Lofi Skin

Re-posting because my editor sucks. It’s me, I’m my editor. I promised I’d share reality, even when I don’t want to …this week is rough. It’s doing something new and being a small business; it just be like this sometimes. Emails to vendors seem like they go into a void, unanswered; people who used to like and share everything disappear (no, I’m probably not referring to you), suddenly what was working on social tanks. And you’re never really sure anyone is reading the captions…but they’re kind of cathartic, so you do them anyway.

Dates push out for no good reason; and sometimes that reason is your own sanity. Because maybe you’ve done a great job of shoving stress under the couch cushions, but it’s crept out and is wreaking havoc.

Yet product needs to get labeled, boxed, and shipped. Posts need to go up. Friends can’t be forgotten. Dogs need to get walked.

And, weirdly, it’s still exactly what you asked for, and exactly what you want to be doing. People are strange, indeed.

I’m here on purpose, and in spite of the hard days and weeks, I’m exactly where I want to be.

I promised I’d share all the feels…this week is rough. It’s just the reality of doing something new and being a small business. Emails to vendors seem@like they go into a void, unanswered; people who used to like and share everything disappear, suddenly what was working on socials tanks. And you’re never really sure anyone is reading the captions…

Dates push out for no good reason; and sometimes that reason is your own sanity. Because maybe you’ve done a great job of shoving stress under the couch cushions, but it’s crept out and is wreaking havoc.

Yet product needs to get labeled, boxed, and shipped. Posts need to go up. Friends can’t be forgotten. Dogs need to get walked.

And, weirdly, it’s still exactly what you asked for, and exactly what you want to be doing. People are strange, indeed.

I’m here on purpose, and in spite of the hard days and weeks, I’m exactly where I want to be.

Brands, products, consumers, users. All words that get thrown around meeting tables constantly.

Sometimes the meanings get lost. Dat is great, but it’s important to look for the meaning between the numbers.

The main message here? Keep touching grass. You’re doing just fine.

Meet the lineup! Ready to ship 8/24, ready IRL this Friday at PCT Dayd. Don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter to get entered to win REI gift cards, AllTrails subscriptions, and-of course-product!

The first three LOFI products are almost ready to head out into the wild. Here’s the starting lineup:

The Anywhere Balm Stick.
A multi-purpose, twist-up balm for wind-burned cheeks, raw knuckles, and chafed, chapped skin. Swipe it on cheeks, nose, knuckles, lips, cuticles, elbows – anywhere the cold, wind, and friction left a mark.

Lazy-A** Double Cleanser.
A unique oil to lather cleanser that actually washes away clean. Easily dissolve sunscreen, sweat, and other filth. No greasy film, no second step. Gentle enough for dry skin, amazing on oily skin, too. The Lazy-A** way to wash the day off.

NOT Soap Backcountry Bars.
Camp and backpacking friendly, this everything cleansing bar is made to be gentler on your skin and easier on the backcountry environment than traditional soaps.

Three products, a whole lot of problems they can fix. And this is just the beginning…

Let’s do this! Yesterday we talked about sun protection becoming system. There are more options than ever, because you asked for it. Even if you didn’t realize it!

Today, let’s talk about the measurements.

SPF and UPF get thrown around like they’re measuring the same thing. They’re not. One isn’t a timer, the other isn’t quite what most people think it is, and understanding the difference makes it a whole lot easier to choose the right gear for the way you spend time outside.

This one gets a little nerdy, but stick with me. I promise it’s useful.

Check out Dr Michelle Wong - Beauty Science for in depth communication on all things beauty, including the best there is on sunscreen!

Let’s do this! Yesterday we talked about sun protection becoming system. There are more options than ever, because you asked for it. Even if you didn’t realize it!

Today, let’s talk about the measurements.

SPF and UPF get thrown around like they’re measuring the same thing. They’re not. One isn’t a timer, the other isn’t quite what most people think it is, and understanding the difference makes it a whole lot easier to choose the right gear for the way you spend time outside.

This one gets a little nerdy, but stick with me. I promise it’s useful.

Everybody launched sun protection at the same time this year, and it wasn’t a coincidence. It also wasn’t dupe culture.

I spent a long time in the outdoor industry before I started LOFI. I sat in a lot more meetings than I’d like to admit talking about fabric commitments, consumer trends, and pencil down dates before you ever saw anything hit a shelf.

Here’s the thing: Those meetings look pretty similar between brands. They’re all on roughly the same calendar, reading the same data, and this particular category was pretty easy to walk into. But the reason they walked into it is you. You started demanding better sun protection, they listened. Then it took 2 years to catch up to you. Sunscreen has a pretty similar, but even longer, story.

What’s so interesting to me is the system that’s being built. That’s how we stay well when we spend a lot of time outdoors - systems. Mix and match until the right things converge together to be uniquely yours. It’s cool that sun protection is starting to have enough options that you can create a system the way you do when you backpack in changing conditions, or ride a full day in the backcountry. What works for you might not be what works for me, but it doesn’t need to; we just need the right options. It’s what we want to do for outdoor skincare in general - create products that allow you to build the right system and kit for you.

Tomorrow: what UPF actually measures, and why it is not the same thing as the SPF in your sunscreen…and why some people are going to be annoyed with me…