She has a degree in psychology and he has one in economics but their careers centre around selling home-made Jamaican oils, specifically the good old Jamaican black castor oil.
Our indigenous Jamaican products are much sought after overseas as through word of mouth and now the internet, more people across the globe are becoming aware of the goodness and quality found in the home-grown products we knew of but never capitalized on both their potency and potential.
Well the team of Lois and Michael Hines has put us on the map once again and this time it is not for rum, coffee or athletics. It is for the good old time bushes and oils our grandmothers used to give us as children.
The duo began their business some 20 years ago but their story actually began before that. “My husband and I met when I was 16. He ran track for Calabar and got a scholarship for college overseas. I was 18 when we started dating and 22 when we got married. Michael started with Sundial Herbs and Herbal Products International and I also ended up working there. The owner Rudolph Dockett also known as‘Brother Rahsan’ was a maroon and Jamaican bush doctor, who made the herbal products himself. He started me and my husband on the road of natural living, taking care of our bodies and making the world a better place.”
What today is a global and holistic healing aid company, began very small out of their living room in the Bronx. “It was far from easy but it has actually built both our marriage and our characters. Michael wanted to branch out on his own and Rahsan said ‘why don’t you bring up the black castor oil from Jamaica’ and that gave birth to Tropic Isle Living. It was one girl with a suitcase on Air Jamaica!”
At first it was far from an easy sell as in the early days nobody was remotely interested. “We started in the house with a gallon of black castor oil and eventually moved to the garage. Back then nobody would buy it from us. At times we wanted to give up but we stuck it out. We hand-bottled sometimes up to 180 bottles and it took forever to sell. We started selling to health food stores and eventually people remembered their roots and gravitated towards it – people knew it was good for the hair and skin, etc.”
Everything turned around for them when technology became their biggest asset. “One of our clients in Canada started Youtubing about our products. This was after going store after store with my little cart, building in slow increments. When our clients started making Youtube videos and blogging, sales went through the roof.”
The rave reviews about the wonders of their products on ‘Hairlicious’ and ‘Hairlista’ made them a bonafide success but they initially were still oblivious as to what spurred the spike in sales, until someone advised them to get on Youtube and see for themselves how their clients were pushing the product. “Soon they started asking for hair grease, hair food and shampoo and so once again it was the clients that started pushing our various products so we always had to be innovating.”
Their motto ‘a natural traditional way to a healthy beautiful you’ is a living testament to how they not only do business but also live their lives. Tropic Isle grew steadily and soon they outgrew the garage and needed to operate from a small commercial business space. Lois pointed out, “All our products are steeped in tradition and have a story behind them.” When someone enquired about skin treatment the Jamaican black castor oil was provided -it is great for the arm pits, breast and pubic area. It pulls toxins out of the skin and also is useful for treating eczema, itchy scalp and boils. Lois explained, “You can rub it on your breasts and body to prevent fibroids and lumps. When I meet women I tell them to take care of themselves, as you give life from your body so you have to remain healthy. This business has really helped me to learn and grow as a woman, mother and sister. Seeing my fellow women looking beautiful and having a good sense of who they are, is really rewarding.”
In addition to building a thriving business and brand,the Hines’ are committed to keeping a dying art alive. “It is so intrinsically Jamaican and a part of what makes us who we are, so we are proud of what we do,” said Lois. Tropical Isle Living also has a bath products line with cerasee bush bath and shower gel, ginger bush bath, island spice bush bath and lemon/fever grass. She highlights, “We kept the word‘bush’ because while we’re not promoting or associated with obeah, bush medicine is part of our Jamaican heritage. Baths also relax you and relieve aches and pains so it is absolutely therapeutic.”
Always creating, ever evolving, Tropic Isle now boasts Nettle Jamaican black castor oil; Rosemary Jamaican black castor and Sage Jamaican black castor oil. There is also great Jamaican black castor oil hair therapy which has castor oil, flaxseed and black walnut. It is very potent because it booststhe immune system which helps the body to heal itself.
“We have seen the good the products do for people with breast cancer, psoriasis and even alopecia. Jamaica is the Caribbean flagship hence the global market can see that we have our own natural and traditional products. If you don’t know your roots you are lost,” Lois remarked.
Now based in Georgia, they sell to all fifty states and distribute all over the world. They also have a radio programme ‘TIL’ in Atlanta, Georgia, where they promote wellness and a healthier lifestyle. In Jamaica they now have an outlet at 110 Old Hope Road. All in all the business of bottling castor oil has been good to them.“We built this business bottle by bottle through blood, sweat and tears but it has been worth it. You have to have patience and perseverance. The future looks very promising. You have to dream,so why not dream big?” beamed Lois.
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She has a degree in psychology and he has one in economics but their careers centre around selling home-made Jamaican oils, specifically the good old Jamaican black castor oil.
Our indigenous Jamaican products are much sought after overseas as through word of mouth and now the internet, more people across the globe are becoming aware of the goodness and quality found in the home-grown products we knew of but never capitalized on both their potency and potential.
Well the team of Lois and Michael Hines has put us on the map once again and this time it is not for rum, coffee or athletics. It is for the good old time bushes and oils our grandmothers used to give us as children.
The duo began their business some 20 years ago but their story actually began before that. “My husband and I met when I was 16. He ran track for Calabar and got a scholarship for college overseas. I was 18 when we started dating and 22 when we got married. Michael started with Sundial Herbs and Herbal Products International and I also ended up working there. The owner Rudolph Dockett also known as‘Brother Rahsan’ was a maroon and Jamaican bush doctor, who made the herbal products himself. He started me and my husband on the road of natural living, taking care of our bodies and making the world a better place.”
What today is a global and holistic healing aid company, began very small out of their living room in the Bronx. “It was far from easy but it has actually built both our marriage and our characters. Michael wanted to branch out on his own and Rahsan said ‘why don’t you bring up the black castor oil from Jamaica’ and that gave birth to Tropic Isle Living. It was one girl with a suitcase on Air Jamaica!”
At first it was far from an easy sell as in the early days nobody was remotely interested. “We started in the house with a gallon of black castor oil and eventually moved to the garage. Back then nobody would buy it from us. At times we wanted to give up but we stuck it out. We hand-bottled sometimes up to 180 bottles and it took forever to sell. We started selling to health food stores and eventually people remembered their roots and gravitated towards it – people knew it was good for the hair and skin, etc.”
Everything turned around for them when technology became their biggest asset. “One of our clients in Canada started Youtubing about our products. This was after going store after store with my little cart, building in slow increments. When our clients started making Youtube videos and blogging, sales went through the roof.”
The rave reviews about the wonders of their products on ‘Hairlicious’ and ‘Hairlista’ made them a bonafide success but they initially were still oblivious as to what spurred the spike in sales, until someone advised them to get on Youtube and see for themselves how their clients were pushing the product. “Soon they started asking for hair grease, hair food and shampoo and so once again it was the clients that started pushing our various products so we always had to be innovating.”
Their motto ‘a natural traditional way to a healthy beautiful you’ is a living testament to how they not only do business but also live their lives. Tropic Isle grew steadily and soon they outgrew the garage and needed to operate from a small commercial business space. Lois pointed out, “All our products are steeped in tradition and have a story behind them.” When someone enquired about skin treatment the Jamaican black castor oil was provided -it is great for the arm pits, breast and pubic area. It pulls toxins out of the skin and also is useful for treating eczema, itchy scalp and boils. Lois explained, “You can rub it on your breasts and body to prevent fibroids and lumps. When I meet women I tell them to take care of themselves, as you give life from your body so you have to remain healthy. This business has really helped me to learn and grow as a woman, mother and sister. Seeing my fellow women looking beautiful and having a good sense of who they are, is really rewarding.”
Always creating, ever evolving, Tropic Isle now boasts Nettle Jamaican black castor oil; Rosemary Jamaican black castor and Sage Jamaican black castor oil. There is also great Jamaican black castor oil hair therapy which has castor oil, flaxseed and black walnut. It is very potent because it booststhe immune system which helps the body to heal itself.
“We have seen the good the products do for people with breast cancer, psoriasis and even alopecia. Jamaica is the Caribbean flagship hence the global market can see that we have our own natural and traditional products. If you don’t know your roots you are lost,” Lois remarked.
Now based in Georgia, they sell to all fifty states and distribute all over the world. They also have a radio programme ‘TIL’ in Atlanta, Georgia, where they promote wellness and a healthier lifestyle. In Jamaica they now have an outlet at 110 Old Hope Road. All in all the business of bottling castor oil has been good to them.“We built this business bottle by bottle through blood, sweat and tears but it has been worth it. You have to have patience and perseverance. The future looks very promising. You have to dream,so why not dream big?” beamed Lois.
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