Inside Caldera + Lab with Jared Pobre, learning slow skincare by hand

27 botanicals went into one small bottle, and that number explains the whole method. Jared Pobre borrowed a serum for windburnt skin in Wyoming, sought out botanists, learned from plants that hold through winter, and built a short routine for men around slow oils and careful doses. This talk is about hands, hairlines, necks, and daily repetition.

A bathroom shelf works when the steps fit a real morning. Caldera + Lab keeps the order tight for men who wash, shave, moisturize and get on with the day, while the making stays slow and exact. Think alpine plants used to cold and thin soil, oil left to rest for weeks, and amounts chosen for visible effect rather than label effect.

Pobre did not start in beauty. He had built a self funded company in ad tech, married in 2015, welcomed a child and shifted from Los Angeles to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. He has described how air at high elevation left his skin very dry, and how longtime local men looked older from lack of moisture. The formulas sold to men made it worse, so he tried his wife’s serum and saw his face calm.

Reading the interviews and product pages, we were struck by how practically he responded. The work started in 2017 with consultants, laboratories, scientists and biologists. Launch came in 2019 with a single oil serum made from 27 botanicals, wild collected stock from the Teton range, and no borrowed base. The steps stayed few. The sourcing stayed long.

You tried your wife’s serum in Jackson after the men’s products you tried were just making your skin worse, and within a week your skin settled. What did that week at the sink teach you about feel, tightness and routine.

I reached for my wife’s products because the men’s ones I was using were just making my skin worse. In a week everything calmed. That surprised me. It all began with me borrowing my wife’s serum in Jackson. I never planned to start a skincare company from my own sink. I wanted my face to feel normal again.

Then I wondered, why doesn’t something like this exist for men. From 2015 to 2017 a clean prestige wave grew for women, with small brands doing thoughtful work, and nothing of that standard sat in the men’s aisle. I met other men in Jackson Hole buying $185 serum made for women, just as I had. And these were tough guys, not the sort you would picture buying high-end serums. That showed me it went past me. Men wanted something that worked, felt right, and did not demand a twelve step routine.

Your latest pair, The Great and The Hydro Layer, leads with patent pending plant based exosome tech plus fresh pack and site. Explain plant based exosomes in simple terms, and why match a water serum with a light moisturizer.

Put simply, picture tiny carriers from plants that help a formula spread and settle on skin so the routine feels even and light. We say The Great and The Hydro Layer are made with that patent pending plant based exosome tech. For the user, the value is feel and fit. Oily or combination skin still needs water and a shield against moisture loss, yet rich cream can feel wrong by midday.

So we matched them. The Great is the watery treat step, The Hydro Layer the light moisturizer that aids hydration and softens lines. Together they anchor the oily skin set, while The Good anchors the richer set for dry skin. Both share the plan: few steps, clear jobs, measured doses for firmer, smoother, even tone with use.

You sat with botanists and ethnobotanists to learn how local plants live through hard freeze, landing on Teton fireweed, yarrow and nettle. What did those hardy plants teach you that a normal supplier list never could.

Living through winter at elevation makes you respect what stays alive. I met with botanists and ethnobotanists and asked how native folks used the plants, and how the plants beat stress. Fireweed comes back after fire. Yarrow hangs on in thin soil. Nettle pushes through cold springs. To live up there a plant must guard itself with antioxidants and hold water well. That thinking fit skin exposed to wind, sun and dry air.

A catalog hands you a powder with a spec sheet. A place hands you context. We chose wild Teton botanicals since we could trace why they fit a mix for dry, mature skin. From nature, boosted by biotech, with trial results to back it. That line guides us. The plant leads, the laboratory checks the work, and the result has to show on skin.

You began work in 2017 and came out in 2019 with only The Good, after placing a first run of 10,000 units. Why lead with one 27 botanical oil serum for dry skin, and what made you reorder before year one ended.

In every company I have built, I have learned that taking shortcuts does not pay off. We did not want off the menu factory work or a recycled formula. We teamed with advisors, early staff, labs, scientists and biologists to craft it fresh. One serum, built mainly for dry skin, with true doses. We used the top amount for results, at trial strength.

The Good is an oil serum with 27 botanicals and a four week soak to pull out nutrients. It fits dry to normal skin in cold or rough weather. It became a national bestseller. What sold us was when guys began asking for more. They asked for a wash, a cream, SPF. That is when I knew this was not just me. When men in their forties, fifties and sixties study the data then return for the set, you reorder. Simple only works when the inside is strong.

That mix, Jackson grit with city polish from work life, is what we aimed to put in the brand. How does that mix live in scent, feel and pack, beyond just talk.

That mix, Jackson grit with city polish from work life, is what we aimed to catch. A guy might ski at dawn then take a video call by noon. He wants no shine and no loud scent in a tight office. He wants skin that seems rested and feels easy.

So the feel must sink in and sit clean. The Good feels lush as an oil serum, yet it should press in and leave skin sleek, not slick. The Great feels airy and slips neatly under cream. Scent stays low. The pack must take a gym bag and still suit the sink. Underneath that, there is discipline. EFFICACY. DISCIPLINE. RESULTS. We prefer to build fresh formulas and dose each plant at a studied level than buy a base plus a tale.

The Good suits dry to normal skin in cold air, while The Great is a watery, fragrance free serum for oily or combo skin in warm air. How should a guy pick one in a Clean Slate to serum to cream order.

Start with climate and skin. Our first oil serum is The Good. If yours leans dry to normal, if cold air or indoor heat dries you all winter, if past fifty you feel tight by lunch, begin there. Smooth it as the serum after Clean Slate, then add cream. A bit of palm heat helps it press in.

The Great is the watery twin. It was made for oily or combo skin and warm air, and it is fragrance free for touchy skin. It holds our patent pending plant based exosome tech. Apply it in the same slot, serum after wash, then a light cream like The Hydro Layer. Move Daily. Eat Right. Apply Skincare. That is the rhythm. Wash, treat, seal in moisture. No clutter.

A list gives you a powder plus a data sheet.

Jared Pobre

You say you favor trial strength doses over token dustings, and you shun menu based factory runs. What does that path cost in time and cash, and where does the user sense it.

It costs months up front and care all through. Custom means extra tests, tiny early lots, and vendors who meet your bar. Our very first lot was 10,000 units, which felt big for one serum and tiny to trade. We craft in the U.S., pull many plants from abroad, and get packs from Europe. That mix takes management.

Users sense it in steady texture and in how skin looks with daily use. The first trial of The Good lasted eight weeks in 2018 with 53 men aged 37 to 64, using tools, expert scores and self notes, with 96 percent noting healthier look. Data never beats a mirror, but it holds us true. Care should be as sharp as the men who use it. We back that with a pledge. Compliments are guaranteed or your money is returned

You carry Made Safe, Leaping Bunny and plastic neutral marks, with U.S. build and worldwide supply. What do those marks truly check, and where do gaps stay.

Made Safe sees past one label list. It scans item, method and chain for known harsh inputs, which tops a plain organic tag. Leaping Bunny confirms no animal tests on goods or parts, with vendor checks in place. Plastic neutral means we tally plastic used and fund equal pickup. We also choose recyclable packs where workable.

Tradeoffs remain. If you pull many plants worldwide and packs from Europe while you fill in the U.S., you own freight and fuss. If you ban animal tests, you need vendors who file the same proof. If you skip dusting doses, you buy more of the pricey goods. We accept that. We prefer to wed strict craft with a checked chain and recyclable packs over easy cuts.

Your buyer is oft 35 to 65, into food, fitness, health and long life, and shops for self. How do you coach a three step habit for a guy who hates hype and scans labels.

We keep the set brief and the proof in view. Cleanse with Clean Slate. Treat your hair with The Good or The Great Moisturize to hold hydration. Plain terms, same order daily, morn and night. Men here already log meals, rest and lifts. They understand dose and repetition. So we list what is in, why each plant made it, and what the trial gauged.

We also listen. At first, guys sought the rest of the shelf. Cleanser, moisturizer, SPF, eye serum. That drove The Regimen and later duos like The Power Pair for dry skin and the light duo for oily skin. Told sales hit 40 million dollars in 2025 with Nordstrom growth, after a 6 million dollar Series A in 2024 for study, staff, ads and shops. Scale aids, but the lesson stays fixed. A calm habit you hold beats a long one you quit.

Closing note from the desk

What we take home is method you can copy at the sink. Pobre did not use mountain talk as trim. He started with plants that take cold and drought, let them rest in oil, and set amounts high enough to count. The ask is small: wash, press in serum, hold with cream. The labor behind it is large: custom blends, domestic production, checked inputs.

Caldera + Lab wanted to hand men a brief ritual with the same care women’s prestige lines had already claimed. Seen up close, it is soil and patience moved to a shelf. The mountain sets the measure. The laboratory holds it.

Product spotlight

The Good is 110 dollars for 1 fl. oz. A rich oil serum with 27 botanicals for dry to normal skin in colder or harsh climates. After cleansing, warm a few drops between palms, press over face and neck, then add moisturizer to support a soft, smooth appearance.

The Great, 110 dollars. A light water based serum without scent for oily or combination skin in warmer climates, built on plant based exosome technology. After cleansing, apply in place of an oil serum, then add a weightless moisturizer to help skin appear balanced and smooth with steady use.