Is Rodan + Fields just another scam?

Rodan + Fields is a multilevel marketing company whose sole goal is to provide beauty products to make you look younger.  

They only have a few categories of products, but they have a sleek, medical look and feel to them.  This makes sense, because the company was founded by a team of two dermatologists, Dr. Katie Rodan and Dr. Kathy Fields.

So did I get on board? This explains everything:

Though it initially started as a department store brand, the company expanded by switching to a network marketing model.  The medical cred’ of the founders gives the brand more legitimacy than your average anti-aging cosmetic MLM, and it definitely shows in the company’s popularity.

When you look at search engine data, you see pretty much exactly what you want to see with an MLM on the rise.  Over the past five years, search volume has been steadily rising.  

There haven’t been any major spikes that would indicate risk of a subsequent crash in popularity; just slow steady climb.  This is a prime indicator that this would be a good time to get in on this rising MLM, assuming their products and compensation plan look legit.  Are they? Let’s find out.

Products

So, what does Rodan + Fields actually offer in their products?  Broadly speaking, the company has four systems for personal care.  These are Sooth, Lash Boost, Unblemish, and Reverse.  

Sooth is Rodan + Fields’ moisturizing system for keeping your skin soft and pliable.  It incorporates a lot of the moisturizing and healing compounds skin and beauty enthusiasts like to see in products, like aloe leaf juice and several kinds of ceramides.  

The company claims that the Sooth system can be used on both oily and dry skin types if you vary how you apply it.

The Lash Boost is the most simple “system”–it’s just one product, and it’s supposed to increase the fullness and loft of your eyelashes.  It contains compounds like keratin, which can create stronger bonds in the hair fiber.  You actually apply it at night to your upper lash line; it’s not a standard mascara that you’d put on before going out.

If you haven’t caught on by now, Rodan + Fields is a company made by women, for women.  If you are a guy, you are going to have a hard time explaining the finer points of an eyelash rejuvenator, so take note of that now!

Getting back to Rodan + Fields’ products, their Unblemish system is an acne-fighting package that combines a sulfur wash with a witch hazel toner, a 5% benzoyl peroxide acne breakout cream, and an oil control lotion that includes an SPF 20 sunscreen.  

All of these ingredients are solid acne treatments; for example, cosmetic authority Facing Acne recommends using sulfur washes to treat acne and speed the diminishment of pimples that have already formed.

The centerpiece product is Rodan + Fields’ anti-aging solution, called Reverse.  Unlike other anti-aging solutions that fight wrinkles, Reverse is focused on the darkening and blemishes that come along with aging skin.  

Their brightening and lightening products don’t lay down layers of plastic polymer on top of your skin like many wrinkle-fighting competitors.  They use a blend of a lot of different compounds to lighten skin and even out blemishes, at least according to the company.

At this point, we reach the inevitable question: Do they actually work? As is virtually always the case with cosmetics, there isn’t much in the way of independent research, so you’ve pretty much got to trust the company.  

In this case, that’s a little easier, given the medical and dermatological expertise of the founders. But with that expertise comes a price (literally).  Rodan + Fields products are quite expensive, and there’s no doubt that the medical credibility of the doctors behind the products enables them to charge much more than they otherwise could.

Compensation plan

As for the income opportunity, Rodan + Fields has a fairly straightforward compensation plan.  The basic fee to start up as a distributor is $45, which gets you a retail discount of 25% and the opportunity to start enrolling people underneath you.  

To be an “active consultant” and thus be eligible for commissions, you need to maintain a monthly sales volume of 100 product volume.

Do that and you can earn 10% commissions (pretty good!) on your first-line sales through your downline distributors.  In months where you move over 600 product volume, you can earn another 5% commission on your second level of distributors and their sales.  

This applies to the first level, too.  This pattern continues as you climb up the rankings, assuming you can increase your total monthly sales volumes.  

Though this compensation plan looks pretty good, the high price of the product makes it tough for most people to make money. According to the company’s income disclosure statement from 2015, almost half of all consultants didn’t make any money in that year, and of those who did, the vast majority made only a few thousand dollars per year.

Recap

So, with pretty good products backed by two dermatologists and a pretty decent compensation plan, why do most people fail to make more than a little extra money as a Rodan + Fields consultant?

The answer has got to be the price tag, and the solution to this has to be in how, where, and to whom you market the products. Here’s a hint: you’ll have a lot more success at the golf club than at the discount store.

The market for Rodan + Fields is clearly people who care about their appearance, and who have enough disposable income to do something about it that’s backed by medical expertise, so think about that when you are making your business plan.

If you’re set on MLM, Rodan + Fields isn’t the worst one out there. But if you’re just doing it for the money, there are better ways to kill your day job.

You might like our coaching because it shows you the good life without peddling products to your family and friends.

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