“Hey girl! How’ve you been? I know it’s been awhile, but I have this amazing opportunity for you that I think you would be so good at!!!” I know I’m not the only one that’s gotten this message, right? Someone from high school you probably never had a conversation with and barely remember, but are somehow Facebook friends because you’re friends with tons of randoms from your high school days? Yup. MLM “babes” coming at you with the “chance of a lifetime and the opportunity to be your own boss gal.” Oof. I’m all for, you do you, but unfortunately, there are many aspects to MLM (especially skincare and makeup brands) that are no bueno.
What are MLM’s?
Working from home, making your own money, flexible working hours all seem like amazing reasons to start with a new job, but with MLM companies, you have to be careful. MLM stands for multi level marketing and it essentially creates a pyramid (whoops buzz word there) of income where those at the top are making all the money and those at the bottom are essentially making money only for those above them. The gimmick is that you sign up under someone and start selling products, but you get others to sign up under you and they get others to sign up under them and so on and so on with you making money from those “on your team” beneath you. It’s all fine and dandy if you’re at the top and all of your worker bees are doing the work for you, but MLM companies often prey on women specifically giving them false hope. Many of these companies require large start up fees or costly investments to get your business started.
MLM and Skincare
The business itself can be pretty shady, but the products themselves are a whole other ball game. So many MLM skin care products contain an influx of fillers and that’s just the beginning. It can be easy to get caught up in the gimmick of it and they always show progress or before and after photos to back it up so it must be real, right? Nope. Most likely not. Know what’s in your skincare! You should always be checking the ingredients of what you’re putting on your skin especially if you’re trying out MLM products. Because of the fillers in a lot of these products, the amount of active ingredients is very little, meaning the product might appear to be working on the surface, but underneath the skin, it’s doing very little to combat whatever it’s advertised to do. If the ingredients are foreign to you, they might also be doing more harm than anything and can cause irritation or damage to the skin.
Do Your Research
Because of the structure of this type of business, the focus is always on the marketing and not the product itself. Obviously, any company’s focus is to make money, but you want products that are actually going to help you! Do your research if you’re considering purchasing from an MLM company. I’m not going to blanket say that every product sold by an MLM is absolute trash, but just be aware of the possibility that the products they are selling might not be all they’re advertising them to be. Skincare has effects on your overall health so treat it like you would the rest of your body (unless you’re a junk eating, caffeine drinking fiend like me, then do better than you treat your body). If you’re eating healthy, you check the ingredients of the food you eat, do the same with your skincare! Learn what ingredients are good for your skin type and buy products (no matter where they come from) that have those same ingredients you need. If you want healthy, radiant skin, MLM skin care might not be the answer.
By Sadie Young