When the cold weather comes and sucks the moisture out of theair, it can also leave your skin dry and ashy. With a few simpleguidelines for winter skin care, soon your face will have ahealthy, bright glow, ready for spring.

During the winter, when the heat is turned up on the cold air,it can reek havoc on your skin’s moisture balance. In order tomaintain this equilibrium, start by cleansing your face with a mildwash. Soaps like Dove or Phisoderm are extra gentle on skin,helping you retain the moisture and natural oils.

Exfoliating is an important part of keeping your skin bright andhealthy. Gentle exfoliation, done as often as three times a week,will slough away dead skin and open up pores. Exfoliators mostoften contain nutshell particles or small grains of pumice to helpbuff and shine skin. Exfoliating other parts of your body, like theshoulders or legs (before shaving) is beneficial. However, if donetoo often, skin can flake and dry out even further.

After patting the skin dry, give skin a drink with an oil-freemoisturizer, such as Neutrogena or Oil of Olay. Both will hydrateskin without causing breakouts or shiny patches. Remembering tomoisturize the rest of your body is important as well. Creamylotions like Aveeno or Vaseline Intensive Care will take awayitchiness and flaking skin.

To keep a rosy glow in your cheeks, there are many optionsavailable. One is to apply self tanner to the entire body andacheive a bronzy look all over. This option is becoming more andmore popular as people perk up to the dangers of tanning beds.Sunless tanning is a good way to get some color while stillmaintaining a natural look. Look for a color that is close to yourown, and be wary of blotches and streaks.

Another option is to go tanning. While there are manyprecautionaries against this, it is the way that most people findto keep a summer sheen all year long. Tanning not only colors yourbody quickly and effectively, but the UV rays give a dose ofvitamin D that is beneficial to your mind. However, tanning shouldbe done in limited quantities as to cut down on the risks of skincancer. One other area of the face that often takes a brutal winterbeating are the lips. Harsh winds and lip licking can lead toflaking and peeling, and no one wants to kiss that. Again,exfoliating will help bring off the dead skin. Use a dry toothbrushon dry lips to gently lift skin away. After doing that, slather onan intense lip balm like Mentholatum or Chapstick to moisturize andsoften.

By following these simple tips, your skin can remain beautifulfrom season to season. For more information on how to keep yourface, nails, and hair winter-ready, check out ivillage.com.