Update 10/23/2021: Valkyrae hosted a stream on Saturday in which she explained her side, saying that she thought the research that RFLCT did on blue light would be public, but she continues to stand by the product based on the research that she saw that she can't show us.

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Update 10/21/2021: Valkyrae removed Co-Owner of 100 Thieves and Co-Found of RFLCT from her Twitter bio following her Twitter statement on Thursday.



Original Article: Co-owner of 100 Thieves Valkyrae released her first statement on Thursday following the backlash toward her new blue light skincare line RFLCT, a company she co-founded. Unfortunately, she didn't say much in the statement beyond saying that the site would be updated soon, and that once it was she would stream and talk about the situation further. 

"I have been waiting to speak and to stream until after I see how the RFLCT website has been updated," Valkyrae said in a voice message on Twitter. "I wanted to say all the hate, doubt, concerns, and criticism are all warranted and valid, I understand completely where you all are coming from. I was also very upset and confused when I saw the website, and there were no links to the studies or credits to the labs or the people that worked behind the scenes to make RFLCT happen, it was very confusing and lacking a lot of information. They are updating it now, and after it is updated I will stream and I will answer everything and talk about my experience."

The update, which didn't really take a position or respond to the backlash, comes after many people criticized RFLCT for making dubious claims about the negative medical impact of blue lights from screens on its website. Many people, including some dermatologists, questioned the companies claims that blue light from screens can damage your skin and that RFLCT will protect your skin from damage.

According to Michelle Wong of labmuffinbeautyscience, a cosmetic chemist with a PhD in chemistry, blue light is not damaging to your skin, with the sun being much more dangerous. She also explained that if you do want to protect yourself from dangerous ultraviolet light, a better thing to do would be to buy lotions or products win SPF/sunscreen in them, not to buy Rae's RFLCT skin products to protect you.

Many also pointed out that the site said in the terms of service section that the company is "not responsible if information made available on this site is not accurate, complete, or current" and further stated "the material on this site is provided for general information only and should not be relied upon or used as the sole basis for making decisions without consulting primary, more accurate, more complete or more timely sources of information."

Both of those claims in the TOS rubbed people the wrong way when combined with the shotty sources cited by the rest of the website to back up the claims that blue light is dangerous. 

You can read our full coverage of the backlash here.