During a YouTube stream on October 23, 100 Thieves co-owner Rachell ‘Valkyrae’ Hofstetter finally opened up about the drama surrounding RFLCT skincare and its blue light-blocking claims.
As the face behind RFLCT skincare, Valkyrae immediately sparked backlash surrounding the beauty products’ claims it protects against “blue light pollution” emitted from screens without sharing the research or conclusive evidence to back it up.
Many labeled it as a “scam”, causing the influencer to draw back from social media, stating that she was just as confused herself but would address everything soon. And on October 23, she did just that.
Valkyrae addresses RFLCT skincare “scam” drama
“It was before I announced my YouTube switch,” she began her YouTube stream with, which has since been removed within hours of going live.
“I’ve been on YouTube for over a year and a half now, through UTA, which is the talent agency my manager works for. [Beauty industry reps] found me and they had a meeting with me and they said they really liked my brand, and they brought a bunch of products and samples and they asked me if there was something I was interested in, to make.”
According to Valkyrae, she was skeptical of the blue light-protecting claims at first, but then was shown studies and research that showed evidence. “They ran tests for six months with chemists in labs. I saw the research with my own eyeballs, I was really excited because I thought it was groundbreaking research,” she continued. “I was excited, I thought it was going to help people.
They would send me samples of products. I tested the smell, the formula, the color of the packaging. For example, the lip balm, I asked for it to be unisex, that’s why it’s matte. That was my involvement, I am not a chemist, I’ve never been to the lab in person, I’ve just seen the research.”
Valkyrae claims the research can’t be published
She then addressed a comment in her YouTube livestream chat asking if she knew that the website wouldn’t have published research on it. “I saw a lot of comments from people saying “Google it”… They ran their own studies, their own research. This whole time, I was under the impression that all this research that I saw was going to be on the website. When RFLCT dropped, it was crucial for there to be research but all there was was a WebMD link,” she said.
“I was confused, I learned their studies can’t be publicized. That was the part I was very naïve about, I didn’t know that,” the 29-year-old explained. “It’s very hard to be a part of something where they can’t show what they’ve done. They can’t show it because the specific research can be stolen by other companies. The individual research being researched with how it works with blue light, I saw that.
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I am the face for it, so I am the one who gets all of it. Isn’t that crazy? I feel like if I could go back, I would have been more aware of what was going to be shown.”
Valkyrae opens up about RFLCT skincare contract
The streamer also shared details about her contract with RFLCT. “My original title was Creative Collaborator but I asked if I could shorten it so it looked prettier in my bio, they said I could change it to Co-Founder. I saw their research, I loved it, I thought it was so sick and I can’t wait to be a part of this,” she said, before revealing that she no longer wants to be a part of it.
“I am in a bound contract. I do believe in the product but I do also wish to not be involved because the research can’t be public. That’s the hard part. And that’s the honest truth… I don’t know if I really want to continue. But I don’t know if I really have a choice.”
You can watch Valkyrae’s deleted response on Mizkif’s Twitch channel. Segment begins at 2:01:37.
She also shot back at “cashgrab” comments claiming that she just wanted make money. “I don’t need money. I could just straight up retire. This wasn’t about money. I saw the research, I was excited to be a part of something that felt revolutionary,” the YouTube star said. “It’s not my character, I literally sit at home all day, what do I need to spend money on?”
As for why she took 100 Thieves out of her Twitter bio? “I took out 100 Thieves from my bio because they have nothing to do with it. I don’t want them to get dragged into it, they’re not involved at all.”