About Hyram Yarbro
Hyram Yarbro has been dubbed the ‘Gen Z Whisperer’ by The New York Times for the incredible influence he wields in the skincare industry. The success of his brand is evident in the millions of followers he’s amassed on Instagram and TikTok, along with appearances on Good Morning America, CNN, and numerous other outlets. The 24-year old Hawaii resident recently launched an initiative called Skincare by Hyram to help consumers make more informed choices about the products they use to maintain the health and appearance of their skin.
Hyram’s mantra is “ingredients don’t lie,” which centers on attention to detail and cutting through the noise and marketing hype of top skincare brands. In his entertaining and educational videos, he seeks to enlighten his viewers about “the good, the bad, and the ugly” elements of skin serums, face washes, and body scrubs.
GIOSTAR Chicago’s own Shelly Sood had the opportunity to sit down with Hyram on a wide range of skincare topics. Chock full of highly valuable insights, the interview has been separated into segments for easy viewing. You can read Shelly Sood’s full bio by clicking here
This is the fourth in a series of four interviews with Hyram. Visit our blog page to read the others!
Hey Hyram Yarbro! What’s the Deal with Clean Beauty?
“Clean beauty” is perhaps the most misunderstood, and overhyped “buzzwords” in the skincare industry today. In this segment of the interview, Hyram explains how the message has been lost or warped over time.
“The funny thing about clean beauty,” he notes, “is that it really has no definition. I was instantly excited when I learned about clean beauty because I was like, ‘oh my gosh, this means it’s going to be fragrance-free formulas and irritant-free formulas!’”
I’d say clean beauty is a movement that initially was inspired to be more conscious about the ingredients and sustainability surrounding skincare. So using ingredients that have less of a negative impact either on the skin or on the environment and also incorporating more sustainable business practices and packaging.
One of the biggest problems with the clean beauty movement is that people have developed a ‘chemophobia’ or fear of chemicals! There are some incredibly effective and safe chemicals out there, but when people want them to be replaced by natural ingredients, they are actually doing the environment a disservice. These natural ingredients have to be sourced and end up utilizing limited natural resources.
Brands have made statements about not formulating with specific ingredients that are commonly regarded to be “bad,” but in Hyram’s opinion have little substantial evidence actually showing the negativity, or that the potential toxicity of these ingredients.
Some brands are sneakily trying to market themselves as “clean products,” without actually making a change! That, or they are introducing ‘alternatives’ that a new and have not had the time to be properly studied!
Hey Hyram Yarbro! What’s the Deal With Sustainability?
When it comes to sustainability in the skincare industry, Hyram feels that small brands should step up to be the real drivers of change. Given their smaller size, they’re able to be more agile and adaptable and can change packaging, ingredients, and distribution in a relatively quick timeframe. In contrast, these beauty giants often must invest millions of dollars, and spend months (if not years) reworking their supply chain, branding, and other components of their organizational structure.
As with clean beauty, however, some of the larger brands only join sustainability movements for marketing advantages. Eager to “hop on the bandwagon,” they often just do the bare minimum to substantiate claims.
Hyram loves Gen Z’s willingness to make sacrifices for the health of the world, how they are more vigilant and particular about the products they buy because they genuinely care about their own health and the continued health of the world we live in! Gen Z is the generation who asks “how can we make a difference?”. They are making statements like saying
“show us the ingredients”
“show us the business practices”
“We want to know, and we will pick it apart to find out”
This new consumer behavior has brands being more careful than ever before! Hyram encourages his followers to “vote with your dollars,” meaning buy things that you love, things that do good for the world and you want to see do well! You have control over the marketplace!
Hey Hyram Yarbro! Which Skincare Brands Are “Doing it Right?”
During the final segment of the interview, we asked Hyram which brands are hitting all the right points, with good ingredients, affordable prices, honest marketing, and sustainability goals.
His list is as follows:
- Krave Beauty. “It’s a smaller, more indie brand created by a fellow skincare YouTuber. It’s a perfect balance of ingredient effectiveness, science-based knowledge, low irritation, low sensitivity. No BS, but also sustainable. They avoid ‘greenwashing’ and actually deliver formulas that are well-rounded from mindfulness of sourcing, and many other categories.”
- The INKEY List. “I love them as well, for really affordable good options for no-nonsense ingredients, but very information and science-based and not fear-mongering-based, but still having really sustainable practices.”
- CeraVe. “From an affordability and accessibility standpoint, I think they’re doing a really good job, and from a drugstore standpoint as well. Because when you go to the drugstore there are millions of formulas everywhere. They do a really good job of sticking out in the marketplace”.
GIOSTAR’s Position in the Skincare Industry
GIOSTAR continues to innovate and develop groundbreaking therapies for numerous disorders – including those impacting the skin. We developed an optimal formula of Bio-Active Molecules (BAM), that have proven effective in extensive studies involving psoriasis.
To learn more, please email skincare@giostarchicago.com.
