While some of us look forward to the magical winter weather every year, it can really take a toll on your skin. Dry, cold, and harsh windy air outside combined with dry heated air indoors quickly depletes your skin’s natural moisture barrier. These season changes can cause skin to get dry, cracked, and irritated causing redness, itchiness and flakiness.

Adding moisturizers and revamping your skin care regimen for winter can help take your skin from parched and chapped to nourished and revitalized throughout the icy winter season. Here are some specific tips to stay hydrated:

Humidify: Turning on a humidifier can add moisture to the air and save your thirsty, sensitive skin. It is an easy way to combat dryness all over, including your nose and throat.

Face: Don’t wash too often! Stick to no more than two times a day and use gentle oil based cleansers or micellar water. This will be less stripping than harsh soaps and foaming cleansers. Always follow washing your face with a moisturizer of your choosing. You can’t go wrong here as long as you choose a moisturizer with SPF for the daytime and a nourishing moisturizer for the night time.

Body: Again, gentle soaps are the way to go. Avoiding fragrances or harsh antibiotic formulations will ensure that your skin is holding on to as much moisture as possibly through the drying season. Opt for warm rather than hot showers as they tend to dry your skin out further. In-shower body lotions help you hold onto all the moisture from the shower while body oils (sesame or almond) and lotions used immediately after showering (within minutes) take it one step further.

Feet: Dry and thickened patches of skin on the feet and soles can be smoothed out by using urea or lactic acid products. These products breakdown dead skin and accumulated cells to even out texture and exfoliate dryness.