Melaleuca Review: MLM Scam or Legit Money Making Opportunity?

Finding an honest and real Melaleuca review is no easy task.

Some people are flat-out trying to promote it, while others know nothing about the products but still want to add their two cents.

Me, I didn’t just join but I joined twice.

Once in 2010, then in 2028, and again in 2023, so you can bet that I know the company and its products from almost a decade ago to what they are now.

I have also tried almost all of their products, and if I were actually into makeup, I probably would’ve tried them all.

So if you are looking for a Melaleuca review from someone who has actually joined and used the products, this is it.

And being that I only joined this as a way to make more money, I would like to share my thoughts on that too.

Then come the many questions.

“Is Melaleuca a scam?”

“Can you really make money”

“Is it actually an MLM?”

By the end of this Melaleuca review, you will have all the information you need to make a wiser decision.

So before you join, let me show you what to expect.

Melaleuca Review – Product Overview

Name: Melaleuca

Website: www.melaleuca.com

Type of Business: Network Marketing

Price: Around $80/month

Overall Rating: 2.5/5 stars

Melaleuca is a network marketing company that has a lot of controversies when it comes to understanding if it is an MLM or not. Regardless, you will still need to network/get others interested in your products for you to make any money. Recruiting is still the name of the game, and that is the only way you will be able to make money.

What is Melaleuca?

Melaleuca is a health and wellness company that was founded by Frank Vandersloot back in 1984.

I was a year old.

Going the organic route, Melaleuca has a wide range of products that consist of cleaning supplies to beauty and personal care type products.

The company does have their Melaleuca oil that some of you might be familiar with but they have now added many products to their collection.

I was a year old and I am now 35 years old, so you can’t argue that this company has at the very least a decent reputation.

But with some age comes many changes that include adding and getting rid of some products, but mostly with the way money is made.

Before we get into the business side of things, let’s see what the products are all about.

How I Found Melaleuca

Getting involved with this company was completely by chance.

Kind of.

It all started back in 2010 when my son had eczema.

Some of you might be or have been in the same situation, but that’s how I even heard of this company in the first place.

It wasn’t even me.

My other half was approached by the owner of the daycare my son went to and she mentioned this lotion that would help get rid of this skin condition.

I then got the call about this lotion and the explanation was followed by a “Can I get your credit card?”.

That’s when the spidey senses kicked in and I knew I had to be there.

Why couldn’t we buy the lotion there?

Well, that’s because it had some strings attached to it.

These same strings were what started us in this company and were very much our first experience with network marketing.

Multilevel marketing?

I’ll get more into that later but for now, let me go over what the company prides itself on.

Melaleuca Review – The Products

Melaleuca has a variety of products and is very similar to companies like Amway.

Now if you don’t know what Amway is, it is another network marketing company that uses the same types of products that Melaleuca offers.

From house cleaning products to bath and body to food.

They both specialize in the same type of products and they both have been around for decades.

Not many companies can say the same, and I think it might just be the fact that they offer more than just one item.

I won’t be going over every single product (because that’s just crazy) but I will be covering the most popular ones that I have tried myself.

So if you’re wondering how makeup and all those beauty products are, you are on the wrong review.

Now that that’s out of the way, let’s get into the same thing that got this company started in the first place.

Melaleuca Oil

This is what Melaleuca offered as their starting product so let me go over this first.

I will admit that I was never a fan of essential oils or any fancy creams but I did give this one a try.

I can’t remember what I was doing or how I got hurt but I did remember that we had some of this oil.

The cut wasn’t going away as fast as wanted it to, so that’s when I decided to give this oil a go.

It didn’t make my cut disappear, but it did make it go away a lot faster.

The smell is so distinct that even my 3-year-old son knows when we are using this oil.

Overall, I liked their essential oils and I still use them.

Bath & Body

Many products come from the bath and body collection with Melaleuca.

I have very mixed emotions about each of them so I will be going over the ones I tried and used a lot of.

Of course, I have the typical brand products to compare to so I will be making that comparison as well if need be.

For starters, let’s go with the lotion that almost forced us to join.

Renew Lotion

If you’ve ever heard of Renew lotion, this is where it comes from.

As I mentioned earlier, this is also the same reason I got involved with Melaleuca in the first place.

I would say that the lotion can moisturize the crap out of your skin but I can’t say that it cured my son’s eczema.

My other half seems to think it did but she thinks everything works.

She’s a placebo kind of person and I’m just real.

Now for me, I did notice that it moisturized my skin but isn’t that what all lotions are supposed to do?

I think that after using Renew, my skin got dryer and required me to use lotion daily.

I kind of cut back on it and even after a year, we still have 3 big bottles of lotion that need to be used.

Overall, I think the lotion is great but it will not work on all kinds of skin issues.

Will it cure eczema?

I think each person is different and what works for some won’t work for others.

At least that’s my experience with eczema and the many creams and lotions we’ve tried.

The Gold Bar

There are 3 different bath soap bars that you can choose from but the Gold bar is what most people promote.

• The Gold bar
• Platinum
• Pink grapefruit

With this product alone, there are several reasons why Melaleuca claims that it is worth the hefty price tag.

The Gold bar supposedly lasts longer than regular bath bars and contains a ton of natural ingredients.

From what I thought would smell like the gold Dial bath bar smelled more like Pledge wood protection.

Not sure if they still sell Pledge but I grew up with a mom that used that to clean everything.

The Gold bar does smell nice and I can say that it does last pretty long.

It lasts long but it does get a little soft way before it turns into a little piece.

And once it gets really small, it turns into some mush that will have you throwing it away earlier than expected.

The tests they conducted also only consisted of dipping different bars in warm water, which isn’t the best way to test them.

Overall, I still think the Gold bar is fair but not worth the price.

I prefer the gold Dial bar but that’s just me.

Cleaning

There is nothing wrong with the products we use to clean our house besides the fact that most of them use chemicals!

Melaleuca, claims to use all organic ingredients, so you can only wonder how good these products are.

I mean, chemicals are probably the reason why some cleaners work so well in the first place, right?

Well, let’s see how organic products work and if they work.

Household Cleaners

Having cleaning products is great for a network marketing business, especially if you’re a parent.

We need cleaning supplies to maintain our house and I’m sure a lot of you can appreciate the no-chemical deal with Melaleuca.

Let’s get into them and I’ll share my experience with you.

Bathroom Cleaners

Let me just say that all the bathroom cleaners smell amazing.

The Tub & Tile spray works great and it will leave your tub with some crazy shine.

It does require you to purchase a spray bottle from which you will mix the solution in.

Not that big of a hassle but I thought it would be great to mention.

This goes for almost all the cleaners, so be expecting to spend a couple of bucks on spray bottles if you do decide to join.

The Safe & Mighty toilet cleaner isn’t that bad either and it gets the job done.

This product might not ship everywhere and I don’t know why.

I did get it shipped to me before but for some reason, they told me it couldn’t be shipped the next time I tried.

Dish Washing

This is probably my least favorite of all the Melaleuca products.

It might have a nice scent but good luck in trying to get the grease out.

I thought I wouldn’t use Dawn again but I immediately pulled it back out of under my sink and I used the Lemon Brite to clean stuff outside my house.

I never tried the dishwasher detergent so I can’t give you an opinion on those.

As far as the Lemon Brite, you might want to pass on that one.

Laundry

Upon joining Melaleuca back in 2010 I found myself at one of their presentations.

The Melapower was the main attraction, and they compared it to Tide.

From the way it was presented, it seemed like one amazing product.

You use less, save money, and help the environment.

Sounded like a win/win/win situation but that’s not how it went with me.

The Melapower laundry detergent might have cleaned our clothes but the little capfuls weren’t enough.

On top of that, my clothes were starting to fade and look weaker.

And no, the fabric softener didn’t help with the smell either.

Do keep in mind that I tried this product in 2010 and again in 2019.

Nothing has changed like I was told it did.

Vitamins & Supplements

We all know that vitamins are not cheap.

With Melaleuca, it isn’t any different.

I tried the everyday vitamins but didn’t make it to using anything else thanks to a bad experience.

The daily vitamins had the same effect that every other vitamin had on me.

I felt kind of dizzy and if I took it in the evening, my heart would race and I could not sleep.

That made me stop taking the vitamins, so I have a bunch that is sitting in my medicine cabinet.

As much as I wanted to try the Peak Performance, I figured I’d stick to trying to eat healthier and do some exercise.

Food & Weight-loss

As far as the food is concerned, I liked the yogurt bars and the popcorn.

There are their Access exercise bars that were on the pricier side of things.

They surprisingly did not taste like cardboard and I did feel a little boost in energy but nothing too extreme.

The drink mixes were also not that bad but for the price, I wouldn’t say their worth it.

Overall, the food with Melaleuca is not too bad but not worth the price.

Didn’t get a chance to try the weight-loss section, so I’m sorry I can not provide an opinion on that.

Melaleuca Review – Overall Product Rating

I find the products with Melaleuca to be a hit or miss.

For the most part, I liked some but wasn’t too fond of others.

Some of the bath products I would use, none from the laundry department, and maybe some of the food.

Other than that, I don’t think they are worth the price from a consumer’s point of view.

Now I do have a different take on the business side of things when it comes to pricing but I will explain that a little further in this Melaleuca review.

The Melaleuca Business

Most people join any MLM business for the sole purpose of making money.

With Melaleuca, it isn’t any different either.

Now the big question still lies and that is whether Melaleuca is an MLM (multilevel marketing) business.

I guess this is a great time to address such an issue as this whole part of the review is on the business side of things.

So is Melaleuca an MLM?

The short answer…

No.

The not-so-short answer and better explanation…

Yes and No.

As confusing as it may seem, let me tell you why such an answer exists.

Melaleuca does not make money through a member who simply joins but through the products they purchase.

That’s the reason some claim it is not MLM but this is why I consider it an MLM.

First, the Melaleuca business requires you to recruit others for you to make any money.

Yes, you will make money through the sales made by the person you got to join but they aren’t laid out in regular old-fashioned MLM style.

The people you bring in will still be what you call a downline, and they will spread out in a way that MLMs are typically laid out.

You will have the chance to make money from the people who join directly under you as well as the people who join under them for “multiple levels”.

If that is not multiple levels, then what is it?

Does that make Melaleuca an MLM?

To me, that right there says it all, but to others, it still doesn’t make it one.

At the end of the day, this is an argument that will never end and not one that I am willing to lose sleep over.

I personally still think this falls under the MLM category, so we’ll just leave that there and move on.

The Compensation Plan

Melaleuca’s comp plan is not your typical multilevel marketing comp plan, but it is definitely one.

Unlike traditional MLMs, Melaleuca rewards its members through points that are based on percentages.

And yes, you can get paid through the multiple levels that make MLM what it is.

Customers Enrolled by You

This part of the compensation plan covers those you recruit.

For the first month of every new member you bring in, you will get 50% of the product points that they spend.

Come month two and you will make a different percentage based on the total amount of actively enrolled customers you have under you.

• 1-7 actively enrolled members will get you 7%
• 8-19 will get you 14%
• And 20+ members will get you 20%

The more people you have under you will make you money, so most members will aim at recruiting like a madman (or woman).

Customers Enrolled By Others

For every person that the person who brought you in brings in, you can expect a different commission rate.

There are organization commissions that will earn you 7% of product points purchased by customers who were enrolled by others.

After that, it will all be dependent on your commission rate, which is dictated by the level you are in.

Product Advocates start the pay scale, and you get paid on two generations.

Not bad.

The second level is Product Advocates II and you will get paid for three generations.

Product Advocates III gets you paid on four generations, and once you hit Director and above, you will get paid on seven generations.

This is as simple as the compensation plan for Melaleuca is but you can always see a full breakdown here if you want to know more about Bonuses and all that good stuff.

Memberships

There are two types of memberships when it comes to Melaleuca.

You can either be a regular old customer, or you can be “preferred”.

With preferred, you get discounts along with the chance to promote the company.

The Price to Join

To get started with Melaleuca, you will need to cough up $29 right off the bat along with a yearly fee of $19.90.

On top of that, you will need to purchase products that amount to at least 35 points.

The products all come with different points, but you can always purchase a savings pack that comes with more discounts and higher points value.

To hit that 35-point mark, I spent around $75-$90 per month to remain an active member of Melaleuca.

In total, you can expect to spend around $150, especially if you go with one of their savings packs for new members.

You gotta love some good marketing, but it sucks when it works against you.

Perks

What’s a solid company without any freebies?

Well, Melaleuca has theirs and they come in different forms.

As a parent, I’m all about savings and even making more money and Melaleuca gives you options to do both.

Loyalty Dollars

As a preferred member, you get points that they call Loyalty Dollars.

When you purchase different products as a preferred member, you get these dollars that can be used to purchase more products.

These dollars can not be exchanged for cash, and do not count toward your monthly points.

Learn to Earn

Another perk of being a Melaleuca member is that you can earn Loyalty Dollars by simply learning about the company.

Watch some videos that will teach you about the different products, and you will get paid.

This is not some $1 or $2 deal either as you can make as much as $100 worth of Loyalty Dollars just for watching videos.

Oh, and there are some questions that you need to answer at the end of each video, so do pay attention.

Discounts

Throughout the site, there is always a way to save.

You can check out their “savings” tab, or you can see them within the chosen category for specific products.

Melaleuca also almost always has a monthly promotion for new members, so be sure your up-line fills you in on this.

Instead of paying the $20 yearly fee, you can get in for just $1.

Earning Potential

Every company has a basic price point and they usually dictate how much money you can make.

With Melaleuca, you can expect to make around $1,000 if you bring 10 people in but I never got even close to getting that far.

You have to keep in mind that customers will come and go like it’s cool, which will leave you with more work to do.

Now if you can keep a good amount of members under you, things can be pretty nice, especially with all the bonuses they offer.

Melaleuca Review – What I Like

I know I am not a member of Melaleuca anymore, but that does not mean I don’t like anything about them.

There are several things that I like.

I can’t say the same for all MLMs but it is what it is.

I mean, I did give them a second chance, so that should tell you something.

1. Opportunity

I can appreciate the fact that you can sell products that you are already using in the first place.

Making money is always a great thing, and doing it with something you are using is even better.

Although I am not a huge fan of network marketing, I think this will beat any 9-5 out there.

And if you think about the price for the products and the earning potential, you will see that the pricing is not that bad.

2. Good Reputation

When it comes to business, the amount of time that a company has been around can tell you everything.

If a company has been around for only two years, there isn’t much you can get.

Now when one like Melaleuca has been around for DECADES, you can bet that they have a solid reputation.

Not many companies will come close to even 10 years, and Melaleuca has surpassed that by far.

On top of that, they also have an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau, which is always good to have under your belt.

3. Product Variety

When running a network marketing business it isn’t the easiest thing to promote when you are limited to just one product as most companies have.

With Melaleuca, you have hundreds of products to choose from, so you can bet that it is going to be quite an easy sale.

Now if you only have some make me look younger cream like Nerium, there’s only so much you can promote.

4. Nice Compensation Plan

Forget about all the arguing about whether or not Melaleuca is an MLM and let’s talk about how sweet their compensation plan is.

If you can get others to join you in this business venture, you can make a nice little income in the process.

I like the bonuses offered, but every network marketing offers something similar.

5. Organic Products

Having kids, organic cleaning products are the perfect fit.

Melaleuca has them, and one of the reasons I like them.

Now the real kicker here is the fact that they can clean.

Not to say that they can do the best job but I was expecting the products to fail, and they proved me wrong.

Oh, and the shower and tub cleaner they have will make your tub look shinier than ever before.

6. Cool Gear

I don’t know about you but I love me some solid branding.

On top of that, I like it when you can promote something without even trying.

Melaleuca, they have quite a selection of apparel and accessories that are geared towards the active lifestyle.

You can also get some cool banners to help promote your business.

What I Didn’t Like

With every good comes the bad.

Or at least things that aren’t so pleasant.

Melaleuca does not have the perfect company nor do they have the perfect products and service.

Not to say it’s a bad thing, but it’s just what comes with companies, especially in the network marketing industry.

These are the things I disliked, but I will be going over some of the complaints that other members have expressed.

1. Product Overload

This might be confusing because I had the products in the what I liked section, but this doesn’t pertain to the actual products themselves.

For me, the products just started to pile up faster than I could buy them.

Then I had to purchase more just to remain active.

Things were getting a bit out of control, and even if I haven’t been a member for over a year I still have Melaleuca products in my house.

2. Products Weren’t the Greatest

I get the fact that without pricey products, you can not make decent money.

Business aside you have some really expensive products.

However, the problem lies within the products themselves and specifically their laundry section.

I mention this because of the high praise and the little amount needed to get your laundry done.

Using that capful or even the pump was not good enough.

On top of that, I felt my clothes starting to weaken as time passed.

Even as a member, I went back to using some brand x stuff, so that should tell you a lot about their laundry department.

Besides that, there isn’t much I disliked so much that I had to get online and let it out.

Now some members did and I would like to share them with you next.

Melaleuca Complaints

No company is perfect and I’m sure we can all agree on that.

The main thing to take away from this is that some companies have deal-breaker-type complaints, while others have opinionated-based disagreements.

With Melaleuca, there are a few that others have mentioned and I wanted to show you them here in this review.

1. The Cancellation Process is Complicated

I have experienced this myself, but I’m used to this kind of stuff happening.

No one wants you to quit, but I can agree that companies should not make you jump through hoops to cancel your membership.

I can attest to this as I have gone through the cancellation process.

Twice.

I had to print out a form, fill it out, and then fax it back to the company to cancel my membership.

I can understand if this is 1990 but it is 2019 and I think this is very unnecessary.

2. Automated Orders

I completely understand the pain of this person, as Melaleuca will come up with a bunch of products if you don’t set your auto-ship yourself.

To avoid this issue, you can go into your back office and set up an order for those months when you forget to place your order.

3. Poor Customer Service

This is never a good complaint to have, but I find this to be common on a case-by-case basis.

When you get one human to talk to another human and there is a disagreement, you can expect a poor conversation.

Sure, the representative should be a little more professional, so I’m going to side with this complainer.

In the end, customer service is not easy to get right, regardless of what company it is for.

Melaleuca Review – Pros & Cons

Pros

• Has been around for decades
• Has real products
• Offers you a chance to make money
• Fair startup cost

Cons

• Products are pricey
• Does require recruiting
• Cancellation process sucks

Should You Join Melaleuca?

With everything mentioned in this Melaleuca review, I would say that everything is fairly neutral.

As far as products are concerned, I think they aren’t the greatest but aren’t the worst.

Now when you throw in the opportunity to start an actual business, you might look at things a lot differently.

If you can see yourself promoting these products and you are looking to do some network marketing, then this might be your best bet.

I have seen many other network marketing companies that aren’t as good as these guys.

Then you need to ask yourself questions like…

“Can I afford the monthly payments of $65-$100?”

“Am I going to work at building my business, or am I going to join and do nothing?”

“Is this the best work-from-home opportunity?”

If you can see a lot of good coming out of you joining Melaleuca, then I say go for it.

And if you aren’t into recruiting or any network marketing, maybe you might like something that doesn’t require you to do any talking.

Alternative to Network Marketing

I know some of you might be bummed out about the products, but this is not the only solution to your financial freedom.

Believe me, I was a part of this company and several others before realizing that this is no walk in the park.

All the trying, failing, and learning have led me to affiliate marketing.

Because you don’t need to talk to anyone or even own any products, I think this might be a better option for you.

It does require some knowledge, so you can learn more here to see how you can even get started for free.

That is what I do for a living and one opportunity that most people will never get a chance to at least try.

Melaleuca Review – The Final Verdict

Overall, I think Melaleuca is a lot better than most network marketing companies I have come across.

If you are set on doing or giving network marketing a try, I do believe that this is one of the best ones out there.

They have real products that are great for the planet, and they offer a compensation plan that no other company has to offer.

I might not be a member anymore, but I still think that it might be a better fit for you.

Besides that, I do hope that you found this Melaleuca review to be of great help to you and your future decisions.

If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments section below, and I will get back to you as soon as I can.

Thanks for reading, and don’t forget to subscribe!