Beauty does not come in a bottle, but for many of us a booster to smooth the more negative effects of ageing and the harsher side of our tropical climate is quite welcomed.

Back this up with a professional assessment from a visit to a dermatologist, or a skin care specialist for a professional assessment and you are in good hands to ensure a safe results.

Aestheticians such as Jencare Skin Farm maintain a faithful clientele as they have experience with local climate conditions and skin types common in this region, and conduct procedures and prepare unguents specially formulated for each individual client.

Frequent visits to skin care specialists may be budget-challenging for long-term programmes, but a lingering visit to a good cosmetic store, or the personal care section in a well-stocked pharmacy and department store will offer products that soften, add colour, and add shine to skin while being reasonable to the wallet.

Cosmetic companies conduct their own research finding more products and processes to help us to make the packaging of our bodies, our skin, look and feel better for longer.

Key to many skin care products, is sunscreen which can be found in moisturising base creams, lipstick, eye makeup and hair products. While most Jamaicans have the benefit of dark skin, the harmful effect of direct exposure to the sun on skin and hair cells, regardless of skin and hair type, is never to be underestimated.

Corporate public relations manager at National Commercial Bank Belinda Williams and her five sisters experimented with different brands on each other and today she can firmly put her stamp of approval on easily available products as working for her.

"I am lucky, I can use regular bathing soap for my face, but my basic base is Iman with an Avon Light Tap powder overlay or Johnson's baby powder," she says.

Biotechnologists long ago discovered that collagen is an abundant item in most cells, but as we age, it is depleted in inconvenient places, leading to smile wrinkles around the eyes and mouth.

Beauty creams cannot replace collagen, but moisturisers from companies such as Olay, utilises proteins called amino peptides in a line of products that they say will regenerate the skin without chemical peels or surgery.

Their Daily Regenerating Serum works while you sleep at night, while the Enhancing Lotion brings special protection from the sun for daytime and the Perfecting Cream is a non-greasy hydrating unguent.

Other international brands use similar ingredients in their products and a check for amino acids and Vitamins B and E on the labels would give support to any claims of revitalisation. Some of these ingredients are gained from natural products such as green tea.
CVM television anchor Kerlyn Brown trusts Joe Blasco products to prepare her for the unforgiving glare of television lights.

"Off air I use just a small amount of makeup; just base, eyeliner and lip gloss and lip liner and I like my finishing powder to keep cool. After Delores Brown makes me up for television, I cleanse with All Natural Dickenson's witchhazel astringent and use Nice and Clean cleansing cloths." Kerlyn nourishes her skin at night with Symmetry moisturiser, and she says that just a small amount goes a long way.

The skin of the lips are more delicate and that makes your kissers dry out in the air conditioning, burn easier during an all-day visit to the beach, or crack when the wind blows cold.

For long-term maintenance, to enhance plumpness and smoothness, lip treatments such as Blistex Revitaliser, say that trial tests on their product proved that it reduced the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles on the surface of the lips in one month.

It contains AHAs (skin-exfoliating alpha-hydroxy-acids), moisturisers, vitamins A and E and an SPF 15. Lip balm, guards and salves from the Think Natural line offer a range of products that list aloe vera, shea butter and hemp seed as ingredients.

The lip conditioning section in stores seem to be slowly giving more space to liquid lip shapers, such as the Lancome Lip Dimension line. These lip shapers use an applicator that will not lose its shape, unlike the traditional lipstick.

Public relations director at Red Stripe Grace Silvera does not travel without her Estee Lauder lipgloss in her purse.
"I use Go Pout sheer lip glaze that has its own applicator. It gives a polished and sophisticated appearance and frees me from having to do a lot of work with a base on my lips."

Hair, like skin, changes during life and all hair types yearn to be moisturised. African hair, whether maintained naturally or changed by chemical process, will always be easier to break and so demands careful attention.

Colouring hair by adding a pigment can help, but stripping the shaft of its natural colour before adding a tint makes it more brittle. The locally manufactured Isoplus and also Soft Sheen Carsons are very available maintenance products here, but most stores carry a wide range of products blended for African hair.

Manufacturers always warn that maintaining the brand throughout a treatment is important. So do not follow an Isoplus shampoo with a Soft Sheen Carsons conditioner.

The rest of the skin, like the face and lips, requires more moisturising as ageing progresses. Favourites such as Jergens now have botanicals included in the line, and many small versions are available to keep in handbags for on-going application during the day.

The hard-to-find Ultimate Organics with Shea butter and Cocoa butter is almost unparalleled in its smooth-on appeal, long-lasing glow and protection against dehydration without leaving greasiness.

Grace Silvera makes sure to stock up on The Body Shop when she travels to the UK and Juniper Breeze and Cotton Blossom for light use. She says, "I constantly moisturise my skin during the day so that I do not have to do anything extreme." She however treats her feet and ankles to The Body Shop's Shea Butter for overnight deep moisture contact.

Of course, there are some of us who hark back to good old egg white in hair to add protein strength, or cucumber or tea bag pads to rest the muscles and skin around the eyes, massage a good douse of coconut oil to give legs a healthy glow.

They work, but they do not have the beautiful look, consistency, aroma and packaging of commercial beauty products, and let us face it, if we are going to give our skin the treatment that it deserves, why not make it glamourous, luxurious and fun?

Useful Websites

Sacha cosmetics has been the official cosmetic for several Miss Universe and Miss USA competitions engaged former Miss Universe Wendy Fitzwilliam to be the spokesperson for their line. Its website sachacosmetics.com is an easy-to-use website for an introduction to skin care cosmetics.

The Macy department store website Macys.com has a skincare section that is linked to D'Oreal's Lancome line and allows you be familiar with the range of available international products for your targeted skin needs such as: taking care of wrinkles, oily skin or improving hydration.

Hair, like skin, changes during life and all hair types call for moisturising.

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