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IN LOS
ANGELES, openings of spas, salons,
medi-spas and others modern beauty parlours are practically as frequent
as supermarket openings. Press people pull out all the stops to
show the public what makes their house of beauty different, and
journalists and celebrities eagerly partake a buffet of mini-treatments
and samples. Face it, competition is tough.
Dr Howard Murad, who established himself in top-tier
spas and beauty stores with his eponymous line of botanical-based
skin care, however, is not worried about the competition. Though
he has made his years of skin care and wellness experience available
in recent years through infomercials, reasonably priced combo packs
and acclaimed books (The Cellulite Solution, Wrinkle Free Forever,
The Murad Method), he has masterfully maintained his rank and
cache among the beauty élite. This spring, he took that success
to the next level with a flagship spa of his own—the Murad Inclusive
Health Spa—that goes against the grain of the frilly, girly and
bell-and-whistle festooned.
The attentive staffers, under Dr Murad’s tutelage,
are not just trained to sell products and treatments, but advise
clients on how to extend the benefits of those things, translating
the concepts behind products into solid lifestyle practices and
nutritional advice. They thoroughly examine you, put you through
a sort of therapy session, and make sure you get the right treatments
for your overall health goals, skin type and lifestyle. In other
words, the Murad experience is holistic and hands on, but rooted
in reality instead of musical fountains and Buddha statues.
According to Dr Murad, before resorting to procedures
to change one from the outside, he encourages his patients to look
within first, not only in terms of their diet but also how diet,
lifestyle choices and stressors affect everything else. ‘We cannot
treat a whole affected area until we treat the cells, and as we
get older, the loss of water in the cells affects the way the entire
body works,’ he says. ‘While our products work well, they work better
when you are taking care of the entire body and getting enough water.’
Water, indeed, is the stuff of life when it comes to
the Murad philosophy, and Dr Murad is one who teaches by example.
As he conducts interviews, he enjoys a plate of fresh fruit and
vegetables while encouraging his guests to do the same. It is a
perfect way to get across the principal that water you eat through
fresh produce will stay in your system and feed your cells far better
than just the recommended eight glasses of water Mom told you about.
The location of the new spa also says a lot about the
doctor’s philosophy. Rather than occupy a lingerie boutique-sized
space on swanky streets like Rodeo Drive, Montana Avenue or Robertson
Boulevard, Dr Murad’s vision sprawls nicely in a plaza near LAX
in a neighbourhood housing high-tech businesses and aerospace corporate
offices. Certainly, it is a new way of looking at—and treating—body,
mind and soul. •
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‘We cannot treat a whole affected area
until we treat the cells, and as we get older, the loss of water
in the cells affects the way the entire body works. While our products
work well, they work better when you are taking care of the entire
body and getting enough water’
—Dr Howard Murad
 
For more information, and news about future Murad
locations, visit www.muradspa.com.
Elyse Glickman is US west coast editor of Lucire.
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Left Dr Howard Murad, viewing skin care holistically.
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