Cold air and indoor heat conspire to rob your skin of moisture, leaving you with an irritated and sometimes painful mess. You probably turn up the hot water as the weather cools off, exacerbating the problem. The first step is to use tepid water when you wash your face and shower -- you may want to step out of the stream of water as you lather up and step back in to rinse.

Then sweep away the flakes by using a gentle exfoliator two or three times a week. You can make your own body buffer by mixing a cup of sea salt with a cup of olive oil. Follow up with a good moisturizer for dry skin (olive oil will work wonders here as well), and your skin will be in tip-top condition in no time.