RFLCT was the one of the biggest controversies to come out of a streamer’s product launch ever. Now Valkyrae has confirmed she’s stepping away from the skincare line.
Rachel “Valkyrae” Hofstetter, streaming personality, content creator, and co-owner of 100 Thieves has revealed her RFLCT skincare line has been cancelled following huge backlash. The product has reportedly been pulled from stores, and she has distanced herself from the RFLCT brand, as revealed in a stream yesterday.
The streaming star confirmed that RFLCT will be pulled from stores. She will also no longer be associated with the brand. She describing the relationship as “separated” and that she wouldn’t be subject to a lawsuit for her departure.
The “clean break,” as the 100T co-owner described, was prompted after massive backlash following the launch of the RFLCT skincare product line. The main source of ire was the claims that RFLCT would protect from “blue light pollution.”
Blue light, light with a blue wavelength, is produced by electronics with screens, LEDs, and other artificial light sources. One of RFLCT’s main selling points that it “protected against and repaired blue light damage” to skin.
RFLCT's Blue Light Healing Properties
These claims have been widely disputed. Blue light is considered detrimental in some cases, with studies showing that it can affect sleeping patterns. But there is little to no scientific proof that blue light affects or damages skin. A damning reply from chemist Dr. Michelle Wong showed the depth of these false claims.
In the wake of this damaging backlash, Valkyrae initially challenged the claims. In a stream responding to the controversy, she stated that she’d seen the research RFLCT used to make their blue light claims, but wasn’t allowed to show anyone else for legal reasons. However, facing even more criticism, the star stated they were now looking part ways with the RFLCT brand on October 23rd.
The True Cost of RFLCT to Valkyrae
As of November 2nd, Valkyrae has now managed to part ways with the RFLCT brand. But for Valkyrae, the costs of investing a reported two years into a product, only for the launch to be a disaster, will be more than financial. The streamer stated in yesterday’s stream that they were now seeing a therapist. This was due to the issues raised by the botched product launch.
“I have depression” she stated “I’ve been having a bad time, I do think I have mental damage from all this.”
She went on to say the experience had given her issues related to trust “I can’t trust myself anymore. I just can’t do that anymore.”
But not all of the stream was so self reflective. Valkyrae went on to criticize some of her friends for not DMing her with questions about the product. Insinuating that some were "fake friends" for not reaching out, and pointing to several specific names. Fellow streamer Félix “XQC” Lengyel was critical of this take, pointing out that it wasn’t her friends responsibility to fact check her product.
Ultimately, whatever take away Valkyrae has from this experience, her reputation has been damaged. Many will only remember RFLCT as a scam. Even if the streamer has distanced herself from the now pulled product.