My Opinion On Multi Level Marketing Skin Care

Ok. Firstly, I just worked a 12 hour day, so if there are run on sentences or misspellings or wrong punctuation, I do apologize. I've had this on my mind ever since I read a particular facebook thread on an Esthetics community and it got my brain juices flowing and I had to write my thoughts/opinions down, other wise I wouldn't have been able to sleep, lol.

I'm probably going to piss off a lot of people, including a few people who are friends and family of mine, but in my defense they know my stance on the matter so there shouldn't be too much heart break on the matter =)

Today, I am going to tell you about Multi Level Marketing Skin Care companies, and why I (along with the majority the Esthetics community) dislike them all... for multiple reasons.

Don't get me wrong;

Most of these companies are great to work for/with. Such as Mary Kay. From what I understand they are a fantastic, super positive company who helps the community and women in need. As I'm sure IT works and all the other MLM companies are as well.

I have given some of these products a try. I'm always curious about new products, how they work and if they work, but all that I have tried thus far have fallen flat for one reason or another.

Here are a few examples as to why I dislike MLM:

Let's start off with RODAN+FIELDS, the bane of every Estheticians existence. Their most popular product is ProActive. (We fix the after math of ProActive, btw) They have famous actors and actresses who claim to use their product and the results are 'life changing'... well, let me tell you that is complete and total bull crap. Adam Levine ain't using ProActive to get his sexy face clear. I can guarantee you Mr. Lavine has received acne treatments, facials and possibly took medication (if he were grade III acne, or even grade II). I'm 98% sure that he along with most, if not all the famous actors and actresses say they 'used' the product and got paid a lot of money to say so. Pretty sure it went in the trash once the check cleared.

I personally used ProActive in my pre-esthetician days. It worked a little, but it was insanely drying and it actually made my face worse after a few months of use. Probably because they have you use an astringent...like straight up Sea Breeze astringent status people. HUGE no no. (I'll touch on that subject later)

Mary Kay...

I have sat through many Mary Kay parties, ever since I was little through my teenage years and even after I became an esthi (what can I say, I'm a supportive family member/friend).

Knowing what I know now, when listening to the MK Reps explain things to their party goers about their products and how the skin works, I silently rip apart their spiel. There are numerous erroneous facts that are in their presentation- which, by the way, MK gives their reps a script to say during their facial parties, so technically it's not the reps fault for their wrong facts, it's MK corporate's fault. Why are they giving their reps scrips with erroneous facts? To sell product, that's why.

IT Works.

I've tried numerous IT works products. And, as a whole... meh. Their wraps work...kinda. You can get a more effective wrap at your local spa for just as much money for three little itty bitty wraps. Their detox/cleanse, again, meh. IT Works Greens... it sure does taste good, but without boring you it has a lot of fillers in it such as Soy Lecithin, which by the way, is an inflammatory... and to me, the math on it is a little wonky when it comes to how much of the greens actually get absorbed into the body versus how much you pass naturally -your body can only absorb so much.

My Beef:

The majority of these reps are uneducated when it comes to skin sciences/physiology of the skin and product chemistry and some of the reps (not all) have massive 'know it all' attitudes and are pushy.

One IT works rep straight up told a Licensed Esthetician on FB that "Any Product that touches the skin are absorbed into the blood stream within 26 seconds of application..."

...Uhm, what??

That is completely false. And for your info, topical creams and lotions have less than 4% penetration rate and rarely, if ever, gets into the blood stream... think about it. Could you imagine if everything we put on our skin went straight into our blood stream? If that were the case, we'd be bathing in coffee rather than drinking it or for some of my wine drinking friends, would be filling their tubs up with vino.

Side note, I'm thinking people think this is true, because I had a client one time ask me not to put moisturizer on her because she was watching her weight and she didn't want the 'fats' to be absorbed into her body... smh.

Facts/comments like this is a common occurrence when perusing Facebook and Instagram when MLM Skin Care reps are advertising their products or answering potential buyers questions. And unfortunately, people believe it. And it kinda stinks because more than likely, these reps get this info straight from the company they are working for. And, I get it, why would you think the company you invested time and money into lie to you about their products and science behind it?

Again, it all comes back to money. But really, they should be truthful about their products rather than shovel crap to try to sell the product.

They are pushy...

Me personally, I get a handful of friend requests and insta follows who are MK, It Works, Nerium, Rodan+Fields, etc etc, on the daily. They see that I'm a licensed professional and think 'Oh! She's into skin, perfect target to buy my products or put on my sales team.'

I decline, nicely. But there are a few who are pretty darn aggressive and wont take no for an answer. Thank the social media gods for blocking.

And, yes I know it's a double edged sword. Those who are into MLM need to sell, sell, sell and recruit, recruit, recruit.

Which kinda stinks, because I feel that you're pressured (again double edged sword, ya gotta get paid somehow) to buy products that aren't as fancy or effective as you were lead to believe because the rep needs to keep his or her numbers up. This particular reason is why I refused to work at any spa's pre-self employment days who would make their esthetician's push product, even if said customer didn't need/wasn't necessary for their skins needs.

...which leads me to my next point, which is a pretty big one in my eyes. One product isn't made for all. I'll give you an example:

Rodan+Fields ProActive; According to the professionals at R+F, ProActive system will clear your acne, no matter what skin type you are.

No. No that's not true, for most people. (This is why any Esthetician you see will ask questions about your skin and put you under the mag light, feel your skin and give it a good looking at through the magnifying glass before putting together a plan of action that is best for your skin type.

They (R+D) go for the gusto and dry the ever loving crap out of your skin with cleanser, then dry it up even more with their so called 'toner' and then give you this watery, barely there moisturizer. This system may help with some people, but when it comes to acne clients, a customized home regimen is the most effective.

Drying out your skin because you're oily ain't the way to go. This is why most ProActive users skin gets worse; your skin eventually starts to overproduce oil since your stripping it of it's natural moisture, thus making you break out even more so than you did before you started using R+D's ProActive. That's why, when you look at an Esthetician's service menu, you will more than likely see the words 'customized facial' because your skin, is not the same as your friend's skin #biology #science.

Ok. I know. I've painted a pretty icky picture about MLM Skin Care. And I know, for some, this is how you make your living. And I say, you go girl... or guy. You found your niche.

I applaud you, especially if you've stuck with it for 6+ months. Sales is a hard occupation.

So, if you are a MLM Skin Care rep and I haven't lost you yet, this is my humble suggestion to you:

Educate yourself.

Research your product that you love to sell and probably use on yourself. Don't take the company's word as gold. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. You're obviously passionate about skin care, why not take that extra step and go to school, take your boards and get licensed. (<--- I mean this sincerely, I'm not being sarcastic).

And, please stop hounding licensed professionals to be apart of your team or to sell your product. There's a reason why you don't see those products in spas, salons, esthetic studios, etc.

Feel free to ask me or a licensed professional about these products. I'd be more than happy to give you my professional opinion and educate you regarding products that you sell and/or buy. =)