Howard Murad

Nothing in Howard Murad's appearance or manner suggests a rebel. At 59, he is a soft-spoken, natty dresser with stylishly slender eyeglasses and short silver hair. Yet throughout his career, and especially in the 10 years in which he's built his El Segundo-based skin care company into a $60-million-or-more-a-year business, he has been a maverick. In his characteristically calm, self-assured way, he says, "I'm open-minded, and I look at things differently than a lot of people do."

Nothing in Howard Murad's appearance or manner suggests a rebel. At 59, he is a soft-spoken, natty dresser with stylishly slender eyeglasses and short silver hair. Yet throughout his career, and especially in the 10 years in which he's built his El Segundo-based skin care company into a $60-million-or-more-a-year business, he has been a maverick. In his characteristically calm, self-assured way, he says, "I'm open-minded, and I look at things differently than a lot of people do."

Mom deserves special treatment every day, but spas all over Southern California are making it easy to spoil her on Mother's Day, offering special deals on massages, treatments, relaxations, classes and products. And it's not just for her; since Mom loves you, she's going to want you to benefit from all this discount feel-good too. Ole Henriksen Face & Body Salon During the month of May, the acclaimed spa offers the Like Mother Like Daughter treatment (30-minute lavender hydrotherapy soak by candlelight, customized facial, one cleanser and one eye cream specifically suggested by your esthetician, $250)

A vast office park in Warner Center -- the white-collar business hub of the San Fernando Valley -- has been sold for an estimated $80 million to investors who see it as central to an evolving and increasingly dense commercial and residential community. Emerging from ranch land along the Ventura Freeway in Woodland Hills, Warner Center has grown to be one of L.A.'s largest urban developments. Conceived in the mid-20th century as a downtown for the Valley, the area is now a sweeping complex of office parks, high-rises, apartments and shopping centers.

It's a universal truth: When you're in your 20s, you can stay out all night and look fresh the next morning. Unfortunately, as we age, lack of sleep affects us more deeply and shows more prominently on our faces -- lackluster complexions, dark circles, fine lines and, in more extreme cases, rashes and eczema. Progressive loss of cellular water may be one reason sleepless nights affect our skin more visibly as we age, says board-certified dermatologist Dr. Howard Murad. Water retention is key to keeping skin moisturized and supple, which can translate to fewer lines and a smoother complexion.

Cynics maintain that cosmetics companies sell hope in a bottle. But connoisseurs of beauty products care a great deal about exactly what kind of bottle the promise of beautiful skin or hair arrives in. The newest, most preferred containers dispense a blob of cream or lotion via a plastic pump. Pumps are easy to operate, but their true beauty is as invisible to the naked eye as a germ. Dr.

The number of students enrolled in Gardena High School's business academy will almost double next year along with the resources that the program provides to students who are learning about business careers. Last fall, Gardena started the Southern California International Business Academy, a school within a school, to expose students to real-world opportunities. Upon hearing that the school needed more resources, Dr.

The Skinny on the Beauty Industry The most common procedures for those 18 and under last year were laser hair removal, microdermabrasion and rhinoplasty. This age group accounted for 1.5 % of all cosmetic work. People ages 35 to 50 made up 47% of the total, and those between 51 and 64, 24%. * 205 % - The growth rate of med-spas in the last five years. As some medical procedures became more routine so did the trend to give clients one place for pedicures and their Botox injections.

Actor Dudley Moore has sold his longtime home on Venice Beach for $2.5 million. The Oscar-nominated actor ("Arthur," 1981) has been suffering from the rare degenerative brain disorder PSP (progressive supranuclear palsy), which causes loss of memory and balance and leads to paralysis. He was diagnosed with the disorder in 1998. Moore, 64, became a film star in "10" (1979) after moving to Los Angeles from England in 1975.

Thanks to technological improvements and massive marketing efforts, picking a skin lotion--whether for your face, body or hands--is no simple task. In fact, it's beginning to make pantyhose selection (regular? control top? industrial-strength control top?) look like a walk in the park. When you're eyeball-to-skin-lotion-labels, it can get confusing. Do you need the fingers-only formula? A special lotion for legs and feet? The advanced formula or the extra relief lotion? Then there is the ingredients list, full of tongue-twisting words like "hyaluronic acid" (more on that later)

Thanks to technological improvements and massive marketing efforts, picking a skin lotion--whether for your face, body or hands--is no simple task. In fact, it's beginning to make pantyhose selection (regular? control top? industrial-strength control top?) look like a walk in the park. When you're eyeball-to-skin-lotion-labels, it can get confusing. Do you need the fingers-only formula? A special lotion for legs and feet? The advanced formula or the extra relief lotion?