Clarity Clear Skin Essentials (Acne Spot Treatment)

The Acne Spot Treatment is sold individually or as part of the 4 step acne prevention system known as 'Clarity Clear Skin Essentials'.

Cost when sold individually $5.99* (savings if you buy the entire 4 step system)

The Spot treatment is step 4 in the system, the breakout treatment step. The breakout treatment also comes in cream form for larger areas. I'm reviewing this stuff because I'm nearing the end of a real nasty breakout.

According to Melaleuca's literature, the breakout treatment "helps loosen dead skin cell buildup and clear away excess oil-letting pores start fresh. Includes salicylic acid and the soothing benefits of Melaleuca Oil."

The literature for the system on the next page of their catalog states: "Clarity is the only acne defense system that contains the soothing properties of T36-C5 Melaleuca Oil" and "made with salicylic acid, helps to stop acne before it can even get started. Clarity breaks up dead skin cells and cleanses away excess oil, helping you avoid clogged pores-the main cause of acne. 

Melaleuca also claims: Participants using national brands like Proactive, Clearasil and Neutragena switched to clarity for 4 weeks.

• 87% reported a reduction in the duration of breakouts
• 86% reported a reduction in severity of breakouts
• 75% reported a reduction in the frequency of breakouts

My Experience
I tested this product on a particularly nasty breakout. It was one of those nasty things that grows and hurts as it swells to the size of a second head. These types always fill with puss and turn yellow making it impossible to resist squeezing. I know this is TMI, but it's necessary so I can explain how this stuff worked for me.

I applied some of this stuff to the spot while it was hurting. The Melaleuca Oil did have a soothing effect (I've written previously about the soothing effects of Melaleuca Oil).  The zit also started to dry out.

I must warn you about the drying effect of this stuff. You have to peal the label back to get the full directions where it says to start off using once daily. I missed the warning and treated this bad boy every few hours. However, it appears to be the drying out effect that gets rid of the puss and flattens the spot.

At the time of writing this I still have the zit, but it has at least gone flat rather than being a bump. It's also red (this is preferable to yellow in my opinion). The best part is that I haven't felt the need to squeeze for the first time ever.

It'll probably take  few more days to disappear completely, but usually my out breaks last for weeks (sometimes longer). This is a definite improvement for me.

Do I like this product? Yes, it helps.

Will I buy again? Yes! I need all the help I can get!

* price to preferred customers

The Vitality for Life publication

This is a free 31 page publication that came free with my latest Melaleuca order. It's all about health and contains lots of pictures of fit looking people. The aim of this publication is to teach us to "Achieve Vitality in every aspect of life" (quoted directly from the statement in the red band at the top of the page).

I found out from reading this publication that you can also get a free copy of 'Vitality Simple Steps to Your Ideal Weight' if you order one of their new weight loss packs. I'm intrigued about this diet because I've never followed an official weight loss plan before. I don't really need to lose weight, but I can always supersize myself to gain a few lbs, then test out this diet by trying to lose them. That's something to look out for in a later review if I ever get round to it.

Back to my review of 'Vitality for Life'. This issue (No.1) promotes some of Melaleuca's health products, but it mostly offers general health tips such as exercises to help slim your waste line and healthy meal ideas to boost metabolism for maximum weight loss.

I particularly liked the sections covering healthy foods that kids will eat and the low calorie cold weather comfort food recipes. Here is an example of low calorie cold weather comfort food:

Beef with Snow Peas
Calories per serving: 275 (with rice) 
Makes 4 servings.

• 3 Tbsp soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp rice wine
• 1  Tbsp brown sugar
• 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch
• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 Tbsp minced fresh ginger root
• 1 Tbsp minced garlic
• 1 lb. beef round steak, cut into thin strips

Directions

1. Mix together soy sauce, rice wine, brown sugar and cornstarch.
2. Stir-fry ginger root and garlic in wok. Add beef until browned. Add snow peas to beef during last 2-3 minutes.
3. Pour soy sauce mixture over beef and bring to boil while stirring, then lower heat and simmer until sauce thickens. Serve over 1/3 cup (97g) brown rice. (Adapted from AllRecipies.com)

I found this to be a fun read and potentially useful. I want to be healthier and I plan on using some of the meal ideas and doing the exercises that will supposedly slim my waist line. The problem here is that I'm still at the planning stage and far from the doing. What I really need is something that not only tells me what I should be doing, but also makes me actually do it. Melaleuca can't provide this, nothing can. This can only come from me. 

Melaleuca Oil

This is tea tree oil. It's meant to be applied to the skin (topically) to treat minor wounds. The chemicals in tea tree oil are supposed to work by killing bacteria and fungus.

Melaleuca claims that this essential oil has 6 properties. I have quoted the 6 properties listed on their website word for word. I'll review each property (claim) in green.

     1.   "Naturally Antiseptic: Helps reduce infection."

• I don't like using antibiotic creams unless absolutely necessary. I certainly don't like using them just to prevent infection. I've only tried it on minor wounds a couple of times because it's hard for a somewhat inactive person like myself to sustain injuries. Based on my experience I would say that Melaleuca Oil is a good natural alternative to antibiotic cream for minor wounds.

     2.   "Soothing: Helps relieve stinging and itching from bites, minor wounds and irritated skin."

• This stuff is very soothing for use after shaving (especially if you end up cutting yourself), but I must warn you that it can sting. I find it works great for preventing shaving rashes. 

     3.   "Safely penetrating: Quickly delivers relief deep into the source of discomfort."

• I applied some to my shoulder this morning. It does have a soothing feeling a bit like 'Deep Heat', but not as strong. It's also more natural and smells better. 

     4.   "Non-caustic: No caustic or harmful chemicals reactions."

• I know tea tree oil is more natural than many remedies out there on the market, but the above claim seems to be a big claim to make in this lawsuit-happy nation. I don't know if it's true, all I can do is speak from my own experience. I happen to be very sensitive skinned and I haven't had a bad reaction to it. 

     5.   "Effectively solvent: Safely dissolves many different substances like gum, resins and dirt."

• I don't know about this one. I have some kind of nasty residue on one of my counter top that I can't shift with anything. Guess what: This stuff didn't work either. In fairness, Melaleuca oil claims to dissolve gum, resins and dirt and I don't know what the nasty substance is on my counter. This stuff might work on something else like gum on clothing, but I haven't tried it yet. I'll have to give an update on this post when I find something Melaleuca Oil can dissolve.  

     6.   "Pleasantly Aromatic: Refreshes the senses with a naturally pleasing scent."

• I don't know about this one. I'm not overly fond of the smell of tea tree oil. I guess it's still better than the chemical smells of alternative products. 

I'm mainly using this stuff to prevent infection in minor wounds. I'm originally from the UK and people there typically don't treat minor, clean looking wounds with antibiotic cream. TCP is a popular remedy in the UK, but it's not widely available in the states. I've even read that the FDA will never approve TCP because it contains toxins (like the FDA has never approved anything containing toxins before). Anyway, this post isn't supposed to be a vent about the FDA, it's meant to be a review of Melaleuca Oil.  

In conclusion: I've found this stuff to be a good natural alternative to antibiotic cream and TCP for the minor stuff. It also appears to be a good and cheap alternative to some of the heated products used to treat muscle pains. 

Will I buy this product again? YES!

Renew Intensive Skin Therapy

Renew Intensive Skin Therapy: ($15.99 20 fl. oz*, $9.99 8 fl. oz*, $1.99 travel size-1 fl.oz*)

This review is quite short because I really like this product. It's true that people have more to say when they complain about a negative experience than they do about a positive one. Anyway, my experience with Renew was very positive so I'll keep it brief.

This stuff actually works as well as the literature says. My skin was getting very dry and I was starting to get old lady hands. I also have issues with sensitive skin and suffer from psoriasis. I noticed an improvement after just one day. This is the best hand cream I've ever tried ( you'll know I'm not just saying that to make the the product look good if you've read my other reviews).

It goes without saying that it also works on other areas of the body too. I've been using on my hands, feet neck and stretch marks. OK, it's not so good that it gets rid of stretch marks (at least not in a short time anyway, if ever). That would be a bit much to ask of anything that only holds itself out to be a moisturizer, but it has changed the feel of my skin everywhere.

The only downside is that I had the trial size and it got used up quickly.

Do I recommend this product? YES!

Will I buy it again? Yes, I've already ordered the biggest bottle (20 fl. oz) and it arrived yesterday. I've already started using it again and I love it.


* price to preferred customers

Koala Pals Children's

Koala Pals TM Children's Multivitamin Chewables 120 tablets $13.99*

This is a multivitamin designed for kids. Melaleuca's adult and child vitamins have a patent pending on a process that claims to deliver nutrients in a form that mirrors how they're naturally found in fruits, vegetables and whole foods (It says so on the label).

I'm not sure how well this 'patent pending' process actually adds to our health and neither does anyone else unless they do their research. It's also necessary to look at research with different findings to get a true picture. Does anyone believe that Melaleuca reps have done any research beyond the literature provided by Melaleuca? Not me! I wouldn't either if I ever became a rep because I have a life.

Claims aside, the vitamins taste of a nice berry flavor and my 7 yo likes them (So do I).

The bottle price is comparable to some store brands I've seen and probably worth a bit extra for a better vitamin. At least this is what I thought until I realized that kids my sons age need to take 4 of these things daily compared to the average 2 of other brands I've tried. This automatically doubles the price because you need double the dose.

One thing that is proven to work well for delivery of nutrients to the body are fruits, vegetables and whole foods. Even if this multivitamin turns out to be better, I'll probably stick to the cheap and nasty store brand from now on and spend my savings and healthy food like fruits, vegetables and whole foods.

Will I buy this product again? I might consider it when I need to buy something extra to reach my monthly Melaleuca point quota. I'll mostly consider this during cold and flu season when an better vitamin might be worth the extra.

Will I try Melaleuca's adult vitamins? Probably, but I've been secretly eating the child ones because they taste good. I hope the adult ones will be able to provide me with the same candy-but-good feeling. Watch this space.    

* price to preferred customers

Sol-U-Mel

So-U-Mel stain remover (priced $10.99 for 8 fl. oz* and $19.99 for 16 fl. oz*) is claimed by the reps to have many different uses.

 

Sol-U-Mel is a concentrate cleaner and stain remover. This means that unlike the individual spray bottles of cleaner you find in the store, it comes undiluted. You add your own water to the concentrate and mix it up in a spray bottle (Melaleuca will also sell you a spray bottle separately if you don't own one).

Sol-U-Mel claims that it's ingredients are so safe and natural that it doesn't need a safety cap and it doesn't have one. I can't say how natural, safe or environmentally friendly it is or isn't because I'm not a scientist, but I believe at least some of the claims made by the rep who sold it to me. The reason: I'm using this stuff in the USA and it would be economic suicide for any business not to use safety caps here unless there is some truth to their claims.

I believe this stuff is somewhat natural compared to other cleaners and that's all good, but does it work? Answer: It depends on what you want to use it for.


My experience:

• 1/2 cap in a spay bottle makes a reasonable air freshener if you get the lemon blossom fragrance. I can't speak for the original Sol-U-Mel because I haven't tried it. 
• 1 cap makes a decent glass cleaner that leaves no smears if use a dry cloth.
• 3 caps makes an adequate general kitchen/bathroom cleaner.
• 5 caps claims to remove tough stains. This has not been my experience. I found that 5 caps did not remove a blood stain from jeans. I even tried 7 caps and then tried it undiluted. It didn't work. 
• 5 caps did a mediocre job on my oven. It didn't shift the really tough black stuff that I can't shift, but to be fair that one might be far beyond any cleaners capabilities.
• 7 caps diminished a carpet stain.
• No amount of caps full worked on spilled paint even though the catalog claims it does.

I'm sure the die-hards who swear by this product will say that it works eventually if you find the correct cleaning technique. I'm sure this is true, but isn't this also the case for every cleaner out there?

In conclusion

Sol-U-Mel is no better or worse than similar products I've tried. I would recommend any concentrate cleaner over buying individual spray bottles because they save money. They're also better for the environment that throwing all those sprayers away.

I will recommend it as an air freshener, glass and general cleaner because it does an adequate job and saves money in the long term.

Will I buy another one? Probably not because Eco friendly, concentrated cleaning products are taking over my house and I don't even like cleaning. But I recommend this for anyone who needs a reasonably priced, average general cleaner.

To be fair, cleaning products aren't going to get a great review from me because the don't really interest me (neither does doing the cleaning for that matter).

* price to preferred customers

I've read a lot of stuff about this company since I became a customer. I've also read a lot of complaints on the net, as well as good reviews from reps and customers who swear by their products. What I haven't seen much of are non-biased reviews of individual products.

This blog is a work in progress because I am only one person and I don't have endless time and money to test all of their products in just one month. But at least you will be able to tell from reading this thing that I am a real customer. I'm also the kind of customer that has no loyalty to any business that wants my money and I will be brutally honest when I come across something I don't like.

To find out more about Melaleuca Products check out their website http://www.melaleuca.info