Photo courtesy of SXC.HU

I love cold weather, but my skin rebels against the icy winter temperatures by drying up like a raisin and creating unsightly gray patches on my skin. Here are a few tips to prevent your skin from growing reptilian scales in the cold.

1. Carry moisturizer everywhere

Travel-sized lotion and face moisturizers will save your skin when you’re out and about. For women, purses are excellent spots to carry these things, and men, rock your murse (man purse) if you’ve got one, but you can find tiny tubes of moisturizer that might fit in your pockets.

2. Protect your hands

Hands dry out quickly, and they need as much protection as possible. Wear thick gloves or mittens or at least keep your hands in your pockets. Dry, cracked hands are painful, and let’s be real, no one wants to shake hands with someone with sandpaper skin.

3. Use exfoliants

The best way to cure dry, flaky skin is to get those dead layers off your face, hands and feet. If you’ve got the money to spare, treat yourself and get a facial and a pedicure. If you want to save cash, you can buy face soap and body soap that are meant for exfoliation.

4. Don’t be afraid to bust out the grease

No one wants to be slick and shiny like a greased pig. However, there are some levels of dryness that lotion alone can’t cure. In those cases, you might be better off with petroleum jelly or pure shea or cocoa butter. You don’t have to use a lot, just enough to work into those stubborn cracks.

5. Don’t lick your lips!

I know your first inclination is to slather your dry lips with your own saliva, but that’ll only make the dryness worse. I always carry lip balm because most brands are small enough to fit in a purse, wallet or even your pocket.

Those are my ways to stay moisturized. What are yours?