As hard as I may try, I can't wrap my brain around the fact that Americans spend a whopping 60 billion dollars per year on stuff related to “weight loss”. This includes not only dietary supplements which are not working, but also exercise equipment that ends up unused in a corner collecting dust, and fees for gyms which are visited only a couple of times before the member quits.
In my Isagenix Review a couple of weeks ago, I revealed the big, elusive secret to weight loss. In case you missed it, here it is again: Don't eat so much junk food and work out, damn it! It could be that simple to lose some unwanted pounds or tighten up flabby skin here and there, but folks always are looking for shortcuts. These shortcuts are not only expensive but hardly ever work; not the ‘get rich quick schemes' to make you a millionaire in a couple of months, nor the concoctions out of some alchemist's lab which are supposed to just melt away the fat.
The latest FAD in the long line of weight loss miracles is “It Works! Wraps“, which is the subject of my It Works Wraps Review today.
What is It Works Wraps?
‘It Works' is a MLM offering a variety of weight loss and skin care products. The company was founded in 2001 by Mark & Cindy Pentecost and their only product was the “Ultimate Body Applicator“.
It took until 2005 before ‘It Works!' offered a line of supplementary vitamin products, and today the It Works supplements line is a comprehensive collection of nutritional solutions.
It Works products are sold worldwide by a network of independent distributors. In 2011 Mark & Cindy moved the It Works headquarters from Grand Rapids, Michigan, where it all began, to Bradenton, Florida.
In 2012 It Works! reached the milestone of $100 million in sales and prides itself with the Income Opportunity it provides to their independent distributors. The “G.O.O.D. bonus” and new mantra “Debt Free Is the New Sexy” are introduced to align the sales force with the corporate philosophy of debt freedom.
What are the It Works Products?
“Have you heard of that CrAzY WrAp ThInG?” is their slogan to introduce the main product, the “It Works! Ultimate Body Applicator”. This is how they describe it on their websites:
“It's a non-woven cloth infused with botanically based ingredients that you place on target areas of your body to Tighten, Tone, and Firm in as little as 45 minutes!
The special formulation of these key ingredients help this amazing product to deliver results that Tighten, Tone & Firm any areas of the body where applied*. The Body Wraps do NOT deliver “weight loss” results…they simply are a cosmetic type product specifically formulated to help the skin appear more tightened, toned, & firmed…as well as deeply hydrate and nourish the skin, reduce the appearance of cellulite, and redefine your body contouring. Results typically last 2-4 months depending on lifestyle and health habits”
All ingredients of the “secret concoction” are natural, which is a good thing, I believe. The Secondary product line consists of supplementary items like
- Hair, Skin Nails Nourishing Tablets
- Thermogenic Weight Loss Formula with Acai Berry
- It Works! Defining Gel
- Advanced Fat Fighter Formula
How does the It Works Wrap Work?
Well, it sounds simple enough. First off, you can apply the wrap to any part of your body you feel needs tightening of the skin, or treatment of hyper pigmentation etc. They say to clean the target area thoroughly, then apply the applicator flat on your skin. Next, wrap the supplied saran wrap about 2 to 3 times around to hold the applicator in place.
Set a timer for the desired time frame, between 45 minutes up to 2 hours. Now you can sit back, relax and be ready to tighten, tone and firm! * When done, do NOT wipe off the extra product; as much of the product as possible is supposed to absorb into the pores. Now you need to drink as much WATER as possible over the next 72 hours, at least half your body weight in ounces. If you weigh 200 lbs, drink at least 100 oz. of water PER DAY.
After 3 days, or 72 hours, you can repeat the whole procedure.
And here is the disclaimer
*Disclaimer: Tightening, Toning & Firming results & time frame from the use of the Ultimate Body Applicator Wrap AKA that Crazy Wrap Thing can and will vary from person to person. Results are not guaranteed.
What is the It Works Wrap Compensation Plan?
This is the one thing ALL MLMs have in common; a compensation plan that is so convoluted that it takes a college degree, better yet a PHD, to be able to decipher the mess.
I am not going through all the details here because I barely understand them. But let me try my best to give you a basic idea how you would start becoming an It Works distributor to make money with this company.
1) Sell the product to Retail Customers: That's the easy part; you buy the product at wholesale and sell to your customer at the suggested retail price. The difference is your profit.
2) Sell the product to Loyal Customers: It gets a little bit more complicated but is still relatively easy to understand. You sell to people that agree to place a three months auto-order, and you will earn a percentage commission, paid to you by It Works! Every loyal Customer order also qualifies you to participate in the Compensation plan. Congratulations, you just entered the It Works! Pyramid.
3) Become Commission Qualified: Now it gets to the point where the whole mess becomes very difficult to understand. For whatever reason, they no longer talk in dollars or percentages, but in BV's, PBV's, and GV's.
OK, if you enrolled with buying the Business Builder Kit for $99, you are automatically qualified. If not, you need to complete one of the following;
- Process your minimum 80 BV auto-shipment
- Have at least 400 PBV's for the month
Got it? Don't worry, me neither. Then it gets even more convoluted because they talk about “stairmaster” climbing up levels and stuff.
To climb up to the next level, you must enroll four (4) Loyal Customers that stay active. At that point, you basically want to start recruiting like crazy, adding LEGS to your lower torso (figuratively speaking, of course). The compensation plan now describes how you build your downline legs, and how to promote yourself up to the higher levels so you can make more money.
It becomes such a hot mess that there is a 16-page pdf in some small ass print you can read to decipher these levels. If you really want to jump in and try it, here is where you can spend the next 2 weeks trying to figure out how it all works.
The It Works Wraps Complaints
This is my favorite part of the show guys. It's where I break down some of the complaints that the reps won't tell you about. But I'll be happy to share them with you so you can make an informed decision. As always every company will have complaints because there are always going to be people you can't please. Are all these complaints valid and make the company a scam? Not always but I'll lay them out for you so you can decide for yourself.
The It Works Wraps Don't Work!
Normally I take these kinds of complaints with a grain of salt, because every company, even the very best, cannot please everyone. There will always be some kind of complaints about a product, no matter what kind it is. I didn't find a lot of It Works Wraps users that reported any major side effects. But I did find many that simply state that they see NO results whatsoever.
Responses like these from unhappy customers are not isolated cases, though. There are way too many not to be concerned, and it raises the question if ‘mummifying‘ parts of your body really works or if the ‘wraps are crap‘!
Every coin has two sides, as we know, and to be fair with my review, I was searching for responses to these complaints and found the site of a very enthusiastic distributor. Here is a short excerpt of what she has to say (the full version on her site):
“The wraps do/will work IF YOU FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS CORRECTLY! She stresses the fact of your water intake in the 72 hours following the wrap. She also says ‘The wraps absolutely will not work if you wrap and eat like crap! Eating fatty, sugary, processed, chemical laden food is putting toxins back into your body!'
BRAVO! She must have read my review in which I revealed the elusive big secret to weight loss. Now that we heard both sides, users and distributors, let us take a look what ABC News ‘Good Morning America‘ had to say about the wrap idea. Makes you wonder doesn't it?
Problems with Refunds & Cancellations
There is no doubt about that It Works! does have a big problem with their ‘Loyal Customer” nonsense that requires first time buyers to place a 3-months supply order. “Standing monthly orders' are indeed a common practice in MLMs, but only for folks that actually WANT to become a distributor, beauty consultant, or whatever the term may be, for the company.
I give the benefit of the doubt to some of the complaints. People may not have fully understood the implications of the Loyal Customer status. However, there are hundreds of complaints saying that this concept was not explained to them. Many placed the order online or via phone and have NOT been made aware of the small print, which is in fact on the back side of the order form.
Although It Works! is not BBB accredited, it received over 300 complaints in that regard and issued a stern warning about the company. I show you a couple of these complaints so you see what the people are saying.
I don't take ‘things' at face value and always try to verify stuff like this. Therefore, I simply visited a distributor's site and started to place an order. Nowhere could I see the ‘back side' of the form. However, I knew what to look for and found a very small-print “Terms” link and the back side of the form. But most people wouldn't so when they are charged automatically they're obviously not happy campers!
So, Is ‘It Works! Wraps' a Scam?
I wouldn't call it a scam. They sell tangible products people buy and use. The wraps seem to work for some people, whereas others see no results at all. The by-line of supplement products seems to be alright and I could not find any complaints about these products. ALL the products, including the ‘secret brew' the wraps are soaked in, are made from 100% natural ingredients which is a big plus.
The billing complaints on the other hand, is a completely different story. I am very skeptical that so many folks can make the same mistakes, and believe that this is just a cleverly designed method to convert unsuspecting customer into distributors of the product.
In my humble opinion, this is at least unethical!
Is ‘It Works Wraps a good Work at Home Opportunity?
Well, It Works! is a MLM with all the inherent cons. Only a few distributors, less than 2% to be precise, will make it to the top to make some real money. The rest will struggle to make enough to cover their monthly expenses. Many will simply give up after a short time when they realize that is very difficult to build, and most importantly, maintain their multi-legged down lines.
Looking for an alternative to It Works Wraps Opportunity?
If any of the complaints or the business of an MLM doesn't appeal to you and you're looking for another option you may want to consider My # 1 Free Work At Home Recommendation, Wealthy Affiliate. It's what's helped me learn how to make a full time income online. If you have patience and are willing to work hard, I'm confident it can help you as well. But if it doesn't you have nothing to lose because it's Free. So why not give it a shot especially if you were considering investing money in It Works!
In any event, I hope you enjoyed reading my review and would love to hear your opinion. It does not matter if you agree or disagree with me, but chime in and leave your 2 cents worth on your way out.
See ya.
Eddy with a y
(Yes it's that serious. lol)
ITWORKS! WRAPS HAVE 39 INGREDIENTS TOTAL. 11 OF THOSE INGREDIENTS ARE BOTANICAL IN NATURE. 28 OF THOSE ARE NOT. THREE OF THE 28 CONTAIN CONTAMINATES THAT ARE BY PRODUCT OF THE SYNTHESIS OF VOLATILE CHEMICALS INTO HAZARDOUS COMPOUNDS. OF THE 31 NON-BOTANICAL COMPOUNDS: 10 ARE KNOWN CARCINOGENS. 5 ARE KNOWN TO CAUSE SIGNS OF AGING. 8 CARRY A VARIETY OF OTHER TOXICITIES INCLUDING ORGAN TOXICITY, REPRODUCTIVE TOXICITY, CELL DAMAGE, AND THE PRODUCTION OF FREE RADICALS. 6 ARE CONSIDERED TOXIC TO THE ENVIRONMENT. 11 ARE SYNTHETIC COMPOUNDS 1 OF WHICH, TOCOPHEROL AKA NATURAL VITAMIN B, WAS PASSED OVER IN FAVOR OF A MORE HARMFUL SYNTHETIC VERSION OF VITAMIN B KNOWN AS TOCOPHERYL ACETATE. YOU MAY ASK WHY A COMPANY THAT TOUTS NATURAL INGREDIENTS SO FERVENTLY WOULD MAKE THIS DECISION? WE WILL ANSWER BECAUSE THE SYNTHETIC HAS A LONGER SHELF LIFE AND AFTER A FIRST FORMULA WAS SPOILING BEFORE REACHING CUSTOMERS, THE WOLVES IN CHARGE TRADED THEIR BUSINESS INTEGRITY FOR A MONEY SAVING ALTERNATIVE. ONE COULD SAY THEY POSSESSED ZERO INTEGRITY TO START. 10 ARE TOXIC TO SKIN THAT CAN, HAVE, AND WILL AGAIN CAUSE REACTIONS SUCH AS BLISTERING, SWELLING, BURNING, ITCHING SCALING AND HIVES. SYMPTOMS THAT, WHEN REPORTED, WERE MET WITH APATHY AND IN MOST CASES THE VICTIM WAS BLAMED OR MEANT TO FEEL THAT THEY USED THE PRODUCT WRONG, OR HAD A PHYSICAL DEFECT SUCH AS SMALL PORES WHICH CAUSED THE REACTION. THE 5TH INGREDIENT LISTED IS DENATURED ALCOHOL (ETHANOL) WHICH IS LITTLE MORE THAN GRAIN ALCOHOL WITH EITHER POISON, DYE, OR A BITTERING AGENT IN THIS CASE CAMPHOR. DENT. ALCOHOL CAUSES PORES TO SHRINK AS DO 3 OTHER INGREDIENTS. THE INGREDIENT DECYL OLEATE IS COMEODOGENIC MEANING IT CLOGS POURS. CLAIMS OF “DETOXIFYING” WHILE IN ESSENCE TRUE, THE MECHANISM OF THE “DETOXIFICATION” IS OVERLOOKED. INGREDIENTS PROMOTE CELLS IN THE BODY TO RELEASE THEIR TOXINS IN A HASTENED AND LESS METABOLIZED MANNER THAN YOUR BODIES NATURALLY WOULD. THESE TOXINS ARE THEN DUMPED INTO YOUR BLOODSTREAM WHERE THEY CAN GO TO ALL MAJOR ORGANS AND CAUSE ALLERGIC REACTION, NAUSEA, DIZZINESS, VOMITING, DIARRHEA, ORGAN DAMAGE, CARDIAC DISTRESS, AND MALAISE. THIS HAS HAPPENED TO PEOPLE AND THEY WERE TOLD THEY DID NOT DRINK ENOUGH WATER. THESE PRODUCTS ARE DANGEROUS AND GET MORE DANGEROUS THE MORE THEY ARE USED OR LONGER THEY ARE LEFT ON THE BODY. THE WRAPPING PROCESS ALONE CAN CAUSE CAPILLARY COMPRESSION WHICH WILL CAUSE BURST CAPILLARIES, MUSCLE AND NERVE DAMAGE, AND BLOOD CLOTS. YOU MUST CEASE SELLING THESE PRODUCTS OR YOU RISK HURTING A CUSTOMER AND INCURRING CIVIL OR LEGAL ACTIONS. ITWORKS! WILL NOT PROTECT YOU AND AFTER SIGNING YOUR CONTRACT, YOU GAVE AWAY YOUR RIGHT TO PASS THE BLAME TO THEM. THIS COMPANY IS A PYRAMID SCHEME. A PRODUCT THAT IS DANGEROUS AND WILL NOT SUSTAIN RETAIL SALES ALONG WITH PROFITS DRIVEN BY THE RECRUITMENT OF PEOPLE, OPPOSED TO SELLING OF PRODUCTS, AND AS COMPLAINTS MADE AT BBB.ORG (BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU) HAVE ILLUSTRATED A COMPLETE NON-INTEREST IN BEING A CUSTOMER\SALES DRIVEN BUSINESS. THEY COUNT ON YOU TO FAIL THAT IS WHY COMMISSIONS ARE COMPRESSED SO WHEN THOSE AT THE BOTTOM FAIL THEIR UNDER-EARNINGS GO TO THE PEOPLE ABOVE WHERE MORE UNDER-EARNINGS ARE COMPILED. THE FARTHER UP THEY ARE THE MORE LITTLE TRICKLES OF LEFTOVERS THEY RECEIVE. YOU MUST SEPARATE YOURSELF FROM THIS COMPANY IMMEDIATELY FOR YOUR OWN WELL BEING AS WELL AS THOSE YOU WOULD PEDDLE THEIR HAZARDOUS WARES. WE WISH YOU WELL. YOU ARE THE FIRST OF MANY WHOM AT RANDOM WE ARE CONTACTING. YOUR EYES ARE NOW OPEN. YOU HAVE NO EXCUSES. WE ARE WATCHING.
Man this comment would have been so more useful if it weren’t all in caps.
You’ve given folks some things to think about. Thanks for sharing. Next time ease up on the caps. It makes nearly impossible to read what you have to say.
I agree – I wish I could have read that but all caps made it impossible. I will say, however, that I was a customer for the required time I consented to autoship. When that time was up, I canceled and had no problem doing so. I did not see any difference.
Hey Becky,
It’s good to know that you didn’t experience the issue canceling like others did. But it sucks the product didn’t work for you but I can say I’m surprised based on what I’ve read online.
I am not sure even were to start. Products like this are so misleading and anytime the pay structure is so complicated and raises a lot of red flags it is time to stay clear of the company. There is only one way to loose weight and that is reducing caloric intake and increasing movement to use up the stored fat on your body. Eat to give your body the nutrition that it needs to function well and stay away form junk food and that includes the processed foods at the grocery store. I could get going on my high horse about this but it would be way to long and boring. I vote would be this is not a good product or company.
Hey Robin,
I totally agree with you. Well said! Thanks for chiming in.
I appreciate it!
I have never, ever believed in such devices! They are never what they are cut out to be, they are very expensive, and could also be very dangerous to one’s health. I could not, would not be involved with such nonsense. I could certify to be a yoga or Pilates instructor for the price they charge. Trust your own body, work out when possible, eat less and exercise more.
I totally agree with you Glori!
Thanks for chiming in. I appreciate it!
Hi Eddy, I must admit I got sucked into the It Works wraps and even though I saw some results on myself, it didn’t last. I also tried the business for a year and had promises that my sponsor would help me, but she didn’t. I finally closed the doors on ALL MLMs regardless of what they are and what they promise. Btw, I lost 20 pounds simply by cutting back on bad carbs, eating more fruits and veggies and exercising. No wraps, no fad diets or anything! 🙂
Hey Jana,
Thanks for sharing your honest experience with us. I think it means a lot hearing from a former rep. I’m not a big fan of MLMs either. But some folks swear by them and are obviously doing well promoting them. But I’m happy to see you were able to achieve the results you wanted by changing your eating habits and excising. That’s pretty much what all this boils down to. Folks don’t need magical pills, wraps or anything else these companies are peddling to lose weight. What you ended up doing is time tested.
Thanks again!
Hi Eddy,
Ah these crazy companies that keep selling crazy things because they promise the moon and maybe a few other planets as well, all for, and then the price tags start showing up…
They can and do make people crazy. So they spend lots of energy trying to get back the money they got roped into spending..so maybe they do work, because when you get upset you burn extra calories. Hmmm..new diet idea…get people to get really mad and that will burn calories good!
LOL..seriously, when I see prices on kits that are suppose to make you money but in order to make money either you gotta spend more money and try to sell lots of people on this idea that is now happily eating away at your bank account. They shouldn’t call them MLM’s, they should be called “The ravenous beasty that eats bank accounts’ business plan. MLM’s are too close to M&M’s and that is too close to chocolate for my comfort.
Chocolate in moderation is not a bad thing. And there is now plenty of research that shows that dark chocolate is good for you. It’s all about moderation.
The junk food, well that’s more about the addicting chemicals and the advertising that is addicting too, and a whole other long rant all on it’s own.
What people need to remember is the weight didn’t get on over night and so it stands to reason getting it off isn’t going to happen overnight. The problem is that at least in this country illusionary beauty is big business. The creams, the paint, the glitz that all comes off when it meets soap and water. That and this massive push to shorten people’s patients spans, for get attention span, it’s got the patients by the short hairs, you can see it in how impatient people get, in their cars, at the market, it’s a mess and it’s everywhere.
Beauty and fitness that stays and stays strong in life start with working on the inside and it will transform the outside. Now it may not turn a person back into what they looked like back in high school, but really, if you had the chance to would you do that? All that insecurity that’s inside, all the self doubt. And maybe the acne too? Who really wants to go back to that?
So while I’m beginning to be entertained by how crazy and insane these MLM’s are, I know there are people who are frustrated and looking for a way to change things, have a real income that will be solid. As you’ve pointed out, it takes work and that takes time.
Short cuts often lead to the edge of the cliff, at least in the movies it does, only in real life, no one carries a parachute on their back just in case.
Wendy
Well said Wendy! I tend to agree with most of what you said. You’ve made some great points. Unfortunately we live in a society where people don’t look in the mirror and acknowledge the things they need to work on. Instead they look to resolve this issues with temporary quick solutions which are a bandaid and don’t really address the real issues. And as a capitalist society this weakness will continue to make companies and folks tons of money. That said none of us are perfect and we all contribute to this so I won’t sit on my high horse.
Either way I appreciate your feedback. It’s always insightful Wendy and it’s great to have you back active here again!
Yeah, they have a tangible product. A piece of fabric treated with something that they won’t tell you what it is, but supposedly it’s natural and for $100.00 it can be yours. It probably cost them .75 to make. Kind of a scam by definition.
it’s sad that we’re in about the fourth decade of being health and fitness obsessed, yet people still don’t want to spend a couple hours learning how it all works instead of grabbing for some quick fix, lose-20-pounds-in-five-minutes gimmick. And as for natural, that’s another buzzword to draw people in because they think “natural” means “safe.” I assume it’s supposed to be some kind of plant or mineral extract on it, but people have allergic reactions, so it’s not good for it to be secret. Uranium happens to be natural as well. And about the water, there is such a thing as overhydration. Folks, it all happens from the inside, gradually, not quickly from the outside.
Thank you for letting me rant. The obesity problem in this country is fueled by this kind of crap (and restaurant entrees that could feed a family of four).
I would say no to this product because I don’t like throwing money away. I only know smart people anyway.
Hey Marilyn,
Great points and insight! I definitely couldn’t have said it better myself. And obviously I agree with you! Thanks for chiming in. I appreciate it!
I wouldn’t try it because I don’t believe everything I see. I don’t like to waste money on something that may not work, I would rather work out and eat right before spending unnecessary money.
I hear ya Vickie! Thanks for chiming in. I appreciate it!
You don’t have to try the wrap to figure out if it works; it does not. Anytime a diet gadget instructs you to alter your diet or activity level, you can bet the product is not doing the work, and all your lifestyle adjustments are.
Also, tightening skin? Well, anything that compresses flesh will seem to tighten it, until gravity reasserts itself. As far as I know, the only ways to really tighten loose skin is to restore its collagen to its pre-weight gain arrangement, which has to be accomplished inside ( not on top of ) the skin, or to have “nip and tuck” plastic surgery.
If people knew more about the human body, it would be harder for these companies to rip people off!
Hey Sage,
Thanks for chiming in with some great insight and points. Unfortunately people will always look for shortcuts wether it’s losing weight or making money online. And because of this fact there will always be someone out there willing to make money off this human weakness. But I agree that it’s important to educate people to help combat this. But sometimes even when the facts are laid out folks will still want to ignore them because of the lure of a shortcut. Sigh…
Hey Eddy.
It’s been a while but recently on Instagram, an It Works rep asked me if I wanted to join it. I said no. I used to but lost interest in it since it’s a temporary solution. Not an end all results.
I’ve known about the company for 3 years or more. Thanks for writing about it and thank goodness that I didn’t join it.
Hey Laurie,
Thanks for sharing your experience with me. And it has been a while. What have you been up to?
Your welcome Eddy.
It’s funny that when I mentioned to the ladies that I know about the company already, some of them tried to get me to join them. It’s like “What the hell is wrong with you?” It may work for them but it doesn’t work for everyone. It’s ridiculous!!
Other than gripping about that, I’m still doing promos. I was using promos as the main crutch so trying to get back into writing and waiting to get paid in order to use an auto finance through Uber to help me get a cheap vehicle in order to start working for them and Lyft. I’ve been learning a lot about Uber and Lyft from Uber Man and Brian Cole on Youtube. If you never checked them out before, you should. I know about the two companies and my hon once mentioned to work for Uber because he talked to some of his ex co workers that are working for Uber. Unfortunately, for both gender, they had “inappropriate affairs” with their customers. Uber man on Youtube says that he gets them all the time but he rejects the offer. lol You should interact with him when can. he’s a dad trying to make a living with Uber while Brian Cole also do Lyft. Ever heard of either one? Sorry for making you read this long comment. lol
And oh yeah. I no longer have Facebook. have to wait a year or two due to a situation that started happening in late October of last year. I had it since 2007 or 2008 and had to delete it. Still mad about it but can’t think about it and just move on.
Wow, it sounds like you’ve been going through some things. Email me sometime. I don’t want this article turning into a personal email. lol Thanks.
Hi Eddy,
Thank you very much for your review, excellent job as always. I really appreciate your straight forward comments.
My wife signed up for this company a few weeks ago after trying the wraps for first time and see acceptable results, we are no expecting to make much money out of this company but my wife has been very happy with her results so far ( my wife is already working her jewelry business very hard).
Keep up with the great job .
Best regards,
Jorge
Hey Jorge,
You’re very welcome my friend. I’m happy to hear your wife has seen results with this. And hopefully you guys can make some money with it. But even if you don’t it sounds like she’s happy with the results. So I’m happy for her. What jewelry company is she part of? Or does she make her own?
Thanks for the continued support.
Hey Eddy,
My wife is an independent consultant for Paparazzi Accesories, she did started with Paparazzi in July 2014.
Good company Jorge. I actually wrote a Paparazzi Accessories review a while ago and give them good marks. So she’s in good hands and will have success if she hasn’t already.