It starts around November. Winds pick up, temperatures creep down. Furnaces kick on making the inside of our homes crackle with dry air.

That’s when the itching begins. Some people live with dry, scratchy skin all winter, until spring when the furnace clicks off. For others, it’s a year-round penance of living in a desert.

“Dry skin is worse in winter. Here, (there’s) no humidity,” said Dr. Julia Ai of Bella Dermatology in Sparks. “It’s worse in winter here because homes have dry heat.”

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byL Kurt Wilde

You may already have a moisturizer that works well for you during the spring and summer, but your skin care routine should change with the weather. For the winter, it’s better for you to use an oil-based, ointment moisturizer rather than a water-based one. The oil creates a protective layer on the skin which will retain more moisture than lotions or creams. However, do be careful when choosing oil-based moisturizers as some of these may not be appropriate for your face. Shea or butter oil, for instance, may be great for the rest of your body but not for your face because they clog up our pores. When choosing a facial moisturizer, look for one that contains oils that are non-comodogenic, such as mineral oil, avocado oil, or almond oil.

During winter, you’ll probably notice that your skin is dry and flaking at certain parts of your body. This is your body reacting naturally to the skin cells that died, but don’t worry – the ugly flaking can be controlled through exfoliation. Exfoliating your skin regularly not only washes away dead skin cells; it also promotes the growth of a new layer of skin. Brush your skin with a body brush to remove flaky skin before getting in the shower. The best way to scrub your skin is when it’s dry; apply the scrub to your dry skin before turning on the water. For best results, massage your skin with the scrub for five minutes.

Although this is an excellent way to combat dry skin, you should only exfoliate in moderation; if you do this twice a week, it may lead to skin irritation, depending on how sensitive your skin is.

Our skin is one of the most sensitive parts of our body we have to take care of if we want to maintain our overall grooming and beauty. For women, dry skin can be a drag and using humidifiers and the usual skin care products may be a good way to combat these problems.

Women are quite particular about dry skin. The air and some things like makeup are factors towards drying up the skin, particularly the face. Try to use some cleansers or wash your face frequently. Leaving these things on may become irritating and harmful to your skin.

Your skin is not the only part of your body susceptible to dryness during the winter weather.  Lips don’t have oil glands, and that means they dry out even easier than skin does.  Give your lips the care they need this winter with these tips from the American Academy of Dermatology.

Do not lick your lips.  They will chap even more easily due to the cycle of wetting and drying.  Instead, moisturize them with petrolium jelly or lip balm.

Cover up, especially when you’re headed outside.  You can protect your lips by wrapping a thick scarf around the lower part of your face.

Boost moisture in your house or apartment by using a humidifier.

Use lip balm with sunscreen of SPF 15 or higher.  Exposure to UV rays make chapped lips even worse, and the blinding white snow does a very good job of reflecting rays on people.

If the problem continues to persist, consult your dermatologist.

Some people prefer traveling to tropical areas or going to the beach during winter time. The sultry winds keep the skin lithe and moist, hence, a healthy skin. But heading down south or hitting the beach isn’t the only option to care for the skin; it may be as simple as going to the nearest spa.

England’s The Sequoia Spa will rehydrate your face by a massage that will replenish with face oil. This face oil includes aromatic sandalwood and patchouli essences. This rejuvenates exhausted and environmentally stressed skin. All of these for only about $160.

Body treatment in Belladona’s in New Orelans, is at the same time, fruity and soothing. Tropical fruits enzymes from pineapples and papayas are natural exfoliators. For only $135 for 110 minutes, this body treatment includes a cream-based papaya and pineapple enzyme mask, plus a coconut-papaya salt scrub. Yummy and relaxing at the same time!

The most neglected, yet an important part of the body that also needs attention: the feet. Winter season requires the feet to wear boots, thus, trapping the footsies.

Belladonna’s Thai Lime Pedicure boosts hydration and exfoliation for the feet. This pedicure contributes in the circulation of the blood. This treatment includes a deep Thai massage to the legs and feet and also, a stimulation of acupressure points with a special wooden tool. This relaxing treatment for the most ignored part of your body for only $80.

It is advised that you take cooler but shorter showers on winter. It is important to have a consistent body temperature at this season. If possible, kindly avoid taking hot showers because it has the tendency to remove the essential oils of the body that maintains the balance of a normal skin.

Shampoos and Conditioners are a big part of bath time habits. Most of us rely on hair blowers to dry up our hair. Again, please avoid using hair blowers on winter season because it removes the important nutrients of the hair that leaves it dry and unhealthy. Not only that, our scalp is also affected.

This is the best time to do your moisturizing regimen especially during winter, right after your bath. With respect to the bath, you could settle for warm ones rather than hot baths for too hot and you risk draining the oils on your skin that can land you with bone dry skin. Warm water works best, soothing and taking away the cold weather’s effects ever so slightly. Better have those moisturizers ready once you step out for like a wet towel, it soaks moisture better when wet rather than when bone dry that can lead to more dryness. Skin is truly a sensitive yet tough skin that protects the rest of the body from the world yet once irritated does suffer greatly and sometimes even over reacting to the simplest problems such as loss of moisture or too cold the weather.

As it turns out, people who turn to tanning through artificial or through fun in the sun share similar results, possible damage to the skin and during the winter months this seems to be one of the hottest trends. There are certain areas on the globe where tanning through UV lamps is vital for survival, but for the rest of us who live in areas of the globe that do get ample sun along with the rest of the weather spectrum, too much sun or UV is most surely bad for your health. UV rays have been found to have gene mutating abilities, so bad that it results in cancerous growth that can manifest itself many years after the over exposure occurred. Experts agree that ample amounts of moisturizers and sunblock that are of respectable SPF levels are always vital, more so with today’s harsh weather that changes from chilly to sunny in a matter of hours.