Picture this: You begin the morning with a hot shower to help you wake up. Twenty minutes later, you're scraping three inches of ice off the windshield of your car; it is freezing and windy.  While driving to work, you have the heater vent blowing on your face and hands to warm up. Your office is hot and dry, or you work outdoors in the bitter cold.  These extreme temperature changes are drying out your skin, making you itch. You drink lots of coffee or tea to stay warm, but since those are diuretics, you lose more moisture. Good news!  You don't have to wait until April for relief!  Follow these tips:

1. Long, extremely hot showers or baths can dry our your skin even more, take a shorter, cooler bath or shower instead. Add bath oil to your warm bath (after you've washed and rinsed your hair) to keep  your skin moist.
2. Drink eight glasses of water a day; this will help your throat, as well as your skin.
3. Eat foods high in heart-healthy oils to lubricate you from the inside out.
4. Get a humidifier. They aren't expensive and your plants will love it too.
5. Wear sunscreen, when you're outside. Snow intensifies the sun's rays.
6. Keep a lip balm in your car, at work, in the kitchen and bedroom. If you apply it regularly, those lips will stay soft and moist.
7. Select a moisturizer that is right for your face and another one for your body.  Your skin is your largest organ and absorbs what you put on it - choose products made with organic ingredients.

Click here for a listing of Organic Trade Association Members who carry body care products made with organic ingredients.