BehindMLM originally reviewed LifeWave all the way back in 2013. Back then LifeWave was an MLM company selling weird “improve the flow of energy in the body” patches.

We also weren’t impressed with mandatory product purchases, steering LifeWave towards “buying club” pyramid scheme. Or in today’s terminology, an autoship recruitment model.

At the request of a reader, today BehindMLM is revisiting LifeWave for an updated review.

The Company

Circa 2014 Lifewave was headed by by founder and CEO David Schmidt (right). This remains so in 2026.

Some of LifeWave’s founding kookiness can still be found in Schmidt’s corporate bio;

The LifeWave Technology was born out of three years of intense research by David into the concept of being able to naturally increase energy and stamina through elevation of fat burning, utilizing wireless communication to the human body via phototherapy.

Wireless communication and phototherapy are very much real. Unless LifeWave is implanting people with sensors though (they’re not), the above quoted paragraph is misleading.

LifeWave is still based out of Utah in the US. Several additional office locations are provided, with the majority of them being in Asia.

LifeWave’s Products

LifeWave’s patches remain its primary flagship products. A few supplements and personal care products make up the rest of the catalog.

LifeWave Patches

  • X39 Patches – “by gently stimulating the skin with light, our general wellness, non-transdermal patches help you conquer your active life-style and pave a new way to vibrant health”, retails for $149.95 for a box of 30 patches
  • X49 Patches – “dedicated to elevating performance, accelerating recovery, and nurturing relaxation”, retails for $149.95 for a box of 30 patches
  • Y-Age Aeon – “unlocking relaxation, alleviating discomfort, and gently melting away tension”, retails at $79.95 for a box of 30 patches
  • Y-Age Glutathione – “your path to better wellness and to reducing your stress”, retails at $79.95 for a box of 30 patches
  • Y-Age Carnosine – “helping you ignite your passion for exercise and physical well-being as an integral part of your wellness journey”, retails at $79.95 for a box of 30 patches
  • IceWave – “release negative energy and reclaim your active spirit”, retails at $79.95 for a box of 30 patches
  • Energy Enhancer – “empower you to find your desired energy flow and embrace the feelings of whole-body health and vitality”, retails at $79.95 for a box of 30 patches
  • Silent Nights – “gently nurture restfulness, which cultivates restorative sleep”, retails at $79.95 for a box of 30 patches
  • Alavida – “harnesses and balances your body’s natural restorative energy to improve the healthy and radiant appearance of your skin”, retails at $79.95 for a box of 30 patches
  • SP6 Complete – “set your intentions for mindful eating”, retails at $79.95 for a box of 30 patches
  • AcuLife – “embraces the same LifeWave innovations to support equine vitality”, retails at $79.95 for a box of 30 patches

Supplements and Personal Care

  • Cellergize Evening – “a premium nighttime supplement designed to help your body power down, reset, and drift into deep, restorative rest”, retails at $79.95 for a tub of 30 servings
  • Cellergize Morning – “an energizing blend of essential vitamins, minerals, and amino acids”, retails at $79.95 for a tub of 30 servings
  • Alavida Revive Eye Cream – a “copper peptide-infused eye cream” that “help[s] brighten complexion, improve[s] the appearance of even skin tone, and support[s] the appearance of firm skin, retails at $89.95 for a 0.5 fl. oz. bottle (15 ml)
  • Alavida Nightly Restore Facial Creme – “supports overnight protection of your skin to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, brighten complexion, and even out skin tone”, retails at $99.95 for a 1.7 fl. oz. bottle (30 ml)
  • Alavida Facial Nectar – ” supports protection of your skin, while improving radiance and appearance with daily application”, retails at $79.95 for a 1 fl. oz. bottle (30 ml)

LifeWave products are also available in various discounted bundle packs.

LifeWave’s Compensation Plan

LifeWave’s compensation plan combines retail and recruitment commissions. Residual commissions are two-tiered, paying out both through a unilevel and binary team.

LifeWave Promoter Ranks

There are fourteen promoter ranks within LifeWave’s compensation plan.

Along with their qualification criteria, they are as follows:

  1. Brand Partner – sign up as a LifeWave promoter
  2. Active Brand Partner – generate and maintain 55 PV a month
  3. 1-Star Manager – generate and maintain 110 PV and 750 GV a month
  4. 2-Star Manager – maintain 110 PV a month and generate and maintain 1500 GV a month
  5. 3 Star Manager – maintain 110 PV a month and generate and maintain 2500 GV a month (at least one leg must be 1000 GV)
  6. 1 Star Director – maintain 110 PV a month and generate and maintain 5000 GV a month (max 2500 GV from any one leg, two legs must be 1000 GV, 1000 OL2L and min 1000 GV on both sides of the binary team)
  7. 2 Star Director – maintain 110 PV a month and generate and maintain 10,000 GV a month (max 5000 GV from any one leg, two legs must be 2000 GV, 2000 OL2L and min 2000 GV on both sides of the binary team)
  8. 3 Star Director – maintain 110 PV a month and generate and maintain 20,000 GV a month (max 10,000 GV from any one leg, two legs must be 3000 GV, 3000 OL2L and min 3000 GV on both sides of the binary team)
  9. 1 Star Executive – generate and maintain 200 PV and 40,000 GV a month (max 20,000 GV from any one leg, two legs must be 3000 GV, 3000 OL2L and min 6000 GV on both sides of the binary team
  10. 2 Star Executive – maintain 200 PV a month and generate and maintain 100,000 GV a month (max 50,000 GV from any one leg, two legs must be 15,000 GV, 15,000 OL2L and min 15,000 GV on both sides of the binary team)
  11. 3 Star Executive – maintain 200 PV a month and generate and maintain 250,000 GV a month (max 125,000 GV from any one leg, two legs must be 40,000 GV, 40,000 OL2L and min 40,000 GV on both sides of the binary team)
  12. 1 Star Presidential – maintain 200 PV a month and generate and maintain 600,000 GV a month (max 300,000 GV from any one leg, two legs must be 100,000 GV, 100,000 OL2L and min 40,000 GV on both sides of the binary team)
  13. 2 Star Presidential – maintain 200 PV a month and generate and maintain 1,500,000 GV a month (max 750,000 GV from any one leg, two legs must be 240,000 GV, 240,000 OL2L and min 40,000 GV on both sides of the binary team)
  14. 3 Star Presidential – maintain 200 PV a month and generate and maintain 3,500,000 GV a month (max 1,750,000 GV from any one leg, three legs must be 500,000 GV, 500,000 OL2L and min 40,000 GV on both sides of the binary team)

PV stands for Personal Volume. PV is sales volume generated by a retail customer orders and a LifeWave promoter’s own purchases.

GV stands for “Group Volume”. GV is PV generated by a LifeWave promoter and their downline.

Each recruited promoter generates a “leg” under the LifeWave promoter who recruited them. Required OL2L volume refers to GV generated outside of the two or three largest legs.

Binary team volume is GV tracked on both sides of the binary team. See “Residual Binary Commissions” below for a a binary team explanation.

Retail Commissions

LifeWave pays retail commissions on the sale products to retail customers.

See the LifeWave Product Pricing List for specific details on Retail Profit amounts.

As per the LifeWave Product Pricing List, some retail commission examples are:

  • $50 on the sale of X39 and X49 patches per box
  • $20 on the sale of other patches per box
  • $20 to $50 on the sale of personal care products
  • $10 on the sale supplements

Preferred customer commissions (retail customers on autoship), see commissions drop to $10 to $20 per box of patches. Other product category commissions are also reduced.

Customer Premiums

LifeWave rewards promoters for generating retail PV over a rolling 31-day period.

  • generate 300 to 599 retail PV and receive a 5% bonus
  • generate 600 to 1199 retail PV and receive a 10% bonus
  • generate over 1200 retail PV and receive a 20% bonus

Note that once qualified for, Customer Premiums are only paid on that weeks generated retail orders.

Recruitment Commissions

LifeWave pays a commission on recruitment of LifeWave promoters who sign up with an Enrollment Pack.

  • recruit a Core pack promoter and receive $35
  • recruit an Advanced pack promoter and receive $75
  • recruit an Advanced Plus pack promoter and receive $165
  • recruit a Premium pack promoter and receive $405

Residual Unilevel Commissions

A unilevel compensation structure places a promoter at the top of a unilevel team, with every personally recruited promoter placed directly under them (level 1):

If any level 1 promoters recruit new promoters, they are placed on level 2 of the original promoter’s unilevel team.

If any level 2 promoters recruit new promoters, they are placed on level 3 and so on and so forth down a theoretical infinite number of levels.

LifeWave caps payable unilevel team levels at three. Residual commissions are paid as a percentage of sales volume generated across these three levels based on rank:

  • Active Brand Partners earn 3% on level 1 (personally referred retail customers and recruited promoters)
  • 1 Star Manager – 5% on level 1
  • 2 Star Manager – 7% on level 1 and 2% on level 2
  • 3 Star Manager – 7% on level 1, 3% on level 2
  • 1 Star Director – 7% on level 1, 5% on level 2 and 1% on level 3
  • 2 Star Director – 7% on level 1, 5% on level 2 and 2% on level 3
  • 3 Star Director and higher – 7% on level 1, 5% on level 2 and 3% on level 3

Residual Binary Commissions

A binary compensation structure places a promoter at the top of a binary team, split into two sides (left and right):

The first level of the binary team houses two positions. The second level of the binary team is generated by splitting these first two positions into another two positions each (4 positions).

Subsequent levels of the binary team are generated as required, with each new level housing twice as many positions as the previous level.

Positions in the binary team are filled via direct and indirect recruitment of promoters. Note there is no limit to how deep a binary team can grow.

3 Star Managers and higher qualify for residual binary commissions, paid as a percentage of new weekly sales volume on the weaker binary team side:

  • 3 Star Managers receive a 5% residual binary commission rate, capped at $1500 a week
  • 1 Star Directors receive a 7% residual binary commission rate, capped at $2500 a week
  • 2 Star Directors receive a 9% residual binary commission rate, capped at $3500 a week
  • 3 Star Directors receive a 10% residual binary commission rate, capped at $5000 a week
  • 1 Star Executives receive a 10% residual binary commission rate, capped at $7500 a week
  • 2 Star Executives receive a 10% residual binary commission rate, capped at $10,000 a week
  • 3 Star Executives receive a 10% residual binary commission rate, capped at $15,000 a week
  • 1 Star Presidentials receive a 10% residual binary commission rate, capped at $20,000 a week
  • 2 and 3 Star Presidentials receive a 10% residual binary commission rate, capped at $25,000 a week

Once paid out on, volume is matched against the stronger binary team side and flushed. Leftover volume carries over.

Note a minimum 300 GV is required on the weaker binary team side to trigger a residual binary commission payout.

Matching Bonus

LifeWave pays a Matching Bonus on residual unilevel and binary commissions earned by downline promoters.

  • 1 Star Directors earn a 5% match on one 1 Star Director or higher in each recruitment leg (capped at $500 per match)
  • 2 Star Directors earn 7% on the first 1 Star Director or higher and 5% on the second in each recruitment leg (capped at $1000 per match)
  • 3 Star Directors earn 10% on the first 1 Star Director or higher, 7% on the second and 5% on the third in each recruitment leg (capped at $2000 per match)
  • 1 Star Executives earn 12% on the first 1 Star Director or higher, 10% on the second, 7% on the third and 5% on the fourth in each recruitment leg (capped at $3500 per match)
  • 2 Star Executives earn 15% on the first 1 Star Director or higher, 12% on the second, 10% on the third and 7% on the fourth in each recruitment leg (capped at $5000 per match)
  • 3 Star Executives earn 18% on the first 1 Star Director or higher, 15% on the second, 12% on the third, 10% on the fourth and 3% on the fifth in each recruitment leg (capped at $7500 per match)
  • 1 Star Presidentials earn 20% on the first 1 Star Director or higher, 18% on the second, 15% on the third, 12% on the fourth, 5% on the fifth and 3% on the sixth in each recruitment leg (capped at $10,000 per match)
  • 2 Star Presidentials earn 20% on the first 1 Star Director or higher, 18% on the second, 15% on the third, 12% on the fourth, 7% on the fifth and 5% on the sixth in each recruitment leg (capped at $15,000 per match)
  • 3 Star Presidentials earn 20% on the first 1 Star Director or higher, 18% on the second, 15% on the third, 12% on the fourth, 10% on the fifth and 7% on the sixth in each recruitment leg (capped at $20,000 per match)

Business Launch Bonus

New LifeWave promoters can qualify for the Business Launch Bonus during their first nine weeks:

  • qualify as a 1 Star Manager and receive $25
  • qualify as a 2 Star Manager and receive $50

A 50% upline bonus is paid on Business Launch Bonus earnings.

Rank Achievement Bonus

LifeWave rewards promoters for qualifying at 1 Star Director and higher with Rank Achievement Bonuses.

  • qualify at 1 Star Director and receive $500
  • qualify at 1 Star Executive and receive $5000
  • qualify at 1 Star Presidential and receive $50,000
  • qualify at 2 Star Presidential and receive $75,000
  • qualify at 3 Star Presidential and receive $100,000

Note half of the Rank Achievement Bonus is paid upfront, the second half is paid on maintaining rank for four additional weeks (must be achieved within 52 weeks).

Quarterly Leadership Pool

1 Star Presidential and higher ranked LifeWave promoters can qualify for the Quarterly Leadership Pool, paid out each quarter.

Specifically, 1 Star Presidential and higher ranked promoters must:

  • be ranked qualified for 10 out of 13 weeks for the qualifying quarter; and
  • generate a minimum average 600,000 GV over the qualifying quarter

If the above conditions are met, 1 Star Presidential and higher ranked promoters receive one share per 20,000 GV “over [their] weekly baseline”.

From LifeWave’s compensation plan;

The baseline is calculated from your Eligibility Quarter average and increases in 20,000 TDV increments with each share earned.

This is unnecessarily complicated but I believe means 20,000 GV generated over the calculated average for the quarter (calculated weekly), results in one Quarterly Leadership Pool share.

An additionally five shares are earned per downline generating 100,000 GV or more, excluding the top performing leg for that quarter.

Joining LifeWave

Basic LifeWave promoter membership is $25. Optional Enrollment Packs are also available:

  • Core – $295
  • Advanced – $535
  • Advanced Plus – $975
  • Premium – $1750

The primary difference between the Enrollment Packs is bundled patches (up to 40 sleeves, whatever that means), and the commission amount paid to whoever recruited you.

After the first year an annual $25 enrollment fee applies, regardless of how much a LifeWave promoter paid when they signed up.

LifeWave Conclusion

One of the core points of contention noted in BehindMLM’s original review was the lack of peer-reviewed studies into LifeWave’s patches.

A number of papers, letters and studies are published on the LifeWave website, however whether or not any of these are independent is not entirely clear.

LifeWave appear to dodge the question in their product FAQ:

Have the patches been independently tested?

LifeWave has completed dozens of clinical studies that prove the patch products improve health and wellness.

In 2026 LifeWave still doesn’t provide any peer-reviewed independent studies on their website.

Actual review of LifeWave’s product by qualified professionals is far from convincing (July 2025);

I found 11 studies of LifeWave’s products, with the earliest dating back to 2005, and what struck me were the conflicted explanations of how the famed patch was supposed to work, akin to the parable of the blind men and the elephant.

Some papers speak of the patches containing “nanoscale semiconducting biomolecular antennas” that make you burn fat faster, like some sort of Ozempic that sits on top of your skin.

There’s a tan patch and a white patch, and they must be kept on opposite sides of the body.

In one description, the different colours contain isomers, meaning molecules with the same numbers of the same atoms but in different arrangements; in another paper published the same year, the tan patch has glucose while the white patch has glycerin, which are definitely not isomers.

In one write-up, the patches contain homeopathic material, meaning molecules diluted to such an extreme they are often absent from the final solution; in another, they are filled with non-toxic crystals.

One site claims they contain infrared-emitting diode arrays, like little lights to warm up our skin, while many papers only list amino acids, water, oxygen, and “organic substances.”

Whatever is inside, the tiny, alleged antennas of the patch are supposed to filter and reflect back at the body its own magnetic field… or energy… or infrared light.

The idea that the patches simply reflect back at the body what it is already emitting plays up the appeal to nature, the false idea that if something is natural it is naturally good for us. What is this reflected energy supposed to do inside the body?

Here too descriptions differ, from burning fat to increasing the flow of electrons, from stimulating nerves to improving the flow of energy in the acupuncture meridians.

Because, of course, I forgot to mention that these patches need to be applied on specific acupuncture points. It doesn’t matter that acupuncture points are not biologically real.

I’m neither a scientist or doctor. The smoking gun for me though would be LifeWave’s Y-Age Glutathione and Y-Age Carnosine patches.

Glutathione and carnosine are definitely measurable. So where are the independent peer-reviewed studies clinically proving applying Y-Age Glutathione and Y-Age Carnosine patches results in a respective increase in glutathione and carnosine production?

That they don’t exist, given LifeWave has been around since 2004, is telling.

As for the rest of the patches, the benefits appear purposefully pitched as vague “feel good” fluff. The IceWave patches are a prime example;

Enjoy life’s journey with IceWave. Release negative energy and reclaim your active spirit, so you can live in harmony with the principles of holistic well-being.

Good luck trying to quantify the “release of negative energy” or how much of your spirit you’ve “reclaimed”.

Meanwhile on social media we have posts from LifeWave promoters like this:

The post above, from January 4th, 2026, provides a “LifeWave Patch Quick Reference Chart” provided below (click to enlarge):

According to the chart, LifeWave claims its X39 patches are suitable for “illness recovery”. Let alone the rest of the claims in that chart, X39 being tied to illness recovery is clearly an unsubstantiated medical claim.

Another example; testimonies touting LifeWave’s patches as a treatment and/or recovery aid for cancer aren’t hard to find:

Vulnerable people are targeted, leading to LifeWave promoters trying to “stop or reverse” cancer.

This is less than 10 minutes of searching and dating back over the last year. LifeWave has been around since 2004, and God knows what nonsense is being pushed in non-English speaking countries.

The idea that a plastic patch reflecting infrared rays your body generates back into itself can cure you of disease (or even just make you feel better), yeah I get it.

Your body emits heat, including heat in the infrared spectrum.

Our patches are designed to trap this infrared energy when placed on the body, which causes them to reflect it back to stimulate specific points on the skin that can promote a general state of health and healthy activity unique to each LifeWave patch.

Sounds amazing – but without studies that have been rigorously scrutinized, you’ve just got desperate whackjobs pushing anecdotal stories.

The rest of LifeWave’s products appear to be generic personal care and supplements. Admittedly you’re probably going to get more benefit there than from the magical plastic patches.

LifeWave’s compensation plan in 2026 does a better job of hiding the autoship recruitment scheme, but it’s still there.

From LifeWave’s compensation plan;

A maximum of 110 Qualifying Volume from Brand Partner personal purchase can be used to meet your Personal Volume requirement.

Conveniently, 110 PV is enough to self-purchase qualify across LifeWave’s first eight promoter ranks.

Typically the vast majority of promoters in an MLM company sit in the first few ranks. LifeWave is no different, with a 2025 Income Disclosure Statement (reporting on the previous year), revealing that 86.46% of promoters are spread out across the first five ranks.

Note LifeWave appears to have changed its rank names since 2024. Also note average commission amounts cited in LifeWave’s IDS are meaningless because;

During the Period, there were a total of 54,531 U.S. Consultants who had the opportunity to earn commissions under the Evolve
Compensation Plan.

Of these, 35.52% earned commissions while 64.48% did not. Consultants who did not earn commissions during the Period are not reflected in the table below.

The actual commission averages earned would be much lower if it was correctly calculated based off of all LifeWave promoter earnings.

By design, there’s more than a good chance the majority of LifeWave promoters are self-qualifying for commissions of their own purchases. In turn, LifeWave promoters with downlines would then be earning the majority of commissions on self-qualifying promoter purchases.

Company-wide this translates into a typical MLM autoship recruitment scheme, wherein the majority of commissions company-wide are paid out on promoter autoship purchases.

I’d even go so far as to suggest the Customer Premium bonus is laughable. If LifeWave doesn’t have confidence its promoters can even generate 55 to 110 PV a month, 300 retail PV a week being the lowest Customer Premium qualifying tier is a joke.

The obvious fix is to exclude promoter purchases entirely, or at the very least make it a 50/50 split with required retail volume. I suspect if that compliance were to happen though, LifeWave would quickly fall apart.

And therein lies the problem.

Personally if I was evaluating LifeWave as an MLM opportunity, my due-diligence would start and end with the notion that non-transdermal plastic patches can cure me of everything under the sun.

If you’re desperate for whatever reason though (no judgment), your next due-diligence port of call is LifeWave’s compensation plan.

Ask your potential LifeWave upline for specific retail PV numbers of the past few months. Then ask them what their own personal order PV spend is and compare.

You want at least a 100% match, with an ideal split being more retail PV over the promoter’s own purchase PV. If it’s the alternative, i.e. more personal order PV and/or no retail PV, that promoter is running their LifeWave business as a pyramid scheme.

LifeWave encourages this with the 110 PV cap carveout (formerly requiring promoters to make a purchase each month), so again I wouldn’t be surprised if this is the case.

If you’re desperate, please seek actual medical advice – which means sometimes accepting that there is no miracle cure. Failing which, approach with caution.