Is Young Living A Scam? 4 Real Issues And The Honest Truth
Quick verdict
Young Living is not a scam. It is a registered company with approximately $1.8 billion in annual revenue that has sold real essential oils and wellness products since 1993. Four documented issues, however, explain why the scam question keeps appearing in search: two FDA warning letters for unauthorized drug claims, a $5 million class-action settlement in 2024 that required removing “therapeutic-grade” from all marketing, an income disclosure showing 72.1% of Brand Partners averaged $24 for the year with a median of $0, and an auto-ship subscription model that costs most Brand Partners more per month than they earn.
Key takeaways
- Young Living is not a scam or pyramid scheme – it is a legal, operational MLM company founded in 1993 that sells genuine products and pays commissions on real product sales.
- The FDA issued warning letters to Young Living in 2014 and 2022, both citing unauthorized drug claims made by distributors – but these letters do not mean the products are unsafe; they mean specific marketing claims were unlawful.
- Young Living’s 2024 $5 million class-action settlement required it to remove “therapeutic-grade” from all marketing; the company did not admit wrongdoing but the term no longer appears in product labeling or promotional materials.
- The 2024 U.S. Income Disclosure Statement (covering 2023) shows an overall median income of $0 across all Brand Partners, with 72.1% at the Associate rank averaging just $24 for the full year before expenses.
- The Essential Rewards auto-ship program – required to maintain active Brand Partner status – typically costs more per month than the average Brand Partner earns, making it a net expense for the majority of participants.
What is Young Living and why does the scam question keep coming up?
In 2026, “is Young Living a scam” generates consistent search volume – driven by a mix of people who have had disappointing personal experiences, people who have read about the FDA warning letters or the class-action settlement, and people who are being recruited and want an honest answer before committing.
Young Living is a multi-level marketing company founded in 1993 in Utah by D. Gary Young, who spent years developing essential oil distillation practices before building the company around a proprietary quality promise he called “Seed to Seal.”
The company is now headquartered in Lehi, Utah, co-founder Mary Young serves as CEO following Gary Young’s death in 2018, and the business generates approximately $1.8 billion in annual revenue across more than 100 countries.
The scam question does not come from nowhere. Four specific, documented issues create genuine conditions for the label – not legal fraud, but real patterns of disappointed customers, Brand Partners who lose money, and marketing claims that have been found legally indefensible.
This article addresses each of those four issues directly, alongside the one important overcorrection to watch out for: the tendency to conclude from the FDA letters and the settlement that the products are dangerous or worthless, which the evidence does not support either.
Is Young Living a pyramid scheme? The direct answer
The pyramid scheme label is the most serious framing of the scam accusation and deserves a direct answer before examining the real, documented concerns.
Common misconception:
✕ “The FDA warning letters prove that Young Living products are dangerous and the whole company is a fraud.”
✓ FDA warning letters address marketing claims – specifically, whether a product is being promoted as a drug without going through the FDA drug approval process. Young Living’s warning letters in 2014 and 2022 cited distributors claiming the oils could treat or cure specific medical conditions (including Ebola, kidney stones, and UTIs). These letters do not mean the products are contaminated, harmful, or fraudulent. Essential oils are regulated as cosmetics, not drugs, and the FDA took issue with them being marketed as something they are not – medicines – not with their safety as cosmetic or household products. A product being marketed with inflated health claims is a real problem. It is a different problem from being an unsafe or fake product.
As for the pyramid scheme question: Young Living generates revenue through genuine product sales – essential oils, supplements, household cleaners, and personal care items that real customers purchase. Commissions are paid on those sales, not on the act of recruiting alone. Young Living’s own policies state that Brand Partners cannot earn income from sponsoring alone – product sales must underlie all compensation.
That is the legal distinction from a pyramid scheme. The business has operated for over 30 years and generates $1.8 billion in revenue. Illegal pyramid schemes do not sustain that at scale for that long. The real concerns are different and more specific.
4 documented reasons the scam label keeps appearing
These are not speculation. Each issue below is drawn from official filings, published income data, regulatory records, or documented court outcomes. None individually constitutes fraud – but all four together explain why a significant number of people walk away from Young Living and reach for the word “scam.”
Distributors made health claims the FDA found unlawful – repeatedly
Young Living received its first FDA warning letter in September 2014, triggered by distributor websites claiming its essential oils could treat or prevent Ebola, cancer, and other serious diseases – claims for which there is no regulatory approval and no clinical evidence. The company responded, distributors were warned, and some accounts were terminated. Eight years later, in June 2022, the FDA issued a second warning letter – this time directly addressed to CEO Mary Young – citing distributor websites and Young Living’s own social media accounts for making unauthorized drug claims about essential oils, Vitality dietary supplements, and the company’s CBD line. Specific claims cited included suggestions that oils could address kidney stones, urinary tract infections, and seasonal allergies. The pattern of a first warning, corrective action, and then a second warning years later covering similar ground suggests the problem is systemic, not isolated – driven by a sales culture in which distributor health claims have consistently outrun what the company’s own policies and the FDA’s rules permit.
The “therapeutic-grade” marketing term was found deceptive in court
For years, Young Living marketed its essential oils as “therapeutic-grade” – implying a clinical standard that does not exist in any regulatory framework. No body – not the FDA, not the USP, not any international pharmacopeia – has ever defined or certified a “therapeutic-grade” standard for essential oils. In 2024, a class-action lawsuit (MacNaughton et al. v. Young Living Essential Oils) settled for $5 million on the allegation that this term constituted deceptive marketing. As part of the settlement, Young Living agreed to remove “therapeutic-grade” from all product labeling and marketing materials going forward. The company did not admit wrongdoing. But the term that had been central to its premium pricing and brand positioning for years is now gone. Consumers who paid a premium partly on the strength of that implied clinical distinction between 2017 and 2024 were eligible to file claims for up to $20 in refunds under the settlement terms.
Most Brand Partners earn less from commissions than they spend on required purchases
The 2024 U.S. Income Disclosure Statement – covering 2023 – shows that 72.1% of all Brand Partners are at the Associate rank, where the average annual income was $24 and the median was $0. The overall median income across all Brand Partners, including every rank, was $0 per year. Brand Partners who want to remain active and qualify for the full compensation structure are expected to maintain a monthly Personal Volume purchase through the Essential Rewards auto-ship – a recurring cost that typically runs $50 or more per month depending on the products ordered. For a Brand Partner at the Associate rank who earns $24 per year and spends, say, $600 per year on monthly Essential Rewards orders, the net financial position is a loss of approximately $576 – before any other business expenses. That outcome is not fraud, but it is a net negative financial result for the typical participant, and recruiting pitches rarely lead with this math.
The auto-ship subscription is difficult to cancel and frequently generates complaints
Young Living’s Essential Rewards program is an auto-ship subscription that processes a monthly product order automatically. To cancel, a Brand Partner or customer must explicitly contact Young Living and request cancellation – the subscription does not lapse on its own if you stop logging in or ordering through other channels. The BBB customer rating for Young Living sits at 1.94 out of 5 from 67 reviews, and a recurring theme in those reviews is unexpected continued charges after customers believed they had stopped their Essential Rewards subscription. Truth in Advertising (TINA.org) maintains an active database of Young Living income claim violations by Brand Partners, and the combination of difficult-to-cancel auto-ship charges and income claims that outrun the IDS reality generates a steady stream of the kind of consumer experience that gets described as a scam even when no individual act of fraud has occurred.
How does Young Living compare to doTERRA?
The two most common essential oil MLMs – Young Living and doTERRA – are frequently evaluated against each other by prospective buyers and Brand Partners. Both are Utah-based, both received FDA warning letters citing similar distributor behavior, and both have faced questions about income concentration. A side-by-side comparison helps place Young Living’s specific issues in context.
The comparison is instructive in both directions. The fact that doTERRA – Young Living’s most direct competitor, founded by former Young Living executives – received an FDA warning letter in the same 2014 cycle shows that the essential oils distributor health-claim problem is industry-wide, not unique to Young Living.
What is specific to Young Living is the 2022 second warning letter (which doTERRA did not receive in that cycle) and the 2024 class-action settlement over “therapeutic-grade” marketing. Those are Young Living-specific outcomes, not industry-wide ones. Neither company’s income structure offers typical participants a reliable path to meaningful income – that is a structural feature of both, and of the MLM essential oil category broadly.
What do real users say about Young Living?
User experiences break along a consistent line: people who engage with Young Living as product buyers, using the oils for fragrance, diffusion, and household cleaning, are more likely to be satisfied. People who were recruited on income expectations, or who received unsolicited health advice from a distributor and acted on it, are the source of most negative accounts.
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Is Young Living a scam – the honest verdict
Young Living is not a scam in any legal sense. The company is registered, operational, and has generated billions in revenue selling real products for over 30 years. It is not a pyramid scheme. The products are genuine essential oils and household items with a real customer base. The Seed to Seal quality commitment is more substantive than most MLM product positioning.
What is also documented and accurate: Young Living has received two FDA warning letters for health claims that distributors and the company itself made without regulatory support. It settled a class-action lawsuit for $5 million over the “therapeutic-grade” marketing term and agreed to remove the term from all materials.
Its own published income data shows a median Brand Partner income of $0 per year, with 72.1% of Brand Partners averaging $24 before expenses while their monthly auto-ship costs run higher than that. And its BBB customer rating of 1.94 out of 5 reflects a sustained pattern of consumer complaints, particularly around the auto-ship subscription.
None of that is fraud – but it is a documented record of a company where the gap between marketing representation and typical participant experience has been repeatedly, officially found to be wider than it should be.
Not a scam – but 4 documented issues explain why people keep using that word
Young Living is a real, legal company with genuine products and a large committed customer base. The scam label persists because of four documented patterns: a recurring problem with distributors making unlawful health claims (two FDA letters), a central marketing term found legally indefensible and removed under a $5 million settlement, an income structure where most Brand Partners net a loss after monthly auto-ship costs, and a difficult-to-cancel subscription model that generates consistent consumer complaints. These are real issues, not invented grievances – and they are worth taking seriously before buying or joining.
Read the IDS before you agree to anything
Young Living’s compensation plan documentation requires Brand Partners to share the Income Disclosure Statement with prospective Brand Partners before enrollment. The 2024 IDS data shows a 2023 median income of $0, with 72.1% of all Brand Partners averaging $24 for the year. Request this document before any conversation about income expectations. If the person recruiting you cannot produce it or redirects to success stories instead, that is itself a compliance gap under Young Living’s own policies.
Calculate your monthly PV cost before joining
Before enrolling as a Brand Partner, look up the current Essential Rewards minimum for the rank and commission structure you are targeting, and calculate whether your projected monthly sales will cover that cost and generate a surplus. For most people at the Associate rank – which represents 72.1% of all Brand Partners – the monthly PV cost exceeds what the average Brand Partner earns in an entire year. That math is available in the IDS before you spend anything.
Cancel Essential Rewards in writing and keep the confirmation
The BBB complaint history for Young Living includes a recurring pattern of customers who believed they had stopped their Essential Rewards auto-ship but continued to receive charges. To cancel, contact Young Living customer service directly, request cancellation explicitly in writing (email), and save the confirmation you receive. Do not assume the subscription will stop if you simply stop logging in or place no orders. Monitor your payment method for at least two full billing cycles after your cancellation confirmation.
Ignore health treatment claims from distributors
Young Living Brand Partners are prohibited under the company’s own policies from making drug claims – stating that oils can treat, cure, or prevent diseases. Despite two FDA warning letters and a standing company policy, distributor health claims continue to circulate on social media and in home event settings. No essential oil from any company is FDA-approved to treat any medical condition. If a Brand Partner tells you that specific oils address a health condition, that claim is outside what Young Living’s own policies permit and outside what the FDA allows for cosmetic products.
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Is Young Living a scam or pyramid scheme?
Why do people say Young Living is a scam?
The scam label circulates for four documented reasons. First, Young Living distributors have a documented, repeated history of making unauthorized drug claims – a pattern that generated FDA warning letters in both 2014 and 2022. Second, the "therapeutic-grade" marketing term that was central to the brand premium positioning was found deceptive in a class-action lawsuit and removed from all marketing under a 5 million dollar settlement in 2024. Third, the 2024 U.S. Income Disclosure Statement shows that 72.1% of Brand Partners averaged 24 dollars per year before expenses, while their monthly Essential Rewards auto-ship costs more than that. Fourth, the Essential Rewards subscription is difficult to cancel and generates consistent complaints about unexpected charges.
What does "Seed to Seal" actually mean and does it matter?
Seed to Seal is the Young Living proprietary quality commitment, covering the full supply chain from the farms where plants are grown through distillation, testing, and bottling. The company owns and operates multiple farms globally, which gives it more direct control over sourcing and processing than most essential oil brands. For buyers who care about traceability and sourcing transparency, it is a meaningful commitment. What it does not mean – and what the 2024 settlement makes explicit – is that "Seed to Seal" implies any clinical grade or therapeutic efficacy beyond what a cosmetic product can claim. The quality argument is defensible; the therapeutic-efficacy argument was not, and no longer appears in Young Living marketing.
How do I cancel Young Living Essential Rewards auto-ship?
To cancel Young Living Essential Rewards, contact Young Living customer service directly and submit your cancellation in writing. You can reach Young Living by phone or via the member website – request an email confirmation of your cancellation and save it. Essential Rewards does not cancel automatically if you simply stop placing orders or logging in to your account. Multiple BBB complaints cite charges continuing for months after customers believed they had stopped the subscription. After submitting your cancellation, monitor your payment method for at least two full billing cycles to confirm no further charges appear. If you are charged after a confirmed cancellation, dispute the charge with your card issuer and file a complaint with the BBB.
What are the best alternatives to Young Living for making money online?
If your goal is building an online income without a mandatory monthly purchase requirement, health-claim restrictions that limit how you can market, or a compensation structure where most participants net a loss, there are more straightforward alternatives. Ecommerce, affiliate marketing, digital product sales, and freelancing are all documented paths to income that do not require recruiting a team or maintaining a minimum monthly spend. Our full guide at alidropship.com/how-to-make-money-online covers each of these in detail with realistic income ranges and startup costs.
