So yesterday, Valkyrae revealed her highly-anticipated secret two-year project: a skincare line designed to protect your skin from the harmful effects of blue light.
When I first watched this video, I didn’t really think much of it. “Skincare for gamers” is basically what I took from it. I didn’t really know the controversial science behind blue light’s effect on the skin, but I didn’t really think that was a big deal anyway. I know from every girl I’ve dated in the last few years (that would be one girl) that skincare is a giant market and I figured this is just a way to market it to gamers, which is 99% of Valkyrae’s fanbase.
Boy was I wrong. The gaming world has exploded overnight, basically calling RFLCT “snake oil” and a scam business.
The thing I’m still trying to figure out is why everyone is so up in arms?
In the last 4-5 years, the world has realized how big the market for gaming and gaming products is and has done everything under the sun to tap into that market. And believe me, the line between what products are innovative and what products are exploitative gets thinner and thinner with every release.
For example, the Ninja hoodie with the ear holes and the Champion hoodie with the oversized hood are definitely innovations. The “issue” is very niche and many people probably don’t care about them but there is a decent community of people that were thrilled to hear these hoodies were coming out.
Same goes for the Razer finger condoms announced last month.
Do they look ridiculous? Absolutely. Did the entire internet mock Razer the day they were announced? Yea, we’re pretty good at that.
But are they exploitative or are they innovative? I think you gotta lean towards the latter. Mobile gaming has a huge market and while other products like gloves or phone controllers definitely look better, I’m sure there’s a ton of people playing Wild Rift that were thrilled to see these lil finger socks.
What literally no one on the fucking planet was excited to see are “gamer socks”.
In all my years of gaming, I have never once given a fuck about what I’m wearing on my feet. If it’s hot, I’m probably barefoot. If it’s cold, I throw on a pair of socks or slippers.
There are literally zero benefits to having a pair of “gamer socks”. They do not make you better, they do not solve any problem gamers face; they are simply a cash grab attempt to market a product toward gullible gamers.
So now let’s go back to RFLCT: which category does it fall under? Exploitative or innovative?
I think both, to be honest. Valkyrae started this project two years ago right? Have you looked at the 2018 and early 2020 studies of blue light’s effect on the skin? Because they both say there seems to be some effect from specific wavelengths and it’s unclear how long-term exposure affects the skin.
Meanwhile, the study everyone is referencing to dispute Valkyrae and RFLCT’s claims was released in May 2021…by another skincare company…
My overall theory here: Valkyrae didn’t scam anyone. She’s just too early for the party. She made a product that has yet to be scientifically proven as effective or necessary based on studies that initially seemed to support her product. While her team was making it, a study came out that didn’t support her idea anymore.
Guess what? That’s exactly what most health and fitness supplements have been doing for decades. Blue light glasses were seen as scammy a few years ago as well. There are multiple industries that operate under the same principles.
You wanna know another one? The beauty and skincare industry.
Yea, shocker.
Listen, I’m not here to defend someone I don’t know about a product I don’t really know that is supposed to fix a problem that nobody really knows is a problem or not. She could come out with a YouTube apology video minutes after this blog gets posted and I’d look like an utter fool. I’m just saying what Valkyrae is doing is very normal and yet people are acting like this is the first questionable product they’ve ever heard about.
I mean let’s be honest here: ultimately RFLCT is just Valkyrae’s skincare product. She could put the coom of a thousand-year-old donkey into that shit and people will slather it all over their face regardless.
Let’s just chill the fuck out a lil, yea?
