Three Skin Care Resolutions

2012 is here! The champagne bottles are empty. The streamers are put away. It’s time to get on with the business of creating goals so you can be the best version of you this year. While we love the idea of making resolutions, the key to fulfilling your New Year’s resolution is to set an achievable goal. The Murad skin care experts came up with three New Year’s resolutions, based on skin concern and skin type, you can make to get healthier, beautiful skin in 2012.

Skin Care Resolution for Acne-Prone Skin
If your skin type is oily or acne-prone and you use acne treatment products, your skin care resolution is simple: Don’t “pick” or “pop” your existing blemishes! It’s a common habit of many acne sufferers, but the damage you can do to your skin from squeezing, picking or popping blemishes is far worse than the blemish itself. In addition to potentially irritating the skin around the inflamed acne breakout which can create more breakouts, you can cause long-lasting post-acne marks and acne scars. No matter how tempting it is to pick, pop or squeeze, you ultimately risk having to find an acne scar treatment to undo the damage you’ve done to your skin.

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Three Tips for Healthy Skin on a Winter Diet

For those who live in regions with four seasons and a true winter, diet and the availability of healthy food can shift dramatically during the winter months. Because diet is as important as the skin care products you use in ensuring that you have healthy, glowing skin, maintaining a healthy diet during the winter months can pay off in the long term when it comes to the appearance and youthfulness of your skin. In addition to the shifting availability of fresh produce in many markets, our natural tendency to hibernate as well as the increase in sweets and “party foods” available during the holiday season can lead to a less healthy diet, resulting in less healthy skin. Here are three tips for keeping a healthy skin diet during the winter months.

Focus on Antioxidant-Rich Foods
Whether your skin care regimen includes anti aging and anti wrinkle treatments or acne treatment products to get clear skin, antioxidants can help you get healthier skin that has a youthful glow for many years to come. In the summer, a diet rich in fresh fruits and salads will supply plenty of antioxidants. However, the typical winter diet is more meat- and carbohydrate-centered. Supplement your meals with dark green vegetables or rich fruit garnishes to get your daily dose of antioxidants. Though most vegetables lose some degree of nutrients in the cooking process, they are still healthier than no vegetables at all! A healthy intake of antioxidants is the most important part of maintaining a healthy skin diet throughout the winter. You may also want to consider supplementing your diet with a healthy skin vitamin supplement or topical antioxidants in an infusing home facial or face mask.

Maintain a Workout Routine
Many of us allow our workout and fitness routines to slip during the busy winter months (when it’s also harder to exercise outdoors). However, maintaining a healthy workout routine will help encourage your body to crave the types of nutritious, healthy foods that are so good for your skin (and your body). Even if you don’t work out with the same intensity and dedication in the winter that you do in the summer, remaining active will help you maintain your healthy skin diet. You’ll also have less work to do in the spring to get into “bikini shape.”

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Five Tips for Rough, Irritated Winter Skin

For those who live in locations where winter means freezing weather, dry air, and biting winds, skin care can be a challenge. Whether your skin needs an acne treatment, an anti wrinkle treatment, or products for combination skin, winter weather can refocus your skin care regimen. Dryer air and harsh weather patterns can leave any skin type feeling rough, irritated, and looking red and blotchy. Use these tips to help keep skin hydrated and smooth during the winter months.

Bundle Up! The most basic thing you can do to help preserve your skin from winter redness is to limit how much you expose your skin to the weather conditions. No, we don’t want you to put on a ski mask and trap oil and dirt against your skin the entire time you’re outside. However, use scarves and other winter accessories to shield your skin from the elements and reduce the signs of weather damage on your face.

Moisturize Day and Night: Much of the roughness and irritation your skin may experience during the winter months is due to dehydration from the drier air. Use a lightweight moisturizer during the day and an intensely hydrating nighttime moisturizer to replenish your skin and heal and soothe dryness. You may also want to consider a nourishing home facial or face mask to help restore skin’s natural balance.

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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 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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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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Top Ten Skin Care Tips for Healthy Skin

A new year is coming, and that’s a great time to make a resolution to get healthy, glowing skin that’s both acne-free and youthful looking. Getting healthy skin isn’t just about using the best skin care products you can find. It’s also about lifestyle choices, diet and even sleep patterns. Here are the top ten tips from the Murad skin care experts for getting healthy skin in 2012.

#10 Drink Water for Healthy Skin: Healthy skin is hydrated skin. Properly hydrated skin is firmer than dehydrated skin and doesn’t show lines and wrinkles as dramatically. Hydrated skin also means fewer acne breakouts. Most important: Healthy, hydrated skin has that “special glow” we all long for!

#9 Eat Your Water: Staying hydrated isn’t just about drinking water. The cellular structure of water in fruits and vegetables is actually more easily absorbed into your system and keeps you hydrated longer. When you eat fruits and vegetables, not only are you getting great nutrition, you’re also improving your skin’s structure and texture. To learn more about “eating your water,” read Dr. Murad’s best-selling book The Water Secret.

#8 Understand Your Acne Treatment Products: If, for you, healthy skin means acne-free skin, it’s time to educate yourself about what causes acne and the best methods to treat and get rid of acne. Don’t assume that drying out your acne is the best choice. Educate yourself on the myths and facts about acne and acne treatments.

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Three Drinks That Are the Enemy of Healthy Skin

If you follow the Murad Skin Deep blog and its skin care and acne treatment advice, then you already know that one of the keys to healthy, acne-free, youthful-looking skin is to stay hydrated. That means you need to both “eat” your water in the form of healthy fruits and vegetables and drink water daily. From anti aging skin treatment products to acne treatment products, nothing will make your skin healthier than water. Unfortunately, we’ve also found that many people mistake the word “beverage” for “water.” There are actually a number of beverages that work against the goal of having healthy skin. Here are the worst things you can drink if you want healthy, glowing skin.

Soda Pop and Skin Health: There’s absolutely nothing good about drinking soda pop on a regular basis. When it comes to your skin, this manifests in two ways. Caffeine and high amounts of sugar, both of which are present in soda pop, can interfere with the digestive process, basically shutting it down. This means you’re not absorbing nutrients from the foods you eat. Proper nutrients, particularly from fruits and vegetables that are high in antioxidants, are essential to healthy skin. Healthy skin also requires that you have a balanced pH level in your body. Soda pop is highly acidic and can throw off the natural pH balance of your body and therefore your skin. The health and appearance of your skin is just one of many compelling reasons to stop drinking soda pop in your daily routine.

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Eat Your Way To Beautiful, Younger Looking Skin

This Thanksgiving, Dr. Murad recommends eating your way to beautiful, younger-looking skin. Check out his personal recipes for a healthy and yummy Thanksgiving dinner.

Orange Colored Foods: Carrots, sweet potatoes and oranges are packed with Vitamin A and Vitamin C, both of which help restore and give life back to damaged collagen. Eat carrots with hummus for a nice, healthy snack, baked sweet potatoes as a side dish at dinner and don’t feel guilty about that tall glass of organic orange juice every once in awhile. Your skin will thank you.

Dr. Murad’s Antioxidant Power Salad

• 1 pound fresh brussel sprouts, halved
• 1 pound fresh baby carrots
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon grated orange peel
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon tumeric
• 5 drops hot pepper sauce

Place brussel sprouts and carrots in a large saucepan with a small amount of water; cover and cook until tender, about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, combine the remaining ingredients. Drain vegetables; add oil olive mixture and toss to coat.

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Winter Lip Care: Complete Winter Skin Care Tips from Murad

Winter often means significant changes to your skin care routine and the skin care products you use. Many of us need to be more responsible about both hydration and using a great skin moisturizer when the air around us becomes drier as winter sets in. One area of winter skin care that often gets overlooked is lip care. Your lips can be among the first areas to suffer from the drier air and harsher weather conditions in winter. Just like with your face, taking some extra precautions to ensure that you have beautiful, healthy lips all winter long can pay off in both the short and long term.

Winter Lip Care Tip: Understand the Difference Between Lip Treatment and Lip Protection
One of the most important things you can do to ensure healthy lips in winter is to understand the difference between a lip treatment and lip protection. This is true whether you’re using women’s skin care products or men’s skin care products. Lip protection is a lip balm or thicker lip covering that is designed to protect your lips from the elements. It’s typically waxier in consistency and may not simultaneously treat or moisturize your lips. Most important, since you will most likely wear it outdoors, it should include sun protection. A lip treatment is a formula you apply to moisturize or repair your lips. It can also be worn outside, but may not protect your lips from the elements as effectively. During the winter, stock up on a form of lip protection as well as a lip treatment. Wear your lip protection outdoors, and switch to your lip treatment when you come in from the cold!

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