Cellular Water Secret Smoothie

Every ingredient in this anti-aging power smoothie contains important nutrients that can help increase the water content of your cells, reduce wrinkles, and increase skin elasticity.

½ cup pomegranate juice (unsweetened)
½ cup soy milk
½ cup blueberries (fresh or unsweetened frozen)
1 tablespoon lecithin granules
1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
2 tablespoons dried goji berries
3 to 4 ice cubes or crushed ice (optional)
Splenda (sucralose) or Stevia extract (optional)

Place all ingredients in a blender and liquefy.

Straight from the Dr: For a healthy breakfast that fights cellulite, round out your meal with the following:

1/2 cup oatmeal with cinnamon and fat-free milk or soy milk
1/3 medium or 1 cup cubed cantaloupe
decaffeinated coffee or caffeine-free herbal or green tea

Three Facts About Adult Acne

Selecting an adult acne treatment is often not as easy as finding the right acne treatment solutions in your younger years. Older sufferers of acne breakouts may have additional skin care needs that weren’t present when they were younger, such as the need to address anti aging concerns as well. Also, adult acne is often driven as much by lifestyle and Cultural Stress® as by hormones. Of course, part of the solution is to understand the facts and myths about adult acne. Here are three important facts about adult acne that can help you find the right treatment solution for your skin care needs.

Fact: Adult Acne Forms Just Like Teenage Acne
While the causes that lead to acne in adults may be different than the causes of acne in teens, the actual acne blemishes are formed in the same way and are due to the same biological processes. Excess skin cells are formed within a hair follicle, and then clog the pore that houses the follicle. Once the pore is clogged, the oil and dirt trapped inside lead to the buildup of acne-causing bacteria. This causes inflammatory acne (visible blemishes) to form on your skin. While it’s true that a small percentage of acne breakouts will be caused by reactions to skin care or makeup products (acne cosmetica), the vast majority of breakouts in all ages result from excess skin cells in hair follicles. Fortunately, because the formation of acne is the same across all ages, the same acne medications are effective. Salicylic Acid, which is the key ingredient in Murad Acne Complex® products, works both to slough away dead skin cells beneath the surface of the skin and to fight acne-causing bacteria.

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Three Ways Winter Can Increase Acne Breakouts

Have you ever noticed that, often, your acne breakouts become more severe in the winter? It’s not just you! No matter what acne treatment products you’re using, if you live in a part of the world where winter means drier air, colder temperatures, and inclement weather, you may have a more difficult time controlling your acne-prone skin December through March. Why is that? There are a number of ways winter can wreak havoc on acne-prone skin—here are three to look out for.

Problem: Drier Winter Air Can Mean More Clogged Pores
Acne Treatment Solution: Be Sure to Exfoliate!
When the air is dry, your skin is dry as well. You may not notice this if you have acne-prone skin because your skin will remain oily and soft. However, in reality there’s an unavoidable increase in dead and dry skin cells on the surface of your skin. Combined with the extra skin cells in your hair follicles that already cause blemishes, this extra-dry and often irritated skin can lead to breakouts. How can you minimize this winter acne issue? Use an acne skin cleanser that also exfoliates. Because your skin is acne-prone, it’s important that you use a cleanser that relies on Alpha Hydroxy Acids and Beta Hydroxy Acids (AHAs and BHAs) to exfoliate both on the surface and beneath the surface of your skin. A textured exfoliating cleanser may irritate your already dry skin or even clog pores for more acne breakouts.

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New Year, New Acne Treatment Advice

The New Year is a great time to revisit your acne treatment program. You’ve got a fresh start and are excited about the possibilities the coming year will bring. Common acne treatment tips for the New Year include finding the right skin care regimen, learning about ingredients, and even changing how you wash your face. Here are a few tips for getting clear skin in the New Year you may not have found yet.

Tip One: Add an Acne Face Mask to Get Healthy, Acne-Free Skin
One step you can take to get clear skin in the New Year is to add not only an acne face mask to your treatment regimen, but also an at-home facial kit that will improve your overall skin tone and complexion. Face masks and at-home facials are a great way to boost your skin care regimen for increased results. For acne-prone skin, you’ll certainly want to add a weekly application of Murad Clarifying Mask. Murad Clarifying Mask uses rare earth clays to draw toxins to the surface and purify your skin for a reduction in acne breakouts. For the best, healthiest skin possible, it’s also recommended that you use an exfoliating face mask or antioxidant-rich face mask. Murad Pomegranate Exfoliating Mask is a weekly face mask that uses the antioxidants found in pomegranate to improve cell turnover and give skin an overall even, balanced glow.

Tip Two: Don’t Skimp on the Anti Aging Skin Care Products
You’re never too young to begin the best practice of incorporating anti aging skin care products into your skin care regimen. This is true even if your skin breaks out with acne blemishes regularly. While you could use a mix of anti aging and acne treatment products, there may be a simpler solution to help to heal your acne breakouts today as well as delay and diminish wrinkles tomorrow. Murad’s Anti-Aging Acne Regimen combines the power of acne-fighting ingredients like Salicylic Acid with the hydrating treatments Murad Acne & Wrinkle Reducer and Murad Anti-Aging Moisturizer SPF 20. You’ll get the benefit of healthy, clear skin in the present and younger-looking skin in the future.

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Three Winter Skin Care Mistakes Not to Make

Winter skin care can be tricky. Harsh weather, dry air, changes in diet and less time spent outdoors can leave skin looking and feeling less than healthy. But no matter what your skin type, skin care concern or favorite skin care products, don’t rely on winter skin care “shortcuts,” no matter how tempting they may be. Here are three common winter skin care mistakes to avoid!

Don’t Use the Tanning Bed
Even though it’s common knowledge that tanning beds are bad for your skin and cause long-term damage that ultimately results in older-looking skin, people often flock to tanning beds in winter. Despite the scientific information about the damaging effects of tanning beds, many people simply “feel” healthier with a tan. Because many people with acne-prone skin tend to experience more breakouts in the winter, drying out the skin with a trip to the tanning bed is often used as a supplement to their acne treatment products. There’s nothing healthy for your skin when you tan without UV protection, no matter what season it is. Don’t let the winter blues or pale winter skin drive you to the tanning bed. Every time you lay down in a tanning bed, you do permanent damage to your skin that even the best anti aging skin care products won’t be able to entirely undo.

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How to Select an At-Home Facial

With the holidays just around the corner, it’s important to find time to relax and treat both you and your skin. After all, skin can react poorly to the increased stress levels of the holidays. A skin care face mask or home facial is a perfect way to treat yourself to some quality “you” time this holiday season while also doing something healthy for your skin and your complexion. If you’ve never selected an at-home facial or face mask before, here are some tips to get you started.

Acne Face Masks and Facials for Acne-Prone Skin
Acne breakouts can increase over the holidays due to increased stress levels as well as diet and lifestyle changes. If you’re experiencing more breakouts than normal leading up to the holidays, an acne face mask can help augment your acne treatment products to get you clear skin for the New Year. Don’t look for masks that work to dry out your skin. Particularly with the drier air of winter, they can actually lead to over-dry, red, irritated skin and additional acne breakouts. Instead, look for masks that will draw out impurities from your skin, such as Murad Clarifying Mask. Murad Clarifying Mask uses rare earth clays to draw out the impurities that can clog pores and cause acne-causing bacteria to build up.

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Anti Wrinkle Primer: Causes and Treatment of Forehead Wrinkles

No matter what anti aging treatment you’re using for younger-looking skin, chances are you’re hoping to find an anti wrinkle treatment specifically designed to help minimize and smooth out the appearance of wrinkles on your forehead. Because the forehead is such a prominent area of your face, particularly when your hair is pulled back, wrinkles can appear more obvious. However, some simple prevention tips and effective anti aging and anti wrinkle products can have your forehead looking smooth and young for years to come.

What Causes Wrinkles on Your Forehead?
The wrinkles that appear on your forehead as you age are essentially caused by the same factors that cause wrinkles elsewhere on your face—a breakdown in the production of collagen, which gives skin its firmness, and elastin, which causes skin to snap back into place from a wrinkled state. This breakdown can be due to genetic aging, hormonal aging, or even sun damage and free radical damage caused by environmental aging. Additionally, because your forehead is an area of the face that often makes repetitive frowning or creasing movements as you talk and express yourself, lines and wrinkles due to those repetitive motions can form early and appear deeper than other wrinkles on your face.

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Five New Year’s Acne Treatment Resolutions

The best New Year’s resolutions are attainable ones. If you’re struggling with your acne treatment program, this year you can set some acne treatment resolutions that are achievable and will help you get rid of acne and get clear skin. Here are five suggestions from the acne experts at Murad.

Eat Less Junk Food and Processed Foods
Many New Year’s resolutions center on diet. Ideally, eat an acne diet packed with antioxidant-rich fresh fruits and vegetables that will also help you “eat your water.” A more manageable New Year’s acne resolution might be to simply reduce the amount of junk food and processed foods you eat and replace them with healthier foods for your skin.

Add an Acne Face Mask to Your Treatment Regimen
If you’re not already using an acne face mask as part of your acne treatment regimen, 2012 is a great time to add one. Enhancing your acne products with a weekly mask treatment to draw out impurities and dry out existing blemishes can improve your overall skin tone and reduce acne breakouts. Consider Murad’s Clarifying Mask, which uses rare earth clays to draw out skin impurities.

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Caffeine and Acne: Is There a Connection?

When considering the best foods for a healthy skin diet or acne diet, the topic of caffeine often arises. Does caffeine cause acne breakouts? The research doesn’t point to a simple yes or no answer, despite the commonly held assumption that caffeine is linked to acne. However, it’s true that your caffeine intake can work against finding an effective acne treatment. What’s the truth about caffeine and acne? Here are the facts you need to know.

Don’t Trust All the Research Studies on Caffeine and Acne
First, some of the research studies that linked caffeine and acne were done decades ago. If you come across these studies, you should know that current research considers them to be problematic because the studies were based on chocolate bars that actually used imitation chocolate and no real milk products. While cow’s milk and a high glycemic index are considered to be factors that contribute to acne breakouts, the role of caffeine in facial acne or back acne breakouts is not as clear.

Cow’s Milk and a High Glycemic Index Can Cause Acne?
Yes! Separate from the issue of caffeine and acne, if you’re looking to minimize foods that aren’t part of a healthy acne diet, reduce foods that are digested quickly and release a high amount of glucose into the bloodstream, such as baked potatoes and refined carbohydrates. When your blood sugar increases, so does your insulin level, and a growth hormone called IGF-1 is produced. That growth hormone has been linked to acne breakouts. Additionally, cow’s milk has been linked to acne breakouts due to the presence of hormones.

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Healthy Skin Tips: Advice for How to Get Healthy Skin

Everybody loves a good top ten list. When it comes to healthy skin and the best skin care products, a top ten list is an easy and fun way to get a handle on the best steps to take for beautiful, glowing skin. What are the most important things you can do to ensure your skin is healthy, acne-free and youthful looking? The Murad skin care experts have compiled their top ten!

10. Eat a Healthy Skin Diet: Diet is absolutely essential to having healthy skin. Eat a diet that is rich in antioxidant-packed fresh fruits and dark green vegetables and low in junk food and processed foods. Not only will the fruits and vegetables give you important antioxidants, but they will help you stay hydrated throughout the day, as the water in foods is more easily absorbed into your system.

9. Always Moisturize: No excuses! Whatever your skin type, a moisturizer is essential for healthy, hydrated skin. Moisturizer should be applied both in the morning and in the evening, especially if your skin is beginning to show the signs of aging.

8. Never Forget to Wash Off Your Makeup: Few things can dull your complexion or clog your pores faster than not removing your makeup at the end of the day. We all have nights when we’re especially tired, but making sure that makeup comes off every single night is essential to overall healthy skin.

7. Check Ingredients on Skin Care Products: Don’t just buy skin care products based on packaging or brand name. Research the ingredients to make sure your skin care products have what it takes to solve your skin concerns. You may even want to study some online skin care product reviews as well. Make educated decisions about what’s in the products that go on your skin.

6. Understand the Best Acne Treatment Solutions: There are so many myths about the causes of acne and the best ways to treat acne. If your concern is getting rid of acne and getting clear skin, it’s essential that you truly understand what causes acne and what will clear up your acne for the long term. The Murad Acne Treatment and Resource Center has compiled useful information to help you understand how acne forms and how to get clear skin.

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