatment? Minoxidil? Supplements? Rosemary oil? Some serum an extremely confident 23-year-old is selling you on TikTok?
Our answer has always been: start where you are.
If you're noticing early thinning and want a relatively inexpensive upgrade, there are good options.
But in September, more of you moved toward Patricks.
SH1 isn't inexpensive. It's a premium daily shampoo formulated specifically for men dealing with thinning hair, with ingredients including Capixyl, caffeine, acetyl tetrapeptide-3, sage and rosemary.
What we like about it is the same thing we like about the BYRD system:
It doesn't ask you to create a new habit.
You're already shampooing your hair.
Now the product you're using for that step is doing more.
And sometimes taking action, even a very small one, feels a hell of a lot better than standing in front of the mirror worrying about it.
The Pattern: Pairs, Not Piles
Last month, we thought something interesting was happening: your shelves were starting to fill in.
Turns out we weren't quite right about that either.
Some of August's bigger orders were influenced by a free sheet mask we were including with purchases. Once we looked past that, September gave us a much clearer picture.
You aren't suddenly buying piles of grooming products. You're buying pairs.
BYRD Shampoo + Conditioner.
PrettyBoy Cleanser + Moisturizer.
And we think that's a much more interesting behavior.
Because most guys aren't waking up one morning and deciding, Today's the day I develop a comprehensive grooming regimen.
You fix something that annoys you.
Maybe your hair always feels dry.
Maybe your face feels tight after you wash it.
Maybe you've started noticing a little more scalp than you'd like.
So you buy something.
It works.
And eventually, the product sitting next to it starts to make a little more sense.
That's how a routine gets built.
One product earns the next one.
What September Tells Us
-
Hair isn't giving up the crown. We thought other categories might finally take some ground from it. Not really. Hair remains the thing guys are most comfortable trying to fix, and BYRD remains the easiest place for many of them to start.
-
Skincare may finally have its gateway. Revival has been building for months. Now Fresh Start is following it. That pairing is starting to look a lot like the skincare equivalent of shampoo and conditioner: two products, one very understandable job.
-
You're getting curious. This may actually be the biggest development. Fragrance showing up matters. Guys spending more on a shampoo specifically for thinning hair matters. Those aren't automatic purchases in the way shampoo, deodorant or body wash are.
They require a decision.
And you're making it.
And About Those Predictions...
Last month we said shave would come back, beard would wake up, and hair would surrender some of the store to everything else.
Nope.
Nope.
And absolutely nope.
So we're retiring from the prediction business after one spectacularly unsuccessful month.
Instead, we'll meet you back here in November and tell you what you actually did.
Turns out you're considerably better at this than we are.
Every month tells us a little more about what men actually want.
And increasingly, the answer seems to be pretty simple:
Start with something familiar. Make it better. Then decide what's next.
Confidence is built.
5 Things Customers Bought the Heck Out Of: September 2026
September was the month you proved us wrong.
Last month, we tried something new. We looked at what you'd been buying all summer and made three predictions about September.
Shave would come back. Beard would wake up. Hair would finally give up a little ground.
Three predictions. Three misses.
Apparently you guys did not get the memo.
Instead, you bought even more of the hair products you'd already been buying, turned one moisturizer into a bona fide breakout, started pairing it with a face wash, bought fragrance, and spent more money on shampoo than we expected anyone to.
Also: September passed August, which had been our best month of 2026.
So, thank you. Especially to all the guys who found Henkey's for the first time last month.
But the most interesting thing about September wasn't how much you bought.
It was what you bought next.
A shampoo led to a conditioner. A moisturizer led to a face wash. And guys who started by simply upgrading something they already used began venturing into categories that require a little more commitment.
That's exactly how we think a grooming routine should happen.
One product at a time. No 10-step routine required.
Here's what rose to the top.
BYRD Daily Hair System
At this point, we're going to stop acting surprised.
BYRD took the top spot again.
But here's the more interesting part: the shampoo and conditioner are increasingly traveling together.
Guys aren't really treating these as two separate grooming products. They're treating them as a system, which makes sense. If you're going to upgrade what you wash your hair with, why follow it with the same conditioner you've been buying at Target since college?
The Purifying Shampoo gets sweat, oil and styling-product buildup out without nuking your scalp. The Lightweight Conditioner puts moisture and softness back without weighing your hair down.
And neither requires you to learn anything new.
You already wash your hair. You already condition it.
You're just replacing two bottles.
That's probably why this continues to be one of the easiest upgrades we sell.
You don't need a better hairstyle before you have better hair. Start underneath it.
PrettyBoy Revival Moisturizer
Well, this escalated.
Revival has quietly been one of the most consistent products at Henkey's almost since we opened.
September wasn't quiet.
Guys bought a lot more of it. Returning customers came back for it. Some put it on subscription.
And we get it.
Moisturizer is probably the easiest entry point into skincare because the instructions are basically:
Dry face. Put this on face. Done.
Revival is a lightweight gel moisturizer with niacinamide, hyaluronic acid, ceramides, squalane and panthenol. It's fragrance-free, doesn't leave your face shiny, and has the National Eczema Association Seal of Acceptance.
But ingredients aren't really why we think guys keep buying it.
It's because you notice the difference.
Your skin doesn't feel tight after you wash it. Your face looks calmer. It works after shaving. And you don't spend the next hour feeling like there's something sitting on your face.
Which brings us to something we've suspected for a while:
You may not dislike moisturizer. You may dislike your moisturizer.
If skincare still feels like an entire thing you're not sure you want to get into, don't get into skincare.
Buy a good moisturizer.
See what happens.
PrettyBoy Fresh Start Gentle Face Cleanser
And then you bought the thing that goes before it.
This may be our favorite thing that happened in September.
As Revival took off, something else started happening: guys began buying PrettyBoy's Fresh Start Cleanser with it.
A lot.
And suddenly we had the skincare version of what's been happening with BYRD.
Shampoo + conditioner.
Cleanser + moisturizer.
Two products. One job.
Fresh Start is a gentle cream-gel cleanser that gets oil, sweat and whatever else your face collected during the day off your skin without leaving it feeling stripped afterward.
And if you've spent years washing your face with body wash, or whatever soap happens to be within reach in the shower, this is an extremely easy upgrade.
Sink. Water. Cleanser. Rinse.
Follow with Revival.
Congratulations. You have a skincare routine.
We promise not to tell anyone.
Ranger Station Santalum Eau de Parfum
Look who finally showed up.
Fragrance has been one of the slower categories for guys to discover at Henkey's.
That changed a little in September.
Santalum was the fragrance you gravitated toward most, and what we especially liked was how you bought it: guys were willing to experiment.
Travel sizes moved. Discovery Sets moved. Some of you went straight for Santalum.
That makes sense to us because fragrance is different from shampoo or moisturizer.
You need to live with it.
Santalum is warm, woody and close to the skin: sandalwood, amber, leather and iris, with some spice underneath it. It smells finished without announcing itself from across the room.
And that's probably a useful distinction if you've never really been a fragrance guy.
You don't have to become one.
You don't need six bottles lined up on a shelf. You don't need a "signature scent journey." You don't need to know what oud is.
You need one fragrance you really like wearing.
Start with a travel size. Wear it to dinner. Wear it on a date.
See if somebody gets closer.
Patricks SH1 Daily Thickening Shampoo
Some of you got more serious about thinning hair.
This one surprised us.
There were several products competing for the final spot this month, but Patricks SH1 told the more interesting story.
We've talked a lot about thinning hair at Henkey's because it's one of those grooming problems where the options get overwhelming very quickly.
Do you need a thickening shampoo? A treatment? Minoxidil? Supplements? Rosemary oil? Some serum an extremely confident 23-year-old is selling you on TikTok?
Our answer has always been: start where you are.
If you're noticing early thinning and want a relatively inexpensive upgrade, there are good options.
But in September, more of you moved toward Patricks.
SH1 isn't inexpensive. It's a premium daily shampoo formulated specifically for men dealing with thinning hair, with ingredients including Capixyl, caffeine, acetyl tetrapeptide-3, sage and rosemary.
What we like about it is the same thing we like about the BYRD system:
It doesn't ask you to create a new habit.
You're already shampooing your hair.
Now the product you're using for that step is doing more.
And sometimes taking action, even a very small one, feels a hell of a lot better than standing in front of the mirror worrying about it.
The Pattern: Pairs, Not Piles
Last month, we thought something interesting was happening: your shelves were starting to fill in.
Turns out we weren't quite right about that either.
Some of August's bigger orders were influenced by a free sheet mask we were including with purchases. Once we looked past that, September gave us a much clearer picture.
You aren't suddenly buying piles of grooming products. You're buying pairs.
BYRD Shampoo + Conditioner.
PrettyBoy Cleanser + Moisturizer.
And we think that's a much more interesting behavior.
Because most guys aren't waking up one morning and deciding, Today's the day I develop a comprehensive grooming regimen.
You fix something that annoys you.
Maybe your hair always feels dry.
Maybe your face feels tight after you wash it.
Maybe you've started noticing a little more scalp than you'd like.
So you buy something.
It works.
And eventually, the product sitting next to it starts to make a little more sense.
That's how a routine gets built.
One product earns the next one.
What September Tells Us
They require a decision.
And you're making it.
And About Those Predictions...
Last month we said shave would come back, beard would wake up, and hair would surrender some of the store to everything else.
Nope.
Nope.
And absolutely nope.
So we're retiring from the prediction business after one spectacularly unsuccessful month.
Instead, we'll meet you back here in November and tell you what you actually did.
Turns out you're considerably better at this than we are.
Every month tells us a little more about what men actually want.
And increasingly, the answer seems to be pretty simple:
Start with something familiar. Make it better. Then decide what's next.
Confidence is built.