Beauty is only skin deep, so how do you keep it?

Some even go under the knife in the quest for eternal beauty.

But there are so many lotions and potions, machines, exercises and diets on the market all promising a sleeker, cellulite-free shape, that we decided to test the merchandise available and see for ourselves to see what works and what doesn't, to save you the time and money.

GEMMA SIMMS, FIONA TARRANT and KATHERINE MacALISTER, pictured above, took a look at a broad selection of what's on offer in Oxfordshire. The beauty therapists who carried out the treatments all agreed that there is only so much they can do. The rest is up to you.

A healthy diet and regular exercise are just as beneficial and vital for total body conditioning and long-term weight loss. Combining them with a treatment will give the best results, but remember there is no miracle cure.

Being happy with yourself is just as important.

CACI

This is an old favourite that's been on the market for some time. It reduces cellulite and stretchmarks, by draining the lymph nodes, which get rid of toxins in the body. Having just had a baby, I was an ideal client.

Beautician Lisa Riaz said: "A lot of people use me as a last resort because they have stretchmarks are all over their bodies. One girl didn't want to go out, they were so bad and piled on the weight after she had a baby. Then she came to me and I sorted her out. She has now got her confidence back," Lisa said.

First she rolled an electro-cellulite massager on my thighs and bum. Sometimes there was a vague tingle, which apparently signalled my problem areas, but otherwise nothing, just a rolling massage motion. Next was my tummy where roller bars were used on the muscle, which work particularly well on scar tissue, like stretchmarks. She only did half because it takes a day for the redness in the stretchmarks to fade and she wanted me to see the results.

I went home that night and showed my other half. He said: "God, half of your stretchmarks have vanished, how did that happen?" They haven't gone completely but are significantly reduced. I would recommend CACI for cellulite and stretchmark but not for toning. I didn't see much difference there.

A course of ten treatments is recommended at £135, and then a top-up session every now and again to keep you trim. The trial is free.

Lisa can be reached on 01865 770882. KMcA

THE G5

The cellulite-buster that's not for the faint-hearted.

The machine has five heads, hence the G5 and each works on different ways to help break down the fatty deposits lurking on your thighs, bottom or wherever.

Talc is applied first and then the warm-up head, which prepares your legs for the pummelling each of the G5 heads delivers.

Each session lasts 20 minutes and is pleasant, if a little harsh. The main feeling was that it was really doing something. My thighs (which the beauty therapist kindly informed me weren't wearing a lot of cellulite) felt much smoother and my legs felt firmer. Six treatments will produce good results, the effects of which can clearly be seen after the third.

A course of six costs £48.55 at Belle, in Bell Lane, Bicester. FT

TONING TABLES

Forget the myth that these are machines which let you lie back, relax and slim. You have to work at it.

Each table works on different areas of the body. You can put in as much effort as you want, but the more you put in, the more you get out!

Greta Blake, of Bicester, couldn't walk into town pushing her granddaughter in her buggy because the arthritis in her legs was so bad.

After just ten sessions on the toning tables, Greta, 56, is able to make those journeys in comfort rather than pain.

She said: "I had a heart attack in 1991 and I've got arthritis, so I have to be careful.

"After just five sessions I'd lost six and a half inches in all, including two inches off my waist. I didn't do any other kind of exercise and I've lost one and a half stones, too, because I've stuck to the recommended diet sheet." The tables' real use are as aides to exercise. Ideal for anyone who has a back problem, arthritis, or wants to ease themselves back into exercise after a long break.

Once the tables have helped you achieve a certain level of fitness, you can use them in a more advanced way, to maintain the muscle tone. Add weights to your ankles, over your stomach and use dumb-bells in your hands as you exercise.

The ten machines work on different parts of the body. The favourite (it had a sign above it saying that it's the one most women want to marry!) is the sandbag machine which pummels away the cellulite, lifts and firms the buttocks and gives you enviable stomach muscles.

I tried a sample session on all ten and was so impressed I paid for a course of ten. After just two I felt the muscles in my stomach were tighter. After four, I was ready to get my cheque book out to sign up for more. FT

ELECTROLYPOLYSIS

Before anyone can have their fat melted away and their muscles toned on Cannelle Beaute's electrolypolysis machines, they have to undergo some rigorous tests.

First there's a weigh-in at the salon, in Oakthorpe Road, Summertown, then a Bodystat examination, which gives therapist France Boden a breakdown of your body's fat, muscle and water content in your body.

Tied in with the treatments is a six-day high-protein diet which helps eliminate fat without wasting away muscle as well. The electrolypolysis treatment involves electrodes which are stuck down, in sequence, across the body. They tighten and relax the muscles.

I tried the diet and several treatments. After just eight days my stomach muscles felt tighter and I had lost 3kg of pure fat and put on 1lb of muscle and a further 1lb of water. It meant I weighed 2kg less but was, in reality, 3kg of fat lighter.

It costs £25 per treatment but they can be bought in blocks of ten for £210 or 20 for £380. This might sound expensive but the machinery (which is from France) is exclusive to the area and the salon is meticulously clean and well-run).

Living proof that it's money well spent is 58-year-old Diana Ladhams of Charlbury, who went to Cannelle Beaute in July. Diana, who is just 5ft, lost more than a stone in less than six weeks.

"It was fantastic. I was finding a size 14 quite tight and now I'm back in a size 12," she said. FT

BODY CONTOUR WRAP

Salons across the county offer the body contour treatment, which consists of sea mud, plastered over your body before warm bandages are applied. It guarantees instant weight loss, so we were thrilled when details of a home treatment kit, the Sea Clay Personal Contour Wrap Kit, came through the post.

Fiona Tarrant tried it out.

"The weight loss aspect was just too good to miss. I'd had a salon treatment years before and was looking forward to achieving the same results at home. The kit contained four sachets (6oz each) of mud, six wraps, a loofah and an after-treatment spritz.

"The instructions were diabolical. Sentences finished half-way through and more detail was needed. Although the mud was easy (if not a little messy) to apply, it's very difficult to apply the wraps around your own midriff and it's far too embarrassing to ask for anyone else's help.

"The main problem is what to do for the 45 minutes to an hour the instructions recommend you leave the wraps on for. "When the wraps came off and the mud was washed away in the shower my skin felt smooth and, yes, a little bit tighter but any pleasure I had from that was spoiled as I tackled six wet, muddy, yukky wraps in occupying my shower." Cost: £35.

A nice treatment, effective only for a short time, and recommended only for the salon. I f you want proof, come and look at my bathroom floor, or the wall I bumped into.

COSMO-MED

This is the Frank Bruno of fatbusting treatments. It's not pleasant, but result wise it's very effective.

Beauty treatments on the whole are a form of pampering, but this one isn't.

You are wired up, turned on and your body convulses visibly. Get the picture?

It is only available at Randalls Gym in Littlemore where a beauty therapist has been recruited to use it.

There's no cleansing, toning or massage first. Strip off to your bikini, get measured, put the pads on wet towels which are placed on tight straps from your thighs to your stomach.

It looks more like a form of torture than a treatment. But then no one would do it if it didn't work. The current has to be strong because it reaches the parts other treatments don't reach, such as the stomach muscles. You can work out for ever and still have a bit of a belly. This changes that.

The current starts off low but then builds up. It is negative and positive and pulses hard.

It's a shock to start with because the brain panics. It doesn't know why the body is exercising so hard.

And exercising it is. A thousand press ups in half an hour. There is no wrap to explain the loss. KMcA

IONITHERMIE

It was relaxing, therapeutic and it worked. Not only does it drain the lymph nodes but it tones and slims as well.

But it's time-consuming and rather messy, so be prepared. It involves the 'trouble spots' being covered in a clay and algae mask.

Then the same area is covered in pads which disperse two kinds of current through the body; galvanic sends the current to deep layers, breaking down the fatty deposits and toxins while the faradic eliminates waste, tones and firms. They are placed on the tummy and beneath you which attracts the current between them, passing the electricity through you.

All this takes quite a while. First they measure you and to save you having to wash it off, you are covered in ampules, a thin cloth and the hot clay poured on top. They treated my tummy, bum and thighs. And then they switch you on. It doesn't hurt at all. There is a gentle tingling and it is very relaxing.

When I left I could still feel it and definitely felt more pert. I lost several inches.

The treatment takes an hour at Bromley Hall in Thame and costs £40. They recommend five at a cost of £220. KMcA

SLENDERTONE

This piece of equipment looks quite sophisticated. It comes in a compact briefcase which makes transportation easy.

On opening, a first glance could either put you off immediately or intrigue you, with a sight of eight pads with a spaghetti junction of wires, a video and enough instructions to occupy you for life.

It claims to give you a flatter stomach in just three weeks of daily use. The instructions were easy - perhaps it was just the vast amount of paperwork which had initially put me off.

Attach the sticky pads on the correct points of your stomach or bottom, wire them up and wait for the fun bit to begin.

The wires are attached to a 'control box' and once everything is in place, you turn the box on and gradually increase the power.

Your stomach muscles begin a workout which is timed for 40 minutes and then switches off. Increasing the power will make the workout harder but until you are used to it, go careful as otherwise you feel like you are having electric shocks and your muscles feel like they are burning. I must admit, the first time I tried Slendertone, I was vegging out on the couch, watching EastEnders and felt no pangs of guilt as my stomach muscles were working hard.

It can hurt if you have the power too high when using it for the first time, but after a while your muscles strengthen and you can work them harder.

My only downside is that I may have overdone it one night and am now walking around with a bad back (mind you, I normally suffer more than this when I attempt five sit-ups and apparently Slendertone is the equivalent of 240 sit-ups.

The Slendertone Gymbody costs £99.95. GS

CELLULITE GEL

Perfect Forms Mincel cellulite body gel (£36.50 for 200ml) from Germaine de Capuccini, claims to restore a smooth, soft appearance to thighs, hips and bottom by reducing the notorious orange-peel effect of cellulite. The texture is smooth, perhaps a little too smooth as it practically slips out of the tube before you've even tried to squeeze it out (so never hold the tube at an angle).

The gel should be applied daily after a shower or bath, ideally in the morning or evening and it is claimed results can be seen and felt within the first few days.

It is supposed to improve the quantity and quality of collagen and elastin fibres and make the skin firmer and smoother. As a result, the fat deposits that cause the 'orange-peel' effect are drawn back within the skin and the contours are visibly improved.

My first impression of this gel was a combination. At first, I didn't like the idea of fat deposits being drawn back into my skin. If I'm paying nearly £40 for a gel, I want the fat out of my body, never to return but I guess for that, you probably need plastic surgery.

I found it smoothed into my skin easily but took a long while to absorb. The gel is very economical as a little goes a long way but it feels quite sticky afterwards, especially if you sit down on the sofa after applying. However, the results were quite impressive. After a fortnight of use, OK, I didn't have Elle MacPherson legs, but my pins were looking better.

Certain parts of my thighs had flattened out, giving a smoother appearance but there wasn't a complete transformation, although for the price, the improvement was pretty good.

The gel even gave me the confidence to walk around the beach on my recent Spanish holiday without worrying about who was chuckling at my orange-peel legs.

For a quick-fix, Mincel is worth a go, as long as you aren't worried about all the fat deposits under your skin. I'm continuing to use it to get the full effect. GS

FAT FACTS

*It is estimated that obesity is consuming about five per cent of the NHS budget, roughly £2bn a year

*Car, aeroplane and restaurant seats are being redesigned to accommodate our growing backsides

The World Health Organisation recently set up the Anti-Obesity Task Force

*One in every 200 British girls aged 15-18 suffers from an eating disorder

*Models in fashion magazines weigh around 23 per cent less than the average woman

*In the 1980s obesity was virtually unheard of in China. Today 70 million Chinese are overweight

These facts came from Fat, Exploding The Myths, by Lisa Colles, published by Carlton at £6.99.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.