In a climate where you can't hide from the salt, sand or sun, a serious moisturizer is required. Even if you've never heard of it, chances are, you've already come into contact with monoi oil, the stuff Tahitian women (and men) have been slathering on for centuries. It's the ingredient that makes Nars lipsticks so creamy and Carol's Daughter hair products so strengthening.

Most Tahitian woman make this aromatic, luscious-smelling oil in their backyard over a period of weeks, allowing fresh coconut oil to marinate the tiare flower, a gardenia-like bloom that only grows in French Polynesia. Then they add turmeric, sandalwood or fresh vanilla grown on the island, depending on preference or according to family recipe.

Monoi is a cure-all beauty tonic that Tahitians lather themselves in to soften and strengthen skin and hair, and to prevent and soothe sunburns, mosquito bites, stretch marks and hyperpigmentation. Its numerous claims are backed up by more than just old wives' tales. Tiare flowers are high in methyl salicylate, an anti-inflammatory used in topical pain relievers like Bengay and Icy Hot. In a hair stretch-pull test (which is exactly what it sounds like) by Carol's Daughter, hair treated with monoi oil lasted 130,000 pulls, while non-treated hair snapped after 10,000 pulls.

If you're not scheduling a visit to Tahiti any time soon, you can find monoi oil online -- crack open a bottle while you're looking at your island screensaver, and it's almost like you're there.

Anyone who's ever swallowed pureed kale in pursuit of health can appreciate a miracle drink. Tahitians get theirs in the form of noni juice, a potassium-rich liquid made by soaking the bulbous, green noni fruit in water for several days. Tahitians have used it for centuries to treat anything from cancer to diabetes, and they also give it to their pets to rid them of heartworms. A 2001 study published in the American Association for Cancer Research Journal found that noni juice inhibited cancer cell production in mice -- though the jury is clearly still out in humans. It's worth noting that the American Cancer Society says noni juice is not a cancer treatment, but it's also worth noting that Miranda Kerr starts her day with it. We'll have what she's having.

You won't find Tahitian women on treadmills or cycles. To stay in shape, they dance their booties off. Tahitians dance the otea, a Beyonce-level hip-shaking dance in which the upper body is stationary while the hips move to the rapid beating of drums. Stateside, a hoola hoop workout, as juvenile as it might sound, provides the same isolating exercises that form those killer Tahitian abs.

Long before spa days became a thing, Tahitians were prescribing massage to detox the body and treat depression and tension. Known as taurumi, Tahitian massage focuses on releasing toxins by activating energy lines through the body. They also pay special attention to the nini, or top of head, which Tahitians believe is the entry point of the soul. In Tahiti, you won't find any half-hearted masseurs. Taurumi massage requires total devotion and is seen as a spiritual exchange between masseur and the person getting massaged.

If you can't make it out to the lagoon-front Le Spa at Le Taha'a or the overwater bungalows that house the Thalasso Spa at Intercontinental in Bora Bora, find a therapist that specializes in deep tissue massage. Instruct him or her to start at the head and work their way to the feet.

Monoi isn't the only oil Tahitian women keep in their arsenal. Tamanu oil is used for minor cuts, rashes, scarring, stretch marks and abrasions. Their ancestors believed that the branches of this sacred plant hid the gods, and that it was a gift to protect them from the harsh sun, strong winds and salt water.

Besides being endorsed by ancient Tahitians, tamanu oil (known as domba oil in Europe) was shown to have a 70 to 75 percent success rate in treating both rheumatism and scabies. Tamanu oil in pure form can be found in health food stores that carry essential oils, or as a skin-healing ingredient in products like Origins Plantscription Youth Renewing Face Oil and The Body Shop Tea Tree Blemish Fade Night Lotion.