I set out to solve a problem — my own.

My wife Gina and I started Schaf in our 50s, after our skin had been through hell. We did what the industry told us to: we bought more. A retinol here, a serum there. An oil to fix the dryness caused by the acid that fixed the texture caused by the cleanser that wrecked the barrier in the first place.

Then we asked the question the industry never encourages: what if our skin didn't hate us? What if it just hated the products?

So we stripped everything away. Fragrance. Essential oils. Actives designed to irritate before they heal. Gendered packaging. The 12-step circus. What was left became Schaf: a handful of multitasking essentials that calm, repair, and protect. A healing philosophy, not an attack philosophy.

Twelve years later — 4.9 stars across 1,200+ reviews, more than 70% of our customers reordering, shelves at The Detox Market in Toronto, LA and New York — we still mean it when we say less.

When people ask us for a complete routine, we suggest a cleanser, a moisturizer, maybe a serum. Then we tell them to stop. Because that's all you need.

~ Peter Schafrick