Between heaters, cold winds and runny noses, our skin takes a beating during the winter months. Here are a few tips to help prevent dry skin and keep your face glowing all season long.

1. Drink Lots of Water

The most contributing factor to dry skin is dehydration. Drinking at least the suggested 8 glasses a day helps hydrate your skin from the inside out. When it starts to get colder, many of us forget to drink water as much as we did in the summer. Carry a water bottle (preferably stainless steel) with you wherever you go and get into the habit of drinking water throughout the day.

2. Take Supplements

Flaxseed Oil and Omega 3 supplements are both great for hair, skin and nails because they contain proteins and fatty acids we don’t get enough of in our regular diets. It’s best to get these nutrients from the actual foods that contain them (fish and flax), but it’s more realistic and consistent to supplement with the pill form. No need to trek to a health food store. Both of these should be available at your local drug store. If you already supplement with these nutrients, try increasing your dosage slightly during the winter months. I usually take these supplements every couple of days, but increase to every day in the winter.

3. Avoid Hot Water

It’s great to take a hot bath or shower when it’s cold outside. But, that’s the worst thing you can do for your skin. Hot water depletes your skin of moisture. It is good to soak in water, though. Just make sure the water is lukewarm. 15 minute soaks in lukewarm water and a little almond oil will do wonders for your skin!

4. Invest in a Humidifier

Part of the reason our skin suffers during the winter months is because our heaters dry out the air in our homes and cars. Running a humidifier at night will add moisture back to the air…and your skin. Humidifiers are relatively inexpensive at local drug stores.

5. Moisturize After Bathing

The best time to moisturize is when your skin is still damp and your pores are open. Your skin will absorb more of the moisture. Find another time in the day to moisturize as well, though. If you shower in the morning, moisturize again before bed. If you shower in the evening, moisturize again in the morning.

6. Exfoliate

It seems like winter would be the worst (and most painful) time to exfoliate. But, in fact, it’s helpful to get rid of those dry skin cells through exfoliation. Use a sugar scrub in the shower a few times a week. Sugar is gentler on the skin than salt (which tends to dry skin).

7. Use a Night Cream

As I stated before, make sure you moisturize before going to bed whether it’s after a shower or just a nightly ritual. Most importantly, though, moisturize your face before you go to bed. There are plenty of face creams specially formulated to be worn at night. Night creams are usually thicker and richer than day creams.

8. Continue to Wear Sunscreen

Just because it’s not warm outside doesn’t mean you should ditch the sunscreen. You still run the risk of getting a sunburn in the winter. And, the daily effects of the sun are just as damaging in the winter as they are in the summer.

Great Winter Moisturizers

Face Creams

Recommended by plastic surgeons, this product is full of nutrients that are helpful to your skin. This cream is for dry, irritated skin. If your skin doesn’t need quite that much help, try the regular version to maintain and enhance what you have.

This lotion claims to be useful regardless of changes in the weather. This particular cream is for normal to dry skin, but there are other options as well.

This Avon product also contains a SPF. So, as it works to moisturize your face, it also protects you from the sun’s harmful rays!

Night Creams

The companion to the Hydra-Radiance day lotion, this night cream works through 10 layers to moisturize your skin cells while you sleep.

This little gem is the companion to the Philosophy Hope in a Jar. Cleverly titled ‘When Hope is Not Enough’, it works through the night to restore and repair dry, damaged skin.

Designed for extremely dry skin, this cream rebuilds natural collagen and restores antioxidants in the skin.

Exfoliants

This exfoliant is super gentle. The crystals are very fine and are not irritating to the skin. It works really well on chapped lips, too!

This simple sugar scrub can be used all over to remove dead skin cells and moisturize your skin.

With almond oil and shea butter, this scrub moisturizes and exfoliates.

Body Lotions

This body butter is a great complement to the Bliss scrubs listed above.

This is the lotion I use. It’s cheap and it works! Made by Vaseline, this lotion contains cocoa butter, petroleum jelly and Vitamin E.

This lotion deeply moisturizes and protects against dryness.

What do you use?

Which are your favorite moisturizers for the harsh winter weather?