What happens to your skin in the winter? The dry cold weather, low humidity, and indoor heating dehydrate your skin and lead to dryness and worsening of certain skin conditions such as rosacea, psoriasis, eczema, and keratosis pilaris (chicken skin).

Here are some tips to prevent dryness and maintain healthy skin during the winter months:

1. Moisturize

Simple but very effective. If you like a lightweight moisturizer for spring and summer, switch to a more emollient cream form of moisturizer. Just make sure there aren't any pore clogging ingredients in the moisturizer you choose.

2. Switch To A Hydrating Cleanser

As a rule of thumb, if your cleanser is leaving your skin feeling "squeaky clean", it is stripping your skin's natural barrier. Opt for a gentle, hydrating, and fragrance-free daily cleanser. There is a natural barrier on our skin that's made up of oil and water that's called the "acid mantle". When you strip that barrier and don't replenish your skin with proper hydration, it throws off your skin's microbiome and its natural balance and so your skin may start producing more oil to compensate and protect itself.

3. Limit Hot Showers

A hot shower may feel amazing and relaxing at the end of your day, but hot showers or hot water will further dry out your skin. Use lukewarm water when taking a shower to avoid irritating your skin.

4. Avoid Harsh Scrubs and Scented Products

Bath mitts and scrubs can irritate your skin and lead to eczema flare-ups. Use a gentle hydrating body wash in the winter months.

5. Exfoliate To Maintain Smooth Skin

Exfoliating is very important, but what's even more crucial is selecting the right type of exfoliant for your skin type. For example, if you have sensitive skin, prone to redness and irritation, do not use a scrub especially any of the over-the-counter scrubs. Do reach for an enzyme or an AHA (alpha hydroxy acid). Skipping exfoliation will not help your winter dry skin because you need to slough off the surface of dead skin cells and dullness so that your serums and moisturizer can penetrate and be effective.

6. Stay Hydrated

Drinking half of your body weight in ounces of water is how much water you're supposed to be drinking every day. If drinking water seems boring to you, try to experiment with carrying a water bottle with you, maybe add a flavor, or set a reminder on your phone. Whatever it takes, just drink your water.

7. You Still Need SPF

You still need sunscreen in the winter months. Although UVB (burning rays) are not as strong in the winter, UVA (aging rays) are still present and can age you, and every exposure even for a short time accumulates over time. Using a moisturizer with an SPF of 30 or 50 on a daily basis is a perfect way to ensure your sunscreen gets applied daily.

8. Consider Scheduling A Professional Skin Treatment

A professional skin treatment can help your skin in the winter months. Most of the time, exfoliation is involved in a facial, but professional exfoliation does a lot more for your skin than what you can do at home with a scrub. Also, winter is the best time of year for corrective treatments such as lasers, micro-needling, and chemical peels to address hyperpigmentation, sunspots, loss of elasticity, dullness, and overall aging.

Which one of these tips are you going to implement this winter?