It’s late January, and not surprisingly, my Facebook feed has been filled with screenshots of weather forecasts and tails of cold-weather auto failure from my friends in well, most of the country. Winter’s cold temps and dry air always wreak havoc on skin, but when temperatures are extreme, even the most robust can start to complain of sensitivity and flakes—and we’re not talking about snowflakes. Stop your complexion from becoming a wintry mess with these tips on how to properly moisturize dry skin.

Caring for your skin in winter is all about layers. If you ever wanted to layer your moisturizers, there’s never been a better time. Here’s a tip: Start with the lightest layer of moisture and finish with the richest one.

Exfoliate

Exfoliate at least once a week during the wintertime to keep dead, dull skin cells from building up on skin’s surface. DHC Facial Scrub gently scrubs away lifeless cells with rounded apricot seed granules so your skin looks smoother. Always follow up with a moisturizer to protect your newly exfoliated skin.

TIP:

A clean, warm washcloth combined with foaming cleanser in the morning can provide gentle exfoliation to skin. Pay special attention to lips to sweep away chapped skin.

Layer your moisture

After washing your face, apply toner. At DHC, our toners are so hydrating that we call them lotions. And some of our toners are so rich, you could mistake them for serums! Antioxidant-rich CoQ10 Lotion is a DHC customer favorite.

TIP:

For a home spa treatment, soak DHC Silky Cotton pads with CoQ10 Lotion and apply them to your face after cleansing. Sit with the CoQ10 Lotion-soaked pads for about 10-20 minutes.

One extra step that I love to add when my skin is really feeling zapped of moisture is a hydration-boosting serum, such as DHC Wrinkle Essence. This age-defying serum helps skin hang onto hydration longer with sodium hyaluronate. This moisture-binding ingredient can absorb up to 1,000 times its weight in water.

Seal in the moisture

After you’ve exfoliated and layered moisturizing toner and serum, protect your beautiful, newly hydrated skin with intensive, emollient moisturizer. DHC offers more than 10 intensive moisturizers perfect for dry skin.

Customer favorites include:

Extra Nighttime Moisture, which deeply moisturizes and helps skin recover from the day’s stresses.
Q10 Cream, which deeply moisturizes with olive oil and squalane and also features our greatest concentration of firming coenzyme Q10.
EGF Cream, deeply moisturizes with shea butter and fights signs of aging with epidermal growth factor.

One final step

If you’re really feeling parched, add in a drop or two of Olive Virgin Oil to your favorite emollient moisturizer. You can also layer this emollient face moisturizer over top of your cream, but make sure it is always the last layer you apply.

What’s the weather like in your part of the country? What are you doing to deeply moisturize your skin this winter?