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The story
In 1984, Nu Skin founders Blake Roney, Nedra Roney, Sandie Tillotson, and Steven J. Lund launched a line of skincare products using only natural ingredients. The founders aimed to create skincare products and nutritional products without unnecessary fillers with the philosophy of “all of the good, none of the bad.”
The company first served the United States market and expanded operations to Canada in 1990. In 1991, the company began operations in Asia, starting in Hong Kong. In 1996, the company listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
In 1992, Nu Skin settled with five states that accused the company of deceptive advertising and overstating distributor income. In 1994, the company paid $1 million and signed a consent decree with the FTC prohibiting it from making deceptive product claims. In 1997, the company paid an additional $1.5 million to the FTC to settle allegations of unsubstantiated claims.
In 1998, Nu Skin acquired Generation Health, the parent company of the dietary supplement company Pharmanex. According to Women's Health Letter, the Pharmanex device was designed merely to help sell more supplements, since per Nu Skin's 2002 annual report, "as customers track their skin carotenoid content, we believe they will be motivated to consistently consume LifePak for longer periods of time."
In the late 1990s, Nu Skin invested in Big Planet, a multilevel marketing company selling Internet services. The New York Times wrote that Big Planet recruited people "even if they have little knowledge of the technology that they are supposed to be selling," with a Big Planet representative quoted: "I believe people who have never touched a computer before can become hugely wealthy in this business."
In 2009, Nu Skin began working with LifeGen Technologies, a genomics company based in Madison, Wisconsin. Nu Skin acquired LifeGen in December 2011. Nu Skin claims LifeGen's genetic database aided in the development of Nu Skin's products, launching the ageLOC brand.
In 2016, Nu Skin paid a $47 million class-action settlement, citing failure to disclose that its Chinese subsidiary did not register as the direct seller. Nu Skin paid $750k in fines to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission following allegations of a bribe that saw charity funds go to a Chinese politician.
In 2021, Nu Skin's subsidiary Rhyz Inc. acquired social commerce company Mavely and acquired Dallas-based skincare company BeautyBio in 2023. In 2025, the company sold the Mavely platform for five times what it paid for the company in 2021, in a $250 million transaction to Later, the Summit Partners company.
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Products
Nu Skin was granted a patent on a device developed by Pharmanex called a "BioPhotonic Scanner", which is designed to measure the carotenoid level in skin. The company launched its ageLOC anti-aging brand in 2008.
In 2014, Nu Skin launched the Nu Skin Facial Spa which received FDA clearance for over-the-counter cosmetic use. In 2018, the company introduced the ageLOC LumiSpa, a dual-action skin care device that uses a soft silicone treatment head to gently cleanse away dirt, oil, and makeup.
Nu Skin launched ageLOC LumiSpa iO, the company's first connected device, in 2022. LumiSpa iO is a smart treatment and cleansing device for customized skin care, popularized by Venus Williams. Nu Skin launched Nu Colour “Lash + Brow” in 2023, marketed as free of prostaglandins. In 2022, Nu Skin launched a line of Nutricentials Bioadaptive Skin Care Pumps. In 2024, the company launched Nu Skin RenuSpa iO, an FDA-cleared microcurrent body device with a connected app to view live insights during treatment. RenuSpa iO is the company's first integrated beauty and wellness device. In 2024, Nu Skin launched MYND360 as a supplement and topicals product line for cognitive health.
From Wikipedia’s article on Nu Skin Enterprises, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5