What's Missing From Your Grooming Toolkit?

It’s literally that easy

Think about everything you've invested in to become a dog groomer. Your course, scissors, clippers, blades, brushes, combs, dryers, shampoos and conditioners. The equipment you've carefully chosen, the things you've replaced, upgraded, sharpened and serviced over the years.

We don't think twice about maintaining our equipment. It's part of being a professional groomer. But what about maintaining our knowledge?

igroomhub has been around for nearly ten years now (😱), and we're still trying to get across one fairly simple idea. Professional grooming knowledge deserves a permanent place in your toolkit, too.

It’s not something you dust off when there's a seminar coming to town. Not something you have to set aside an entire weekend to explore. Something you can just reach for whenever you need it.

What do you do when you don't know?

Recently, we came across a question in a dog grooming group. Someone wanted to know where they could learn about carding.

Naturally, people started recommending educators who teach it. And there's nothing wrong with that. We have some wonderful educators in this industry, and hands-on learning will always have its place.

But it made us wonder how many groomers realise they could simply pick up their phone, search for carding on igroomhub, and start learning.

There's the information, ready when you are.

You might have a dog booked in tomorrow and want to brush up on a particular technique. You might be struggling with a coat you've groomed a hundred times and wondering whether there's a better approach. Perhaps you've bought a new tool and want to understand how to use it properly, or you've seen a beautiful finish and want to know how it was achieved.

Sometimes you need a whole lesson. Sometimes you need five minutes. Sometimes you just need to see how someone else does it.

That's what we want igroomhub to be there for.

We've done the looking for you

Dog grooming is a relatively small industry, and we've been part of it for a very long time. We know an awful lot of the people who work in it, teach in it and contribute to it. We've watched them groom, listened to them teach, and seen the wonderful things they can do.

And over the years, we've invited the people we believe have something genuinely valuable to share into igroomhub.

We're particular about what goes into our library. We don't simply collect videos and hope for the best. We choose our contributors, consider what they're teaching, film and edit their demonstrations, and spend an enormous amount of time organising everything so you can find what you're looking for.

There's a lot of thought behind what you see on igroomhub, and probably even more behind what you don't.

We'd love to feature every wonderful educator in the industry, but of course that's not possible. What matters to us is bringing together a variety of experienced voices, techniques and approaches, because there's rarely only one way to do something well.

We're not here to promote one particular brand of equipment or convince you that there's only one correct way to groom a dog. We don't want to send everyone down the same path. We want groomers to see different methods, understand why they work, and develop their own knowledge and judgement.

We just want you to have access to what you need, when you need it!!

Learning doesn't have to be an occasion

There's something lovely about attending a grooming seminar. Spending a day with other groomers, watching an expert demonstrate their techniques, asking questions and coming home inspired. Absolute joy! Espescially if it’s an interstate jobby and a plane trip minus ‘IRL’ is involved.

We love that. We've been part of that world for decades.

But professional development shouldn't depend entirely on where you live, who's visiting your state, whether you can afford to close your business for a day, or whether you can get away from work. And it certainly doesn't have to stop when the seminar finishes. Like, is this the 80’s?

You can watch a grooming tutorial on your television while you're having dinner. You can revisit a technique on your phone before your next appointment. You can explore something completely new on a Sunday afternoon, simply because you're curious. You don't even have to be looking for something specific. Sometimes watching another groomer work is enough to make you rethink something you've been doing for years. That's one of the things we love most about this industry. There is always more to learn.

More than a library of grooming videos

Over the years, igroomhub has grown into something much broader than a collection of grooming demonstrations. Alongside our tutorials, you'll find articles, podcasts, quizzes, masterclasses, conversations about canine welfare, equipment, behaviour, health and the many other things that influence the way we groom dogs. We've made it searchable because we know groomers don't always have time to browse. When you need something, you want to find it.

And we're continually adding to it, revisiting subjects, welcoming contributors and finding better ways to connect you with the information you're looking for. We don't expect anyone to sit down and watch everything. That would rather miss the point. The value is in knowing it's there!

A little team with a very big library

When we say igroomhub is run by a small Australian team, we really do mean small. There's no IT department, no marketing department, no production crew or enormous team of editors working behind the scenes.

There's us. Oh and Bayden our filming guy. And what a legend he is.

Between us, we bring decades of experience in grooming, training, education and publishing. We know this industry, we know many of the people who make it special, and we've spent nearly ten years bringing their knowledge together in one place.

We care about the quality of the information, the welfare of the dogs, the experience of the people teaching, and the way that knowledge is shared. We also care about how it all looks and feels. We want igroomhub to be a beautiful, welcoming place to explore, whether you've come looking for a specific technique or simply fancy learning something new.

It's a lot of work for a few of people. But we're proud of what we've built, and we're nowhere near finished.

Another tool in your kit

A good pair of scissors won't make every grooming decision for you. Neither will a clipper, a brush or a comb. They're tools, and their value comes from knowing when and how to use them. Knowledge is much the same, except it's something you can keep building throughout your career. We'd love to see a time when having access to professional grooming information is considered just as normal as owning a decent pair of scissors.

When a groomer has a question, they know where to look. When they want to improve something, they know where to start. When they're curious about a technique they've never tried, they can explore it without waiting for the next seminar. And when they need a little inspiration, there's plenty of that, too.

After nearly ten years, that's still what we're working towards.

So, next time you're thinking about what belongs in your grooming toolkit, don't forget, we’re here for you with the on-tap knowledge behind the physical tools!