In this Nu Skin Review, I will give you the scoop on the company, history, products, comp plan and, most importantly, why 97% of Nu Skin reps are failing.

First of all, I want to say that Nu Skin appears to be a solid, legitimate company. There will no bashing in this review. They have been an MLM industry leader for the past two decades. They have reportedly created 700 millionaires globally and some sources claim the company is creating a new millionaire every 10 days. So how can you dispute stats like that?

The Company

Nu Skin was founded in 1984 by a brother/sister team (Blake and Nedra Roney), their good friend Sandi Tillotson and Steve Lund. Back in 1984, they started with a $5,000 investment and a dream that today has resulted into a billion dollar company that has over 820,000 active distributors in 48 different countries. This company has a long-standing positive revenue history with projected revenue for 2011 being $1.60 billion. Since its inception, Nu Skin’s mission has been to improve people’s lives through quality products, rewarding business opportunities and an uplifting, enriching culture.

Nu Skin is also very big on giving to those in need and supports humanitarian efforts around the world. Their efforts began in 2002 with their Nourish the Children Initiative which now provides about 80,000 meals every month to the children of Malawi. In 2006, the Nu Skin Force for Good Foundation founded the Mtalimanja Village project (this project was named by the people of Malawi – Mtalimanja means “long hands that give”). This Village Project created a “living classroom” for about 40 Malawi farmers and their families to be educated and trained in fish farming, drip irrigation, sustainable farming, forest conservation and tree farming. Founder Steve Lund stated that these programs are not about giving hand-outs — it’s about empowering people to become self-reliant and achieve a better life. As of this writing, the first student families have spent nearly two years in the village and will soon be returning to their own villages to teach these new principles to others.

The Products

In 1984, Nu Skin Enterprises was founded and had an original product launch of 12 products. Today, they have literally hundreds of products which address a variety of skin-related issues with many focusing on anti-aging. They also offer men’s care, body cleansers, body exfoliants, hair care, oral care, sun protection and cosmetics. Because of the enormity of the inventory, only the most popular and effective (as advertised) products will be explained below.

— ageLOC. To put it simply, ageLOC is the science of targeting aging at its source. Nu Skin collaborated with scientists all over the world (i.e., Stanford, Purdue and LifeGen Technologies) and was able to identify SuperMarkers called Youth Gene Clusters which are functional groups of genes that regulate how we appear to age (no other company is said to have identified these gene clusters). They state that ageLOC’s propriety science understands how to reset these Youth Gene Clusters to their youthful patterns of activity. Dr. Joseph Chang, Chief Scientific Officer of Nu Skin, states “There is no doubt that in order to retain a youthful appearance, genes must regain their youthful activity patterns. By analyzing human tissue at the genetic level, we’ve learned the crucial role of gene expression in retaining one’s youth.” The ageLOC skin care line was launched in January 2010 and has broken all records. As these statements about being able to reset genes to restore youth are nothing short of miraculous, many people are reporting their age being reduced by five, ten and some even say twenty years. With the skin care line being dubbed “the tip of the iceberg”, Nu Skin recently added a nutritional supplement called Vitality to its ageLOC line. This is a nutritional product said to be able to reverse the aging process (from the inside). Imagine what it would be like to “reset the clock”! This is causing quite a stir as you can imagine. People are coming out of retirement just to get back into Nu Skin and market this amazing product. There will be a LOTof money made on this one….

— Galvanic Spa. The Galvanic Spa is also part of the ageLOC system and is used to remove wrinkles and look younger. Galvanic treatments are nothing new and have been around for over a hundred years. Galvanic treatments use mild, pain-free electrical currents in combination with topical products that also have the same charge. So, by formulating products to possess a specific charge and using mild, safe and pain-free electrical currents of the same charge, the currents are able to “push” the product directly into the skin. These treatments, through a gentle massaging action, help to focus cellular energy and enhance circulation. These treatments also stimulate blood circulation, bringing a number of benefits to the skin. Until the hand-held controller was created, galvanic spa treatments could only be done at salons or spas and was a very expensive affair (many people paid hundreds of dollars per treatment). Nu Skin created their own award-winning, patented hand-held device that delivers all the benefits of a galvanic spa without leaving your home. They also reduced the price of the galvanic spa treatments down to about $10 per treatment and the treatments can be done in less than ten minutes a day. This has caused MASS appeal and the demand for this product is huge.

— Pharmanex. This isn’t really one product in particular but a range of products that offers a complete approach to anti-aging with nutritional supplements formulated to nourish and protect the body against the ravages of time. ageLOC Vitality is part of this Nu Skin product category. This vast product line carries a range of nutritional products such as: reverse gene therapy (through ageLOC science), cell protection, energy and stamina, heart health, immune support, mood support, men’s health, women’s health, bone and joint support, memory support, specialized needs (i.e. eyes, veins, detox), digestive health and weight management.

The Compensation Plan

Welcome to the “smoke and mirrors” part of this review. Seriously, that is how most network marketing plans come off when you research them. A lot of jargon and complex words and phrases all to make it sound “official” and really probably more than it is. The bottom line for making money in any network marketing company is VOLUME. You are going to have to sell on volume to make any money. Nu Skin pays out about 45% and they have a history of paying the highest percentage of commissions out of any billion dollar network company around. Check it out for yourself – this is public information as Nu Skin is a publicly traded company and they have to report this information (and their reporting has to be accurate).

When Nu Skin opened it doors in 1984 they had the “old school” comp plan… and yes they still do (stair step break-away). In fact, their plan has hardly changed in 25 years. That would scare quite a few people but then why should it? Reiterated again (from the intro section of this review): Nu Skin has created over 700 millionaires globally and is said to be creating a new millionaire every 10 days.

The company’s compensation plan is doing its job and seems to be encouraging the right kind of behavior from its distributors. Don’t be fooled by all the hype you read on network marketing companies. If they are a publicly-traded company, this kind of information is easy to find and very accurate. This comp plan is creating new blue diamonds on a weekly basis, which is a testament that the compensation plan is solid.

Why 97% of Nu Skin Reps are Struggling and Failing

Ok, so you have this supposedly good company with solid history, good products, good comp plan and solid plans for the future. So why the heck are 97% of Nu Skin reps failing miserably? There are reportedly 700 millionaires in this company, so what about the other 819,300 reps? You can bet that most of these people are at the bottom with no upline support and struggling and, if they have not already given up, are on the verge. Why? Please see the explanation below.

First, its NOT the company’s fault. Just look at the facts of this review. The only negative that can be seen with this company is that there are a LOT of distributors and the products have already been exposed to millions of people. But Nu Skin is always coming out with something new and are said to be way ahead of their competition in their niche. So you really don’t have to worry about that. As far as the number of distributors go… yes 820,000 is a lot, but with the economy the way it is and people needing to supplement their income, you have enough NEW people every day looking on the internet for home business opportunities that you shouldn’t worry about that either. It is said that now has never been a better time to start a home business. And the MLM industry has created more millionaires than any other industry out there.

It’s also NOT the distributor’s fault either. They don’t start a business with the thought of intentionally making it fail. They want money and success and all the things that go along with a successful home-based business. The secret is in WHAT THEY ARE BEING TAUGHT.

Leadership – How to Become One of the Top 3%

The only way you are going to beat that 97% failure rate and get the leadership status you want is by KNOWLEDGE. All I can say is learn, learn and learn some more. There are a LOT of people who are “getting it” and using what’s called “attraction marketing” to build very successful businesses. Do some research on these successful people (and attraction marketing) and learn from them.

You need to BECOME the leader and stand out. Believe in yourself AND your business. Don’t take the answer NO from yourself. From now on, do everything in EXCELLENCE and don’t expect anything less. Make this happen… there is no excuse.