The Murad line of products is weird. Some of them are wonderful and contain and do wonderful things; others range from smelling terrific (the Murad Acne Clarifying Cleanser) all the way to smelling like something your dead grandmother wore (the Brightening Lotion). Yet others are loaded with irritants, and you wonder why a dermatologist would dream of putting irritants in a skincare product (see the Clarifying Cleanser for an excellent example), slapping a big pricetag on it, and foisting it onto consumers who either don’t read the ingredient panels or don’t understand them. (I am neither of those.) Murad Perfecting Day Cream SPF 30 for Sensitive Skin is a beautiful, rich, creamy (unscented!) cream for those of us with dry, sensitive skin, and it contains essential fatty acids as well as anti-oxidants (including magnesium ascorbyl phosphate, the stable form of vitamin C. Yay!). And the best part (besides the pleasing SPF 30) is that it doesn’t make my face so greasy that my glasses/sunglasses keep sliding off. Cool! But wait! What’s this? In looking further down the ingredient panel, I find… no, it can’t be!

Did the Day Cream get in my eyes, blurring my vision? This doesn’t make any sense! But there it is, plain as day: Hydrogen peroxide. Yuppers! While my lovely sunscreen has been protecting my face, neck, and chest from the sun and free radicals, it’s also been free radicalizing those areas, too! (sob!) All the good it’s been doing is canceled out by the damned hydrogen peroxide. Maybe Dr Murad doesn’t actually formulate his products, but rather has some flunkies doing it, and he merely rubber stamps whatever comes out of the lab? Or does he simply follow the latest trends, whatever they are, and add them to his products, too, regardless of whether they’re good ideas or bad ideas? Shouldn’t he be setting the trends? Shouldn’t he be doing what’s best, regardless of whether what other companies are doing is wise?

Folks, you don’t wanna be putting hydrogen peroxide on your face (or anywhere on your body, for that matter). From Paula Begoun the CosmeticsCop:

There is a great deal of current research showing that hydrogen peroxide is problematic as a topical disinfectant because it can greatly reduce the production of healthy new skin cells (Source: Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, September 2001, pages 675-687). Hydrogen peroxide is also a significant oxidizing agent, meaning that it generates free-radical damage. While it can function as a disinfectant, the cumulative problems that can stem from impacting the skin with a substance that is known to generate free-radical damage, impair the skin’s healing process, cause cellular destruction, and reduce optimal cell functioning are serious enough so that it is better to avoid its use (Sources: Carcinogenesis, March 2002, pages 469-475; and Anticancer Research, July-August 2001, pages 2719-2724).

I am currently rationalizing the fact the hydrogen peroxide appears 19th on the list of ingredients, so perhaps it’s not doing too much damage (I love it that much), but I’m keeping my peepers peeled for a replacement I like as much as this one. Meanwhile, shame on Murad! What’s going through their heads?! $44.00

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