I didn’t set out to build a skincare brand. Like a lot of people in 2020, my plans changed overnight. I was laid off from my engineering job, and it was a tough moment. Everything felt paused—career, momentum, direction. What I didn’t realize at the time was that it would push me to finally try something I’d always been curious about. I started experimenting with skincare out of my kitchen. Around that time, I kept coming back to hops—an ingredient I’d encountered through brewing science. While most people know hops for beer, research shows the lupulin inside the plant is rich in antioxidants and skin-calming compounds. That small curiosity turned into Harper’s Hops Skincare. I used my engineering background to build thoughtful, functional formulas—focused on what actually works, wi...