The desire to try to look my best in social situations is something I’ll likely never outgrow, especially when one can indulge in a number of treatments and products in Mexico for so much less money.

Retin-A (a retinoid and a form of vitamin A for wrinkles), Latisse (for eyelash growth) and hormone therapy tablets are a few of the products available without a prescription and at considerably less cost. Men and women alike take advantage of the availability of high quality dental and foot care in Mexico.

“Other countries are always years ahead of the U.S. in products and techniques,” my esthetician in Denver, Kenna Harke once remarked to me. “The FDA approval process is slow and made slower still by commercial interests that impede competition.”  This may sound far-fetched until you consider the money at stake. (Botox-maker Allergan made $502 MILLION in a single quarter on the product. Botox accounts for billions in company profit overall. Figures like that do make you wonder how their lobbyists spend their time.

Platelet Rich Therapy

Mexico is resplendent with beautiful women, both inside and out (proving you don’t have to give up a great haircut to be a lovely person within). They have lots of ideas about how to take care of themselves. Some techniques and products are unique to Mexico

An alternative to Botox is Platelet Rich Plasma Therapy, also called the “Vampire Facial” Platelet Rich Plasma Therapy is preferred by my friends in Mexico who want a natural alternative over Botox, which contains on of “the most acutely lethal toxin known. I initially learned about "The Vampire Facial"  after admiring a Mexican friend’s beautiful skin. The process uses your own blood to stimulate collagen growth. PRP injections are prepared from one or two tubes of your own blood with strict aseptic technique.

After being centrifuged, the plasma is injected via largely tiny pen-like needles, releasing growth factors. You can be treated anywhere, including hands. Side affects are minimal; you are using your own blood plasma, to which you will have no reaction.   

You’d have to look hard to find anything negative on Platelet Rich Plasma Therapy. The National Spine and Pain Centers called it a “revolutionary treatment for pain in the back, neck and shoulders.' Much has been written about its use by injured athletes and burn victims.

I did three treatments for about $75 per treatment. While I wouldn’t say they take the place of Botox, the results were pretty dramatic for a facial. It’s best to schedule these treatments with a few weeks between sessions. Other beauty products or procedures to try in Mexico.

Lumigan

Ironically also made by Allergan, the drops offer the same benefits as Latisse but is available from pharmacies without a prescription in Mexico for about $45 a bottle, about half the cost of Latisse (picture: my results). Use a fine tip artist’s brush to dot it above your lashes.  It takes only one drop to treat both lashes and eyebrow.

As with Latisse, they say there’s risk is a chance of turning blue eyes brown without proper application (?). I love this product. Buy the Lumigan brand (blue box) in the higher of the two concentrations. 

Barra (Mud Facials)

Mineral clay has been used cosmetically for thousands of years. One of my best friends in Mexico has used mineral clays for years with amazing results, especially around her eyes, which are almost wrinkle-free at 63. Mexican clay for exfoliation and facial masks, is sold by weight in botanicas (botanical stores) in a variety of types their colors; pink, black, brownish -red, each color indicating their mineral properties.  Clays detoxify pores, tighten the skin, exfoliate and moisturize.  

Fermodyl Hair Treatment

Fermodyl is a reconstructive serum (There are five types) for the hair and comes in a box of four ampules.  This amazing product is the first I’ve found that will repair and give my fine hair shine without weighing it down. Available for about $5 a box at Walmarts in Mexico.  

The same company also makes a very good Keratin Treatment which is applied with your curling iron and costs about $15 as opposed to the $200 my friends pay in salons in Denver, although the benefits don’t last near as long.

Retin-A

As mentioned, Retin-A an excellent wrinkle reducer,  I have paid anywhere from $15 to $120 for Retin-A in the U.S, plus going through the dubious process of finding a doctor with a sense of humor about writing a prescription to treat my ‘acne” (its official use). 

Tubes of Retin-A can be purchased over the counter at a pharmacy in Mexico for about $20. At that price, my friends here joke that we should bathe in it.

Botox

If you still want to go this route, Botox injections cost less in Mexico too. I alternate injections to my forehead and crow’s feet every year by a dermatologist in Mazatlán for $250, at least $50 less than in the US, and I hear that where I go is one of the more expensive places in town. They are the best Botox treatments I’ve ever had – I definitely get my money’s worth.     

Dentistry

Thousands of people go to Mexico for dental work, even though the most common procedures have been fundamentally the same for 40 years, dentistry has gotten outrageously expensive in the U.S and one of the most common services that expats avail themselves of in Mexico.

I love sweets and suffer the consequences.  One year passing through San Diego on my way to Mazatlán, a friend of mine took me to the dentist on the other side of the border in Tijuana. He frequently ferried people to dentist and veterinary offices in Tijuana. 

The dentists office I visited was high-tech and well-staffed. Two attractive young dentists replaced two fillings and cleaned my teeth for $150. A few years later I had a nasty crown replaced at a dentist’s office in Mazatlán for about $350 U.S. (six trips it took) and had four teeth bonded ($110 US., as opposed to $300-600 a tooth in the US.) 

Considerable savings exist across the board in all types of dental procedures, as thousands of people living in border states and and go back and forth all the time can attest. Implants are mainly popular among expats and residents given that they’re a lengthy process taking anywhere from six to 12 months to complete.

Lip, Eyebrow and Eyeliner Tattooing

Are your lips fading out?  Maybe it's because the summer heat melts off make-up in nothing flat living in Mexico that many women have their lips tattooed in natural pinks and mauves. Most women only outline their lips (it fades after a time) but some have their entire lips stained.

In watching it being done on a couple of friends, it seemed a little painful, like getting a tattoo, but as one of them said, "15 minutes of pain to never have to wear lipstick again is a pretty good trade-off."  

Practitioners of many services, from massages to hair-coloring, will come to your home in Mexico. These services will probably cost about $50 (only a little more than a tube of Lancome lipstick!).

Thermage

Thermage is a FDA-approved laser therapy for tightening the skin. The heat is said to stimulate latent collagen growth.  I recently discovered a salon here in Mazatlán that offers the treatment and plan on checking it out. I researched that the procedure costs $2,000-3,000 dollars in the U.S. and about $800 (dollars) in Mexico.

Hormone replacement therapy

Hormone replacement pills aren’t only for hot flashes. As they help regulate body temperature, I found them  really effective in helping deal with the heat and humidity of Mexican coastal summers. Hormone replacement pills would cost me over $100 a month in the US. In Mexico, I can buy them over the counter for about $35 dollars.

Hair and Nail Salons

Facebook groups are a good place to ask for expat referrals to good hair salons.  Referrals are especially important if you’re blond, as I’ve found that most Mexican salons have a trouble distinguishing between blond types, say honey blond from ash blond. 

The cost of hair coloring has skyrocketed in the last few years in the US. Before any extended trip home, I get my hair colored and highlighted in Mexico for about half of what I pay in the US.

Nail acrylics and design will run about $30 for a really elaborate design. (I love a little Mexican nail bling). For pedicures only (no nail polish), the best place to go is Todo Para Sus Pies (Everything for Your Feet). Playing pickleball wrecks my feet, so I go to one of their 90 branches once a month for $350 pesos (about $20 dollars) a visit.

Finding a service or treatment in Mexico

For pharmacy products, arrive to the pharmacy armed with the name of what you’re looking for in Spanish with the dosage you need. Remember to confirm you have the  chemical name of the drug, not the brand name, as many specific US brands won’t be available in Mexico.

Pharmacies in Mexico have thin inventories, ie. a single box of hormone pills or a single bottle of Latisse and prices can vary a lot. If you’re stocking up (as I do before any extended trip back to the US), give yourself extra time for trips to several pharmacies.

Google searches are geographically based so you won’t come up with much in the way of search results if trying to research from home. When looking for information on salon services and the like for Mexico, you’ll want to do the search in Spanish using a VPN (virtual private network) and set your server location to Mexico in order to get all local listings in the city in Mexico you’ll be visiting. 

For example, if looking for Botox treatments in Mexico City, look up the name of the treatment in Spanish, then do a google search “tratamientos con botox en Distrito Federal” with the VPN set to Mexico. Plug the search results (which will be in Spanish if you’re doing it right), into Google Translate to translate the information in English. Once at the esthetician’s office, likely they’ll have a number of staff members who speak English.

About the author:

Hola -  I'm Kerry Baker, a partner with Ventanas Mexico and author "If Only I Had a Place," on renting in Mexico. Renting long-term in Mexico is very different, despite what realtors and AirBnB hosts may tell you.  In my book you will find a fluid system that will enable you to rent well every year for less while establishing an infrastructure for your the best, richest expat life.

My second book is “The Mexico Solution: Saving your money, sanity, and quality of life through part-time life in Mexico. Both a good read and an instruction manual, making it utterly unique in its genre.

Most recently I released The Lazy Expat: Healthy Recipes That Translate in Mexico, a cookbook for travelers, snowbirds and expats seeking to maintain a healthy diet in Mexico (spoiler: You must cook.)