[trip style = any]
{Editor’s Note: In addition to our regularly scheduled content, this month we’re doing a once-weekly feature on Travel Beauty. This week, Lauren, our beauty expert, sits down with LA-based skin care guru, aka The Father of Internal Skin Care, to talk about how to get glowing skin while you jetset---regardless of your trip style! Find out how to win a special Dr. Murad skin care kit here!}
I was thrilled to have the opportunity to chat with the renowned Howard Murad M.D., founder of Murad Skincare and the Murad Inclusive Health Spa, Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine {Dermatology} at UCLA, bestselling author and brand ambassador, and busy dermatologist---who has managed to treat over 50,000 patients over the course of his career! I asked Dr. Murad to share his tips on travel skin care and how to keep your complexion healthy and glowing while on vacation. Here’s what I learned:
Airplanes Can Be More Damaging To The Skin Than The Sun
Planes are one of the most dehydrating places on earth. With high levels of radiation at such altitudes; free radical and environmental damage are real concerns. What to do? “The skin is connected to the body, so if skin is dehydrated, so is the body,” explains Dr. Murad. “Internal hydration helps external hydration. Hydrating isn’t just about drinking your water, so much as eating it.” When you eat your water through fruits and vegetables, you not only hydrate, you also provide your body with antioxidants, anti-inflammatories and roughage. Whereas drinking too much water can flush out key nutrients. Eating water-rich raw foods like grapes, pomegranates, tomatoes and cucumbers helps hydrate and plump cells, giving you firmer, healthier looking, hydrated skin. This is an example of Dr. Murad’s philosophy of internal skin care and nurturing your skin from the inside out. So try to bring these fruits and veggies on the plane {if you're traveling domestically} to stay hydrated in-flight and keep your skin glowing! And while you’re at it, check out Dr. Murad’s book The Water Secret
You Really Are What You Eat
Vitamin A is known to improve the look of your skin, and is commonly prescribed to treat acne and smooth fine lines. Dr. Murad recommends eating Vitamin A and antioxidant-rich foods to help your skin from the inside out. Tomatoes, apricots, carrots, pomegranates, melon, papayas {yellow and red fruits and veggies} and green tea are examples of foods that are not only hydrating, but high in Vitamin A and antioxidants---i.e. super foods for the body and skin. In addition, these foods can help reduce certain radiation from the sun---just another reason to fill up on them. Dr. Murad cautions to stay away from fried and fatty foods, noting “improper eating is not good for the body, and the skin is part of the body.” So to stay radiant while on vacation, fill up on Vitamin-A rich foods and eat healthy.
Keep Up Your Skin Care Routine
Even on vacation, Dr. Murad recommends at the very least a 3-step skin care routine. Start with a cleanser for your skin type, follow with a treatment {depending on your skin, could be something for acne, wrinkles or pigmentation} and finish with a moisturizing sunscreen. Murad makes some fabulous travel-friendly kits that contain everything you need while on vacation, my favorites are:
Age Reform Complete Skin Renewal Kit {Murad.com, $42.50} with: cleanser, treatment, day and night cream
Radiant Skin Renewal Kit {Sephora.com, $45} with: cleanser, serum, moisturizer and treatment all packed with protecting and strengthening Vitamin C.
The Sun
Being outside and enjoying yourself is part of being on vacation---it’s unrealistic to think that you can stay out of the sun entirely. Dr. Murad suggests mixing a good sunscreen with at least an SPF 15 and UVA and UVB protection {to combat the burning and aging rays, also called “broad spectrum” protection}, as well as “internal sunscreen” {a healthy diet of fruits and veggies rich in antioxidants}, will keep you protected and can even increase the effectiveness of sunscreen. He says to look for sunscreens that contain chemical blockers like avobenzone, octocrylene, and ecamsule, as well as physical blockers like zinc, oxide, and titanium dioxide. But being outside poses more risks than harmful sun rays, there's also pollution and smog to think about. According to Dr. Murad, “a moisturizing sunscreen rich in antioxidants, with ingredients like pomegranate and green tea will help protect your skin from harmful environmental elements.” We love Murad’s Energizing Pomegranate Moisturizer SPF 15 (Murad.com, $33) which protects from free radicals and contains antioxidant-rich pomegranate.
More Travel Beauty The Best Fragrance For Each Trip Style Q&A With tarte Cosmetics Founder Beauty Bars Around The World Travel Beauty Hair Tips from Celebrity Stylist Michael Shaun Corby 4 Products You’ve Never Heard Of In-Flight Essentials
{Murad Gift Giveaway: Open to residents of Canada and the USA. Entries will be accepted Aug 10 – 16. Winner chosen at random and announced Aug 16, and has two days, after prizing notification, to make contact.}
[photos courtesy Dr. Murad]