Christina Atkinson, an independent consultant from Arbonne contacted me if I would like to try out their products. Before I said anything to her, I wanted to know more about Arbonne and also wanted to know what kind of ingredients they use. For some reason I didn't see the detailed ingredient list on their site (although I can see it now), so I asked Christina if she can send it to me. She was very kind and sent me the botanical glossary. I thought they use only these natural ingredients, so I said yes, I would like to get some samples.
Christina also sent me a pamphlet and I was very surprised when I found out that they are a multi-level marketing, "Amway" type company (MLM) which I really don't like and I am not interested in at all.
"Arbonne is a Swiss skin care products in the U.S. and includes a complete line of natural, botanical-based skin care, cosmetics, nutrition, fitness and aromatherapy products for men, women and children. Arbonne stands out as a company committed to providing pure, safe products that work. The formulas are: botanically-based - pH correct – hypoallergenic - dermatologist tested - never tested on animals - formulated without animal products or by-products - formulated without mineral oil -formulated without dyes or chemical fragrances."
That's basically what they say about themselves. Nothing new for me, for you, we hear the same things almost every day from other companies, although the reality is unfortunately different. In this case as well.
I sent an email to Christina and asked the following questions:
- Why do Arbonne use these harmful chemicals when there are organic alternatives that should be used instead?
- Where can I find certification about the purity?
- Where can I find the Vegan stamp?
- Where those botanical ingredients derived from?
- Who is the dermatologist who tested the products,
- what was tested: an individual ingredient or the finished formulation?
- how was it tested, in-vitro (in a test tube or petri dish, in an ideal environment), or was it tested in-vivo (on actual skin)?
- was the formula tested against placebo cream (like glycerin or petrolatum), or against nothing, or against another type of similar product?
- Why there is no "cruelty-free" or "leaping-bunny" logo on the products if they are weren't tested on animals?
And these are the answers I got from her:
"I have forwarded your questions and concerns to our head office for they are the ones who will be able to provide you with the certification of the products purity. As you can understand, we are a professional company therefore we need to also protect our Consultants. Especially in a circumstance where one is interested in writing a product review. One of our agents will be in contact within the week."
Ok...So does it mean she sells the products, but doesn't know anything about them? This is why she can't answer for my questions? I guess. I can't say it's fine, because she is a consultant and if she doesn't know the products, then how can she suggest it to anyone? Does it ethical?
Then I didn't understand what she meant by saying "we need to also protect our Consultants". So I asked her: protect from who/what? I am so confused.
Her answer:
"I just want to make sure you are provided a thoroughgoing and if in the end you are not satisfied with the answers you receive, I want to be certain your review is not a reflection of our Consultants. In addition, as you can understand there are fraudulent individuals about, so the information about product ingredients for reform needs to be engaged in care. I'm not suggesting this is your intent however, we do run into these situations."
I know that not the Consultants make the products, so obviously I won't blame them for anything, but it also means they don't want to take any responsibilities, if something happens. In an MLM style company you don't have to know anything about what you sell, just make lots of profit? ("Rhetorical question".) People at a multi-level-marketing company don't ask questions? (I guess no.) They just buy the products and sell it without knowing what they sell? (It looks like to me.) Then I understand why they protect themselves from any inconvenience and say it's not their responsibility to give proper answers. And if I'm not satisfied with the answer, then they just shrug their shoulders? Or if something happens to my skin? Then who will be responsible for that?
Sorry if I was too ironic. But...how can I trust them, if that's their attitude and policy or whatever? Who wants to buy from them a product if they are not educated about them at all and don't give me proper answers? If they can say how amazing the product, then why they can't answer for any questions? It's just not serious, if you ask me.
So I was waiting a week for the answers when I got this email from Arbonne: "We look forward to hearing your feedback on the service we provide to you. Please click on the link below to take our online survey and let us know how we are doing!"
Well, I didn't get any answers, so what is this? They didn't provide me any service. I just didn't understand. So I asked Christina about it and she told me (on August 1st) that she will go to the head office and get back to me the next day. Next day arrived, no message from Christina. So I sent her an email on August 3rd and asked her if there is any news. She said she is waiting for a call from the supervisor. Few hours later finally I got the answers. I copy it:
Dear Edina, Thank you for your email. We are excited to hear of your interest in the Arbonne products. I will be happy to assist you with your inquiries.
Arbonne does not use any harmful chemicals in our products. If you would like more information on certain ingredients, we will be happy to provide this information for you.
All Arbonne cosmetic ingredients are tested periodically for safety and effectiveness by industry experts. CIR (Cosmetic Ingredient Review) Board is the one to determine ingredients' safety. The CIR reports its findings to the CTFA (Cosmetic, Toiletries, and Fragrance Association). The CIR and PCPC (formerly CTFA) are unbiased and extremely reputable. Unlike the FDA (Food and Drug Administration), they are not government bodies. The PCPC (formerly CTFA) is the watchdog for all manufacturing and cosmetic ingredients. We also embrace the European Commissions Scientific Committee on Cosmetic and Non-Food Products (SCCNFP), which conducts safety evaluation on cosmetic ingredients.
Rest assured that Arbonne will take immediate action on any ingredient that is unsafe in any of its formulations when guided by the FDA, the CTFA and the CIR. In our normal course of business, we continue to research and develop the pure, safe, and beneficial products our Arbonne Independent Consultants and Clients have enjoyed for more than 32 years."
My thoughts, opinon: Yes, Arbonne uses harmful chemicals as you will see the ingredients. I highly doubt that any independent industry experts think that phenoxyethanol, Polysorbate-20, Stearamine, Cyclopentasiloxane, Cocoamidopropyl Betaine, etc are safe.
This is not documentation that we are able to provide as it contains a great deal of proprietary information relating to our formulas. We have been in business for 31 years and stand strongly behind our products and their quality. We would not offer anything but the best to our Consultants and their Clients, and especially not anything less than what we say it is. Again, the documentation on hand for testing contains sensitive, proprietary formula information; therefore we are unable to provide it.
My thoughts, opinion: Thank you very much, it tells me everything. So because Arbonne has proprietary information, they don't have any natural logo? That doesn't make any sense. This answer is basically useless for me. They are hiding behind this proprietary word, which -if you ask me- stinks. This is a common tactic by companies that don't want you investigating of them.
The Vegan stamp can be found on all of our nutritional products. We do not include this stamp on our skin care lines but it follows the same vegan policy. Arbonne formulates its products without animal derived ingredients or animal by-products, plus our products are human tested for safety, not safety tested on animals.
My thoughts, opinion: "It follows the same vegan policy", ok, but how can I beleive it if I don't see the logo? It's easy to say, but I need proof. They claim they follow the vegan policy, but they don't have this stamp on the skin care line products. Why?
Sourcing of all ingredients, specifically herbs and supplements, is proprietary. Arbonne sources ingredients globally. For more information about our ingredients, please visit the Ingredient Policy available online.
My thoughts, opinion: "Proprietary". Really? This doesn't sound serious. The same thing happened when Lousy Labels called FA to ask why they don't find natural ingredients in their "natural" body wash. They just gave them the same answer. Company who doesn't have anything to hide would give an information about their herbs and supplements, because they are proud of it. That's what I think. And what does "globally" mean anyways?
While we are unable to provide specific numbers or names of individuals, we can say that Arbonne contracts with dermatologists, ophthalmologists and pediatricians to review and test our product formulas before giving their, stamp of approval for the product. Specific details on how the test in done is proprietary information.
My thoughts, opinion: They contract with dermatologists, ophthalmologists and pediatricians, but they are unable to provide it. What should I think? Proper natural products don't even say dermatologist tested, because it actually doesn't mean anything. It would mean something if they could provide the information about those people or companies who do these tests. I really wanted to know more details about how they test the product, but again: "it is proprietary information". So keep your secrets to yourself dear Arbonne, I will chose companies who won't have secrets and the information about tests, ingredients, logos, etc are open to public.
There are hundreds of organizations around the world that certify product. At Arbonne, our testing and scientific discovery far exceeds that of most organizations and we elect to stand behind our formulas rather than align ourselves with outside organizations.
My thoughts, opinion: "Far exceeds"? What?? These organizations are the best, they don't even give their logo to anyone. A company has to earn it! With this answer I assume they can't get any logos for any proper organizations, because as I mentioned before those ingredients that they use have already been tested on animals.
If you need additional assistance, please feel free to contact us by email or phone. We are here to assist you as follows (central time zone): U.S. 1-800-ARBONNE (800-272-6663) 8:00 am to 8:00 pm Monday through Friday and 8:00 am to 5:00 pm Saturday. Canada 1-888-ARBONNE (800-272-6663) 8:00 am to 8:00 pm Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm Saturday (English) and 8 am to 4 pm Monday through Friday (French).
We appreciate everything you do and wish you continued success with your Arbonne business!
Regards,
DeVon T.
My thoughts, opinion: How can I feel free to contact them if they will not give any answers because everything is such a secret?
First of all it's not a real natural, pure line. I would say chemically-based products with natural ingredients, but I am not even sure if those botanical stuffs are clean. Although they say their products are "carefully reviewed to meet out high standards of purity", I don't know where those natural ingredients came from, where they were harvested, were they treated with pesticides or not and there is no certification about anything and they didn't give me information. There is no certification if it's cruelty-free, or vegan either. It is one thing to say it and another to prove it. The chemicals in these ingredients have already been tested on animals, so that claim that they don't test on animals just sounds funny and absurd.
I read somewhere as a comment that "all synthetic ingredients whether derived from "natural" substances or synthetic chemicals mimicking natural substances would simply be "synthetic" ingredients. So we should say "made from natural ingredients" or "synthesized from natural ingredients", which basically means the product is not natural. I agree with that.
Unfortunately all of their products (that sent me) are watered-down, which means the 80% of the product is water. According to Stephanie Greenwood, "when a formula contains water, it must contain a preservative. Most of them are known or suspected xenoestrogens, like phenoxyethanol, parabens and honeysuckle extract. Additionally, a company using cocamidopropyl betain in their formula isn't afraid to use other chemicals, so be wary of PEGs, "fragrance," TEA, DEA, and other harmful chemicals.
And here it is: the other thing that caught my eyes was that many of their products contain Phenoxyethanol, (toxic chemical). Needless to say I am very disappointed. Purity means that the product don't contain harmful ingredients, not even in small amount and as you can see they don’t live up to this claim.
Just for the future record: I don't have any problem with synthetic ingredients if they are safe and effective or neutral to the skin and health.
The products are overpriced. Are they worth the money? Looking at the ingredients I say no. You can get the same things for much-much cheaper. That's what I think.
Be aware: GREENWASHING!
This review will be a series about those samples that I got. I got 13 samples: 10 for me and 4 samples for my partner. (Arbonne has products for men as well.) I am here to inform you, therefore my opinion is completely honest, based on my experience, no matter how I received any items mentioned here. Although ingredients talk and I know these products are not completely safe and pure, I will try them out to give a proper information.
The Part II. will be about 3 products:
- Instant Lift Gel
- Age-Defying Neck Cream
- Cellular Renewal Masque
These belong to the RE9 Advanced anti-aging family.
Part III. will be about 7 products:
- Smooting Facial Cleanser
- Regenerating Toner
- Intensive Renewal Serum
- Corrective Eye Gel
- Restorative Day Cream with SPF20
- Extra Moisture Restorative Cream with SPF20
- Night Repair Cream
These also belong to the RE9 Advanced anti-aging family.
Part IV. will be about 4 products:
- Exfoliating Wash
- Shave Gel
- Post-Shave Balm
- Facial Moisturizer with SPF20
These belong to the RE Advanced for Men family.
I had to divide it for 3 parts, because it would otherwise be really long.
Arbonne - Not "Safe," Not"Pure," Not "beneficial"
Are Arbonne products the best skin care you can buy?These are my opinions which are completely honest and based on my own experience and knowledge. My statements are merely mine opinion.
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