Dr. Murad’s Tips for Exfoliating Skin

Regular exfoliation is one of the things you can do to help transform your skin to a younger, healthier look. Deriving its name from Latin, “exfoliation” means “to peel off leaves,” and for centuries people have been peeling off the layer of dead skin cells using various exfoliation methods.

The skin is the largest organ of the body and acts as a protective barrier for everything that lies underneath – including muscles, blood vessels, bone, etc. As the body’s first line of defence, the skin can take on quite a bit of punishment from the environment, leaving it dry and dull. When you exfoliate, you are removing the dead skin cells from the upper layer of the skin, revealing the young, healthy cells underneath and encouraging new skin growth.

There are a number of reasons to consider incorporating regular exfoliation into your skincare routine:

• Exfoliating reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
• Skin appears brighter, fresher and healthier after exfoliating.
• Exfoliating prior to using a treatment product allows the active ingredients to better penetrate the skin.
• Exfoliating helps to unclog pores, which can prevent breakouts.
• Exfoliating speeds up the cell renewal process.

There are many ways to exfoliate, including scrubs, masks, brushes and microdermabrasion devices. Since everyone’s skin is different, with varying sensitivity, I recommend starting with an over-the-counter scrub or mask first and monitoring how your skin reacts. Once you know your skin isn’t highly sensitive to exfoliating, you may wish to move on to trying other exfoliating tools and professional treatments.

For a transformative experience, include exfoliation in your regular skincare regimen one to three times a week. But as with any kind of skin treatment, always be observant of your skin’s reactions when you exfoliate. If you are experiencing unusual redness or irritation following exfoliating, it might be time for a gentler exfoliant.

And don’t forget to use liberal amounts of your favourite moisturiser and sunscreen following exfoliation. Now that you have removed the top layer of dead skin cells, your skin will be more sensitive to environmental exposure such as sun, pollution and dry air, so protection from the elements is very important.

Article by Howard Murad, M.D., FAAD, a world renowned skincare expert and founder of the Inclusive Health movement.

Take the “Are You Happy?” Test

The positive correlation between happiness and health long recognised as folk-wisdom has been put to the scientific test in recent years.  Rigorous studies confirm that laughter is indeed the best medicine.  That’s why one of the most important elements of an Inclusive Health lifestyle is making time for the things that make you happy.

HEALTH BENEFITS OF BEING HAPPY
Being happy may not only improve the emotional quality of your life, but also your physical state, mental capacity and how long you live. A recent five-year study by University College London found  that, during the study period,  older people were up to 35% less likely to die if they reported feeling happy, excited, and content on a typical day. And this was true regardless of chronic health problems, depression, and stress incident to financial insecurity.

So, how happy are you?

HAPPINESS TEST
Happiness is subjective and hard to measure, but easy to recognise. Take this brief quiz below, created by Sonja Lyubomirsky, a professor at the University of California Riverside, to find out how happy you are:

1. On a scale from 1 (not a very happy person) to 7 (a very happy person), I consider myself a number:

2. On a scale of 1 (less happy) to 7 (more happy), when compared with most of my peers, I consider myself a number:

3. Some people are generally very happy. They enjoy life regardless of what is going on, getting the most out of everything. On a scale of 1 (not at all) to 7 (a great deal), to what extent does this characterisation describe you?

4. Some people are generally not very happy. Although they are not depressed, they never seem as happy as they might be. On a scale of 1 (not at all) to 7 (a great deal), to what extent does this characterisation describe you?

To calculate your score, add up your response to each question and divide by 4. Then find yourself on the chart below:

1                    2                    3                    4                    5                    6                    7

Unhappy                                             Average                                 Extremely Happy

 

The average happiness score runs from about 4.5 – 5.5.

If your score is low and you are nearer to the unhappy end of the scale, there are a number of relatively easy things you can do to improve how you feel.

HOW TO BECOME A HAPPIER PERSON
One of the insights Dr. Murad often shares with his patients is “Why have a bad day when you can have a good day?”

He says: “Having a wonderful day or a terrible day is less a matter of circumstances than it is of choice.  You can choose to have a good day – or not. It’s entirely up to you.  This is a key part of the thinking behind my philosophy of Inclusive Health. The positive health benefits of improving your mental outlook can be tremendous.”

Here are some areas in which you can start changing your life for the better:

• Emotional Vitality: Having a sense of hopefulness, enthusiasm for life and engagement with community. Volunteer to help a local charitable organisation to help boost your emotional vitality.
• Optimism: Approaching life thinking good things will happen, and that one’s actions can have a positive impact on the future. What are some of the good things that have happened to you lately and what are some of the best things you are looking forward to?
• Support System: A positive and supportive network of family, friends and co-workers. Staying in touch with and doing activities with loved ones is a great way to strengthen your support system.
• Self-Regulation:The ability to bounce back from life’s challenges knowing that things will eventually be positive again.  Life throws you curve balls – you have to learn to hit them out of the park.
• Physical Health: Choosing healthy behaviours such as eating well and exercising regularly.  Eating your water (water-rich raw fruits and vegetable, for example), is one way to very quickly improve your overall health.
• Being in the moment: The ability to be completely present in this moment, without thinking of what has happened in the past or what is coming up in the future. Practicing meditation and/or yoga is a good way to learn to enhance your capability for mindfulness.

When you “detoxify your brain” by thinking positively, every cell in your body will be healthier.

Sources: Harvard School of Public Health, CNN Health, ABC News, ABC News 20/20

Exercise and Breakouts

Exercise is not only good for your weight and your health – it is also good for your skin! The skin is your body’s largest organ, so an overall healthy lifestyle including exercise will actually benefit the skin in a number of ways:

– Exercising increases blood flow to the skin, which helps nourish cells and keep them healthy.

– That increased blood flow from exercise helps carry away waste from the skin, including cellular debris and free radicals.

– Exercise relieves stress, which can be an exacerbating cause for some spot sufferers. Studies have shown that stress hormones affect sebaceous glands that are responsible for oil production in the skin.

– Exercise boosts your immune system, which helps the body fight off bacteria and inflammation that can lead to spots.

If you have a special skin condition, such as being blemish-prone, you may need to take particular care of your skin to keep it protected before, during and after exercising.

– Prior to working out, clean skin with warm water and mild soap. This will allow pores to release toxins through sweat without mixing with bacteria that can be present from makeup, dirt and oil.

– During your workout, make sure to wear sunscreen if you’re exercising outside! Also, when wiping sweat from your face, make sure you use a clean towel to dab the sweat off your skin; don’t swipe. Vigorous swiping can irritate pores, which may lead to inflammation and breakouts.

– Following your workout, shower immediately, thoroughly washing your body and face. Put on an oil-free moisturiser to help replenish skin hydration. And continue to hydrate with water-rich snacks throughout the rest of the day.

Spotlight on: Rapid Collagen Infusion (£78)

If lines and wrinkles are starting to stare back at you when you look in the mirror then you’ll want to hear about our latest anti-ageing innovation: Rapid Collagen Infusion. This new wrinkle-fighting skin solution boosts collagen and hydration levels for plumper skin in just two hours!

We lose 1% of collagen every year starting at age twenty, according to Dr. Murad. The more collagen we lose, the more fine lines and wrinkles appear which is why it’s essential we work to increase our collagen levels as we age.

This fast-acting, multi-tasking, wrinkle-fighting and collagen-building formula promotes healthy collagen and increases hydration levels which together plump up and smooth out fine lines and wrinkles.

Why it’s so special

For the first time, Dr. Murad and his son Jeff Murad have managed to penetrate the skin’s surface with the power of collagen. The collagen molecule is too large to penetrate the skin, so it’s been previously impossible to use it in a topical skincare product. The clever Murads discovered they could break an intact collagen protein down into its components of amino acids and these are small enough to penetrate the skin and give the benefits of a full collagen molecule. The result: Rapid Collagen Infusion.

The fantastic infusion pumps skin with hydration leaving it smooth and plump. It’s perfect for anyone looking to reduce fine lines and wrinkles and it’s ideal for people in their twenties too, as a preventative anti-ageing measure.

Secret formula

We already know it contains collagen, but what else makes this product so special? It contains Dr. Murad’s unique Cellular Hydro-Lock with Apple and Lentil Seed Extracts, which infuse skin with essential moisture and help to smooth those pesky fine lines and wrinkles. Plus, Winged Kelp (a type of seaweed) helps smooth skin by encouraging the production of collagen (to keep skin plump) and elastin (to keep skin firm).

Your complete skincare regime

For the healthiest skin possible, we recommend using a complete skincare regime which includes a cleanser, followed by a serum and then a moisturiser. And don’t forget an eye cream to protect and hydrate this fragile area.

What our customers say:

“I am raving about this to anyone who’ll listen! I’ve tried loads of anti-ageing creams and serums but nothing has come close to this – I can honestly say I have never known such amazing results in such a short time. Skin is glowing and softer than ever, lines are diminished and I have a youthful radiance I assumed I’d never see again.”

Woods13

“I’ve been using this product for a few weeks and I love it. It absorbs really easily and leaves my skin really smooth. I have dry skin and this leaves it feeling hydrated and I’ve seen an improvement in the fine lines.”

Nimster

“I don’t rave about things easily, but I really love this. I expected it to be a bit ‘serumy’ but it’s not. It’s a light cream texture which absorbs really easily and can be worn under a moisturiser and more importantly, make up. In three weeks I can absolutely see a difference. I am lucky enough to be blessed with good genes which help considerably in the anti-ageing battle, but the fine lines around my eyes have pretty much disappeared. And my skin feels toned but with a plump brightness, which is a feat in itself in this weather. I’ve just turned 45 and was told this week that I look like I’m in my early thirties. It’s a minefield buying skin with so many highly acclaimed products on the market – but I loved this and it’s certainly made a difference where other creams and serums haven’t.”

Sam Bird

Dr. Murad’s Water Secret Smoothie Recipe

One of Dr. Murad’s favourite sayings is “before there was medicine there was food.” This reflects the simple reality that before modern medical treatments people had to rely on eating healthily to be healthy!

In light of this we thought we’d share with you the recipe to his Cellular Water Secret Smoothie which contains all the nutrients you need to build stronger cells for a healthy body, healthy skin and healthy mind:

1/2 pomegranate juice (unsweetened)

½ cup soy, low-fat, or non-fat 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)

Sweetener (optional) to taste

Combine all ingredients in a blender until smooth. Enjoy!

This is one smoothie which is incredibly good for you and tastes incredibly good too!

Find more recipes for healthy living in Dr. Murad’s book ‘The Water Secret – how to look and feel 10 years younger’.

Dr. Murad is a world-renowned dermatologist, trained pharmacist, Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine at UCLA and founder of Murad skincare. Not only is he a world famous skincare expert, he’s also an expert on sleep, nutrition, stress, promoting health and happiness to achieve beautiful skin.

The Big Summer Skincare Switch Up

As we look forward to warmer – if not always sunny – weather, it becomes necessary to go through a bit of an overhaul! We switch to cooler clothing, brighter colours, lighter makeup and we may even cut our hair, however it’s easy to forget to switch up our skincare. The truth is, if your product routine is working for you then you may not think to change it. However, there are a few small switches Dr. Murad suggests making to ensure you’re getting the most out of your skincare during the summer months:

Switch up your moisturisers. “During the winter your skin is usually drier because the air outside is drier and your skin needs extra hydration from a thicker moisturiser. During the summer when there is more humidity, a lighter day cream is all you need. Do bear in mind though, if you’re constantly inside and surrounded by extreme air conditioning, your skin may still dry out.

I always recommend wearing a day cream with SPF, especially during the summer months when the sun is stronger and you spend more time outside, regardless of your skin type.”

Top tip: if you have a dry skin type make sure your day cream still offers you the hydration you need. All Murad moisturisers contain RepleniCell, a hydrating ingredient technology which turns the water in your cream (previously an inactive element) into an active hydrator. This means 100% of the formula is working to hydrate your skin by attracting and binding water to the skin’s surface while also strengthening the skin’s barrier helping it keep moisture in the skin.

Product recommendations:

Oil-Control Mattifier SPF 15 controls oil production whilst providing essential hydration.

Hydro-Dynamic Ultimate Moisture intensely hydrates and nourishes skin.

 

Change your cleanser. “In the summer months we experience increased sweat and oil production which can lead to acne-breeding bacteria and is why many people are more prone to breakouts during warmer months. To combat this you can use a clarifying cleanser to unclog the pores that have become full of sweat, dirt and debris. It’s also important to exfoliate at least once per week to clear away the layers of dead skin cells and give you a clearer, more radiant skin.”

Top tip: take the time to massage your cleanser into your skin for a good couple of minutes before rinsing. Also, don’t skip your night-time cleanse! You need to take the time to cleanse your skin before bed to remove all the dirt and impurities built up during the day and allow your skin the best chance to recover and repair itself overnight.

Product recommendations:

Daily Cleansing Foam cleanses and tones skin in one step! It balances and revitalises skin while removing pore-clogging impurities for smooth, clear skin.

AHA/BHA Exfoliating Cleanser combines a trio of acids with Jojoba Beads to gently exfoliate away dead skin cells and improve brightness and clarity.

Load up on antioxidants. “Infusing your body with antioxidants both topically and internally will offer dramatic protection from the environment and in particular, free radicals caused by sun exposure.”

Product recommendation: Consider taking supplements with pomegranate extract, like our Pomphenol Sunguard Dietary Supplement. Taking just one pomegranate extract supplement daily will increase your skin’s natural sun protection by up to 20% in just two months. The potent antioxidant also helps ward off free radical damage and lower your chances of sun burn and prickly heat.

Look for multipurpose products for a lightweight feel. “You may also want to consider replacing your foundation for something lighter such as a Murad primer, which provide light coverage whilst controlling oil production. Our primers work as a cosmetic makeup as well as offering skincare benefits.  These sophisticated skincare products offer more than temporary benefits – they treat skin problems, optimise skin health and conceal visible flaws, so they are truly multi functional and offer short and long term results.”

Product recommendation:

Skin Perfecting Primer Matte Finish provides a light veil of coverage.

Spotlight on: Renewing Cleansing Oil (£29)

We’re excited to launch our first oil-based cleanser! Using a blend of gorgeous botanical oils, it’s fantastic for removing makeup, eye makeup and the dirt of the day, while also hydrating the skin and locking in moisture. If you wear makeup, have dry, sensitive or ageing skin we think you’ll love this.

Don’t be afraid of using oil for cleansing, you see oil and dirt on the skin attach to the oil in the cleanser, and when rinsed off, it results in clearer, unclogged pores. Top tip: make sure your cleansing oil is non-comedogenic (it should have a non-comedogenic symbol). This will reassure you, especially if you have oily or a blemish-prone skin, that it won’t clog your pores. Of course, it goes without saying that our Renewing Cleaning Oil is non-comedogenic.

Dr. Murad says: “Many people are hesitant to put oil-based products on their skin for fear of clogging pores or causing breakouts. This is a misconception. Even oily skin needs moisture – it just needs the right kind.”

Why it’s so special

This wonderful cleanser completely removes makeup and washes away surface impurities without leaving the skin stripped of its own natural oils. Whether you’re just prone to dry skin or if you’re working to stay hydrated to improve the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, this cleansing oil leaves skin smooth and hydrated.

Secret formula

Dr. Murad’s botanical blend of grape seed, pomegranate seed and sunflower seed oils, plus olive fruit extracts are the secrets to its success. They gently cleanse skin as well as adding hydration. While they’re at work, Jojoba and Liquorice are also busy nourishing your skin and helping to restore a smooth texture to your skin.

Your complete skincare regime

For the healthiest skin possible, we recommend a complete skincare regime which includes a cleanser, followed by a serum and then a moisturiser. And don’t forget an eye cream to protect and hydrate this fragile area too.

Find out more about this cleanser here: http://www.murad.co.uk/renewing-cleansing-oil

LOL! It’s good for your health

“Laughter is the best medicine.” We’ve all heard this phrase before and it’s been repeated for generations for good reason! In fact, research has unveiled that laughter really does serve as a great medicine to help your mental and physical health.

Whether it’s a big belly laugh or an uncontrollable giggle, laughter can affect our bodies and our minds in a multitude of beneficial ways. When we laugh, we stretch muscles throughout the face and neck, and sometimes even our bodies. Additionally, the pulse and blood pressure go up briefly, increasing oxygen to our tissues. Indeed, the benefits of a good, hearty belly laugh are similar to a light workout…including burning calories.

Feeling a chuckle coming on? Here’s why you should allow it to grow into a full-blown, “laugh until it hurts” belly laugh:

Physical Benefits:

• Improves your immune system. Laughter strengthens the immune system by increasing infection-fighting antibodies, according to studies at Loma Linda University.
• Soothes tension in muscles. Laughter can stimulate circulation and aid muscle relaxation, which helps reduce the physical symptoms of stress. Laughter also acts as a distraction, allowing a person to forget about physical pains.
• Increases blood flow. Laughter enhances your intake of oxygen, stimulating the heart, lungs and muscles. It increases blood flow, which may help protect against heart attacks and other cardiovascular problems. Laughter can also trigger the release of endorphins, a feel-good chemical released by the brain creating a feeling of well-being and relieving stress and pain.

 Emotional Benefits:

• Lowers stress. Laughter creates a relaxed feeling by heating up and then cooling down your stress response, which increases your heart rate and blood pressure. This reduces stress and improves your mood, leaving you feeling recharged and positive.
• Boosts self confidence. Laughter can make coping with difficult situations much easier. When you’re able to laugh at yourself instead of getting upset or putting yourself down, you are increasing your personal satisfaction, confidence and ultimate well-being.

 Social Benefits:

• Strengthens relationships. Studies have shown that laughter can actually make you more attractive to your friends, loved ones and the opposite sex.
• Helps to defuse conflicts. In stressful conflicts, we often search for a right or wrong answer. Instead, try finding the humour in the situation, and you might realise that what you thought was a big issue was actually quite small in the grand scheme of things.

So here’s to digging out our best jokes and LOL!

Sources: Care2.com, Mayo Clinic, University of Kentucky

Preventing “Sleeping Lines”: Wrinkles Caused by Sleeping Patterns

Don’t we all want to hibernate in winter? Snuggling up in a cosy duvet and settling down to sleep always seems more appealing in the colder months. However, while you’re snoozing away, “sleep wrinkles” could be sneaking up on you! It may be one of the most often-overlooked causes of wrinkles but, if altered, the position in which you sleep can help to prevent wrinkles from forming.

Sleep Lines and Sleep Wrinkles are Not a Myth

The idea of “sleep wrinkles” is often considered to be a beauty myth, but sleep wrinkles are recognised as a dermatologic reality. In fact, the American Academy of Dermatology supports the idea that sleeping in certain positions will increase and cause wrinkles.

Which Sleeping Positions Cause or Prevent Wrinkles and Why

Sleeping on your side or with your face down on your pillow can cause wrinkles to form, while sleeping on your back can prevent the formation of wrinkles. The reason for this has to do with two other causes of wrinkles: repetitive motion and gravity. Repetitive motions can ultimately lead to wrinkles over time; e.g. expression lines around your mouth and crow’s feet around your eyes. When you sleep on your side or with your face down into the pillow, you “push” your skin into positions in a way that is similar to repetitive facial motions.

Gravity also plays a role in the development of wrinkles. As skin loses its firming collagen and becomes looser, the life-long push of gravity downward leads to the appearance of wrinkles or sagging skin. When you sleep on your side, you allow gravity to push your face to one side or the other, causing the wrinkles on that side of your face to appear deeper.

When you sleep on your back, you don’t push your face into wrinkled positions and gravity pulls your skin back away from your face rather than towards the centre of it.

The Role of Collagen and Elastin in Sleep Wrinkles

While the repetitive motions of sleeping positions and the impact of gravity are the lifestyle causes of sleep wrinkles, it’s the natural breakdown of collagen and elastin as you age that really makes the lines appear. While you most likely have slept in the same position for most of your life, you’re unlikely to see the first appearance of sleep wrinkles until you are beginning to see the signs of ageing skin throughout your body. Why is that? It’s because while you sleep, wrinkles are forming throughout your life, they become defined and apparent as your collagen and elastin breakdown.

Elastin is the skin protein that makes skin smooth and allows it to “snap back” from positions. Collagen is the protein that’s responsible for supporting skin in order to make it appear firm and full. As you age, genetics, UV damage, environmental factors and the hormonal shift for women associated with menopause all work to deplete your collagen and elastin. When this happens, your skin becomes looser and wrinkles that have been forming over time become more visible.

Related Product: Rapid Collagen Infusion

This is the first-ever product to penetrate the skin’s surface with pure collagen! After the age of 20, a person produces about one percent less collagen in the skin each year. This product combats the break down of collagen and keeps skin plump.

This product is available exclusively from QVC in January 2014. Tune into the show on Friday 17^th January.

It will be available at www.murad.co.uk from February 2014.

Treating and Preventing Sleep Lines and Sleep Wrinkles

To treat and prevent sleep lines from forming, you should make both skincare and lifestyle changes. Of course, the best change is to learn to sleep on your back, but it’s actually quite uncommon that an individual is able to change their natural and habitual sleeping position! Adopting the practices of Inclusive Health®, Dr. Murad’s revolutionary youth-building lifestyle, can assist in preventing and minimising wrinkles and ageing skin. Here are the three prongs of his Inclusive Health® philosophy:

Look Better: Anti-ageing products are a vital part of any anti-wrinkle regime. Develop a personalised anti-ageing skincare regime that combines products that hydrate with those that support the production of collagen.

Live Better: Healthy skin begins on the inside, and the most effective form of youth-building is via diet and nutrition. Staying hydrated by eating your water daily in the form of fresh fruits and vegetables as well as embracing a diet that’s rich in Essential Fatty Acids and antioxidants will improve not only the youthfulness of your skin, but also of your body.

Feel Better: Your stress levels and your sense of self have an overwhelming impact on the health of your body and your skin. Learning to control Cultural Stress® and taking time for you can improve the health of your body and its largest organ, the skin!

Blemish Treatment Fact: Don’t Stop Using Blemish Skincare When Your Skin is Clear!

So you found the right blemish treatment regime and your skin is finally clear – congratulations! Murad knows that finding the right solution to get clear and stay clear can be an emotional, mental and physical challenge. Unfortunately, for many people, once they finally get clear skin, they stop using their blemish treatment products because they think that their blemish problem is solved. The truth of the matter is that, for most forms of blemishes, you’ll need to continue using your regime even after you get clear skin. If you don’t, you’ll probably see those pesky breakouts again.

Here’s why you need to stay on top of your blemish treatment even if there isn’t a breakout:

Blemish Treatment Products Treat the Symptoms of Breakouts: They Don’t “Cure” Blemishes

The first thing you need to know is that there’s really no cure for blemishes. You can create a skincare regime that gives you clear skin, but blemish-prone skin is biological and can’t be changed. The cause of breakouts – clogged pores – is typically due to a hormonal overproduction of skin cells and sebum (oil) being created. When you treat blemishes, you are working to unclog or prevent clogged pores, but your body is still “wired” to overproduce the oil and skin cells that clog the pores. When you achieve clear skin, you’ve effectively created a complexion where no pores are clogged. But if you stop working to keep your pores unclogged, they’ll simply get clogged again and you’ll end up with blackheads and inflamed blemishes. Pores never stop clogging and if you don’t maintain a regime that keeps them clear, your spots will return.

Recommended Product: Murad Clarifying Cleanser

One way to ensure that you’re still working to keep skin clear and pores unclogged even when your complexion appears clear is to use a clarifying facial cleanser that includes a topical spot-medication like Salicylic Acid.

Customer Review

“I was introduced to Murad by my cousin. She was in town visiting, and noticed that I had several breakouts in the short week that she visited. After explaining the success she had using the products, I tried it. It worked wonders for my combination skin, and also improved the dark-blotchy patches.” – Troya

 The Skin That You See Isn’t Your Only Skin

We’re sure you’re elated your complexion is clear, but keep in mind your skin is made up of several layers. The skin you see when you look in the mirror (the epidermis or top layer) is actually already dead skin that is flaking away every day. The skin that needs to be healthy and free of clogged pores is actually beneath that skin. If you don’t maintain a healthy blemish treatment regime that focuses on exfoliating away debris and dead skin that clogs hair follicles and pores beneath the surface, then eventually that skin will work its way towards the surface of the epidermis. When it does, you’ll once again experience blackheads and blemishes. Remember that in many ways it’s the skin you don’t see that you need to be treating!

Recommended Product: Murad Exfoliating Blemish Treatment Gel

Get beneath the surface of the skin to exfoliate away debris and dead skin cells that clog hair follicles and pores and lead to blemishes. This clear treatment gel contains Salicylic Acid to get beneath the surface of the skin and prevent the clogged pores that cause breakouts.

Customer Review

“I love all the Murad products, but this is the one I absolutely cannot live with out. I ran out and thought maybe my breakouts wouldn’t come back, but as soon as I stopped using this they came back. I will never run out again!” – Liz217

Your Spots May By Cyclical

If you have hormonal blemishes and are female, your breakouts may be “cyclical”: tied to natural rotations in your hormone cycles. If that’s the case, your clear complexion may be as much the result of a “down” point in the cycle as it is the result of great blemish treatment products. If you stop your regime, you may find that your skin breaks out again the next time that you have a hormonal surge. For women, it’s very common for breakouts to happen around the time of your menstrual cycle and reduce during the remainder of the month. If you take a break from your blemish treatment regime, you may not be combatting cyclical hormonal acne effectively.

Consistency is Key When It Comes to Treating Blemishes

Always remember that when you’re treating spots or any other skin concern, consistency is key. Making sure that you follow through with your daily and nightly regime is the only way to get clear, stay clear and create blemish-free skin that’s Better Every Day®.