A controversial line of gamer-marketed "blue light protection" skincare products associated with content creator Rachell "Valkyrae" Hofstetter has been cancelled after strong negative backlash last week. The Rflct website is gone, replaced with a short message to those who were associated with the brand"
"RFLCT is no longer available. Thank you to all who played important roles to conduct research, develop products, create a brand and serve as partners along our journey. While we believe in the formulations created, after further reflection, have decided to move forward on new paths, effectively terminating the RFLCT brand," the site says.
Rflct was a line of gamer-focused products that was supposed to "protect against and repair blue light damage" caused by exposure to screens. The products, and Valkyrae, immediately garnered strong condemnation for promoting gaming-and-tech-branded pseudoscience with few, if any, citations.
There is no medical consensus that exposure to blue light through screens causes harm. Critics of the skincare line pointed out that there are even studies saying that blue light can have beneficial effects in normal doses. The Rflct site was later updated with links to studies, but it's clear that the damage was done.
You can read more about the controversy, and about the known science behind blue light, in our original story on the Rflct skincare line.
