Desiree Verdejo on clearing dark spots on deeper skin

Harlem retail gave Desiree Verdejo the question that became Hyper Skin. Behind the counter at Vivrant Beauty she kept hearing about brown marks that lingered after breakouts on melanin rich skin, with few products built to address that pattern directly. The result was a small line centered on the appearance of dark spots, combining 15 percent vitamin C with kojic acid and plant extracts, later paused in 2026 when funding did not arrive.

“I have dealt with acne that was consistently followed by large dark spots” Verdejo states the starting point without softening it.

A former corporate lawyer in New York, she left legal work to open Vivrant Beauty in Harlem, a boutique carrying Black owned brands that operated from around 2015 to 2018. Customers described the same sequence she knew herself. Pimples resolved. Dark marks remained for months. Much of the assortment addressed lines or dryness, while little addressed hyperpigmentation on deeper tones with specificity.

Hyper Skin began in 2019, self funded, with a single serum. The stated focus was tight by design. The brand describes itself as a clinical line rooted in diversity and joy, using the tagline Best Skincare For Dark Spots. What Face Value is testing here is narrower. Whether a vitamin C serum with bearberry, licorice, aloe and turmeric, plus kojic acid and vitamin E, can plausibly support a more even appearance, and what controlled data would be needed to say more. That assessment comes during a pause. In August 2026 Verdejo said the online store was closing after a year without raising capital, while discussions with possible partners continued.

You operated Vivrant Beauty in Harlem from about 2015 to 2018, and you have said little existed for dark spots on melanin rich skin, so what did that time behind the counter show you that law did not

Legal work taught close reading. Retail taught close listening. Shoppers came in describing a pattern I recognized. Acne from the teenage years, or hormonal breakouts after a baby, then large dark spots that persisted for months. They were not seeking older style lightening. They wanted their baseline tone to look restored, even and clear.

I want to recognize myself, and I want a product that addresses my particular concerns I used those words because they were accurate. In a crowded category I should not have had to hunt that hard. At Vivrant I watched needs surface in real time. Customers were gentle with skin and deliberate with spending. They checked labels. If a product stung or left a cast or overpromised, they did not return. I carried that into formulating. I wanted a product designed for our skin at the outset, not adjusted afterward.

The Hyper Even Fade and Glow AHA Mask combines 5 percent glycolic acid with 5 percent mandelic acid plus niacinamide in the store copy, so what does that weekly clearing add alongside the daily serum

Think of daily care as steady maintenance and weekly care as surface clearing. The serum is intended to support the appearance of tone over time. The mask is meant to make skin look clearer in the short term by lifting buildup that can make skin appear dull and pores appear congested.

The acid pairing has a rationale. Glycolic acid is a small molecule that acts fast at the surface, which can cause tingling. Mandelic acid is larger and slower, and sensitive skin often tolerates it better. At 5 percent each, the pair is there to clear the look of congested pores and brighten the look of dull skin without physical scrubbing. You rinse, pat dry, and skin appears smoother and takes serum more uniformly. My suggested rhythm is restrained. Not nightly. Once or twice weekly. Observe response. Making something that our community says truly helps them has certainly been the most rewarding part When a customer reports that her marks appear softer and she uses less makeup, that outcome matters.

Your first formula in 2019 was the Hyper Clear Brightening Clearing Vitamin C Serum with 15 percent vitamin C, self funded and tested across many tones for four months, so why begin with that plant plus clinical pairing

I started with my own pattern. I dealt with acne that routinely left large dark spots behind. Vitamin C was the clinical base I trusted to support the appearance of uneven tone and visible signs of aging. Yet at 15 percent it requires buffering, particularly for sensitive skin and deeper tones. So we formulated around it.

Bearberry provides arbutin and licorice root provides glabridin, and both appear in traditional brightening blends aimed at the look of dark spots. Kojic acid, produced by fermentation, serves the same cosmetic purpose. Then aloe and turmeric were added to support the appearance of reduced redness while the serum works. After loving skincare yet feeling left out of the club, I built the brand that we deserve One that stays grounded in realness For me realness meant potency that remained gentle enough for consistent use. We observed it on people across many tones for four months before launch because evenness looks different across tones and lighting conditions.

You have said dermatologists and chemists receive little training on melanin rich skin, which reflects your experience rather than an outside statistic, so how did that view guide testing and shade inclusive ideas like an invisible SPF

That view changed who we included in testing and what we rejected. If education centers lighter skin, then product testing should center deeper skin. That is why we assessed the serum across many tones over months, in daylight and indoor light, with and without makeup. A brightening appearance claim has limited value if it only appears convincing on fair skin.

Sunscreen exposed the gap clearly. Many formulas left a white or gray cast that flattened deeper tones. That is not universal invisibility. Our Hyper Daily Invisible for All SPF 50 Sun Drops were the response, 50 mL, with a patented brightening ingredient and desert sourced botanicals for a light wearable finish. Desert plants appeal to me because they retain water and endure sun. That logic suits a daytime formula. Protection only works if people apply it each morning. Without it, spots can appear darker again. Formulation is hospitality. It must suit the person using it.

Bearberry and licorice do quiet work on the look of spots, while aloe leaf and turmeric root calm the look of irritation, so how do you describe that balance to someone who doubts hype and reads each label

I name what each group may do and where the limits sit. Vitamin C and vitamin E are included to support the appearance of brighter, more even skin and to help address the look of environmental stress. Bearberry, licorice and kojic acid are included to support the appearance of fewer dark spots. Aloe and turmeric are included to support comfort, which counts because picking and scrubbing can make marks look darker for longer.

Erasure is not promised. Melanin is produced for a reason. Steady use plus daily sun protection may help skin appear more even. That is why our later Sun Drops were important. Ultraviolet light can make spots appear darker, so brightening without SPF is incomplete. I prefer routines people maintain. Gentle cleanse, serum treatment, morning protection. A mask once or twice weekly when skin appears congested or dull.

Sephora Accelerate accepted you in 2021 and the line later expanded to more than 250 Sephora stores, plus a 20,000 dollar award from the 15 Percent Pledge, so how did that growth alter how you sourced and steeped those botanicals

Volume demands more consistency from plants. A small pilot batch allows fast adjustment. A national rollout requires stable color, scent and texture across thousands of units. Our framing did not shift, clean, proven clinical ingredients and potent plant based ingredients for highly results driven, safe formulas. The rigor increased.

Turmeric can stain. Licorice carries a deep earthy scent. Aloe shifts with harvest. We wanted a light serum that layered cleanly with no gray or white residue. So we used standardized extracts and distillates instead of variable kitchen style infusions that change jar to jar. Vegan and cruelty free status mattered from the beginning. I am proud we retained that during growth. We are very pleased to have officially launched in 250 Sephora stores across the country I said it then and meant it. It allowed our community to buy where they already shopped.

You often return to the phrases we deserve and rooted in diversity and joy, and you have said we deserve direct address, so what does joy look like in a routine centered on something as tender as spots

Joy does not minimize the concern. Joy refuses to be minimized by it. Much of the category addressed everyone except us, or addressed us through warnings. I wanted wording that was warm and direct. We deserve. We deserve direct address and care centered on us and attention to solving our concerns To me that was not a slogan. It was a correction.

In practical terms joy is texture and ease. A gel cleanser without stripping. A serum intended to layer under moisturizer and stay free of pilling. Sun Drops with no white cast that people will apply daily. Verdejo is a Latina and Black founder and our lens was skin of color, but the formulas were created for all skin types and tones Sensitive skin especially. When a routine feels harsh or heavy or ashy, use stops. Care should feel like care. Steady, gentle, repeatable. The appearance of spots may soften that way, not overnight, but across weeks of consistent use.

I loved skincare yet felt shut out of it, so I made the brand we deserve.

Desiree Verdejo

In August 2026 you said Hyper Skin had paused operations after a year without securing capital and that you were talking with potential partners, so what should readers grasp about caring for a brand through that kind of fallow season

I want readers to understand that the work was real and the pause is real. Self funding carries a brand partway. Community carries it further. National retail requires capital, inventory, marketing, staff. I liked skincare but felt excluded from it, so I started the brand I thought we needed. That deserving stands. The funding did not arrive.

You always need to keep going I said it in stronger periods and I repeat it now. Keep going can mean keep selling, or keep the knowledge and relationships and standards while seeking better conditions. We are speaking with a short list of partners about whether Hyper Skin can continue. I will not attach our name to something that fails our community. If we return, the lens stays, gentle for deeper tones and sensitive skin, clinical and plant based together. If we do not, the principle holds. Formulate for people who were overlooked. Test with them. Address them directly.

If someone finds the remaining jars, the serum first and then the mask, how would you have them use that pair across a simple week

Keep it simple. In the morning, cleanse with the Gentle Brightening Cleansing Gel, press in the vitamin C serum, then Sun Drops. In the evening, cleanse, apply serum, add moisturizer if needed. Stay consistent for weeks rather than days. Use a pea sized amount and allow a minute to absorb.

Then introduce the mask weekly. On clean dry skin, spread a thin layer, leave for the directed time, rinse thoroughly, then apply serum. If acids are new to you, start with mandelic led patience, one evening, then move to twice weekly only if skin stays calm. Avoid harsh scrubs and picking. Apply that SPF daily, even under cloud. That is the full method. Small repeated steps. The appearance of evenness may follow gradual routine adherence.

Closing note from the desk

What remains notable is Verdejo’s restraint with botanicals. She did not present them as folklore. She treated them as standardized extracts alongside a defined 15 percent vitamin C dose and an observation window across tones.

Hyper Skin aimed to address the appearance of dark spots on melanin rich skin with formulas gentle enough for regular use. Even paused, that logic is visible in the serum and mask pairing, and in a founder unwilling to loosen criteria for growth.

Product spotlight

The Hyper Even Brightening Dark Spot Vitamin C Serum is 58 dollars for 30 ml full size and 36 dollars for 15 ml travel size. The initial product for the appearance of dark spots and uneven tone, with 15 percent vitamin C plus vitamin E, bearberry, licorice and kojic acid, balanced with aloe and turmeric. Apply morning and night to clean skin before moisturizer, with SPF during the day.

The Hyper Even Fade and Glow AHA Mask is 48 dollars for 50 ml. A weekly rinse off mask with 5 percent glycolic acid and 5 percent mandelic acid to address the look of congested pores and dullness. Apply once or twice weekly to clean dry skin, rinse fully, then continue with serum and moisturizer. Pause if skin feels sensitive and restart gradually.