Over the last year I’ve been working with the incredible team at Terns in California. They’re a skincare brand built around marine-based ingredients designed to help skin repair from sun, wind, cold, and long days outside… the exact conditions anglers face day in, day out.
And before anyone assumes this is a typical influencer partnership… it’s not. I reached out to them because I needed products that actually worked for the lifestyle we live on the water. Most skincare isn’t built for anglers, guides, or anyone outside from dawn to dark. This one is, and I wanted to understand why.
So I visited their lab and production space to watch the process firsthand. What I expected to be a quick walk-through turned into a deep dive into marine chemistry, natural product research, and the meticulous care that goes into every Terns formula.
And honestly? It was fascinating.
First Impressions: Not Your Typical Skincare Facility
Walking up to the building felt like arriving at a university campus — security, badges, no open filming. But the moment I stepped inside, I understood why. Terns works closely with marine scientists, chemists, and researchers who treat skincare formulation with real scientific rigor.
This wasn’t about trends, branding, or pretty packaging. It was about solving a problem many of us who spend our lives outside know too well: our skin gets punished, and most products aren’t designed for that reality.
Meet the Scientists Behind the Formula
Eduardo Esquenazi and Dr. Paige Stout, who lead much of the research are serious scientists with backgrounds in bio-organic chemistry, natural product research, neurobiology, and marine chemistry.
For years, they’ve studied compounds made by seaweeds, sponges, and other marine organisms — not for beauty trends, but for treating real human conditions like cancer, malaria, inflammation, and oxidative stress.
As anglers, this matters.
We’re in and out of water.
We’re exposed to wind all day.
We constantly wash our hands.
We get blasted by sun from above and reflected glare from below.
Most mainstream skincare simply isn’t formulated for that kind of abuse.
This stuff is — and seeing the process made that obvious.
Why Marine Ingredients?
On the shelves were bags of dried seaweeds and sponges, the raw materials that eventually become the active complexes in Terns products. They’re sourced from clean, remote waters because seaweeds absorb everything — including pollutants and sunscreen chemicals people rinse off near populated beaches.
These marine plants and organisms contain compounds that help:
-
Reduce inflammation
-
Support barrier repair
-
Neutralize oxidative stress
-
Rebuild moisture after wind and sun exposure
These are the exact issues anglers face. Not vanity issues — functional ones.
The Big Question: What Damages Our Skin the Most?
When I asked what causes the most skin inflammation and aging for outdoor people, the answer was instant:
UV damage. Up to 90% of accelerated skin aging comes from the sun.
Add windburn, cold, water exposure, and endless handwashing on top of that, and you have a perfect recipe for cracked knuckles, dry cheeks, and raw skin.
After the lab, we visited the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, where Eduardo also works as a Professor of Practice — building relationships between science and industry and helping research move into real-world applications.
Standing on the pier, surrounded by fish and research equipment instead of tourists, it hit me how much this place intersects my two worlds: science and water.
It’s the perfect backdrop for a brand rooted in ocean chemistry and built for people who practically live outside.
Why I Care About This and Why You Might Too
I don’t promote many products, but when something is genuinely useful for anglers — not trendy, not performative, not gimmicky — I want people to know about it.
Our skin is one of our most important tools on the water… just as essential as our rods, reels, boots, and boats. It feels almost criminal to care for our gear more faithfully than the skin that comes with us on every single outing.
Terns fills a gap that has existed for a long time: skincare made for people who fish, guide, row, hike, hunt, travel, and spend more hours in the elements than indoors.
This isn’t about vanity. It’s about durability. Recovery. Longevity.
The same things we look for in our equipment.
Seeing behind the scenes made me appreciate that even more.
There’s a lot happening under the surface and I’m excited to share more of it soon.
