Dry be gone

It's pretty much criminal how much winter takes a toll on your skin. I've wanted to cry, my legs are so itchy and dry. So dry that it stings when I put lotion on them.  Ditto my back, my arms, my feet...you get the picture.  I prepared myself for the snow and the temperatures so cold that you can't take a deep breath, but I somehow blocked out the nasty dryness of winter.

Out of necessity, though, I have developed a combat strategy, mobilizing seven, yes SEVEN moisturizers (actually, make that eight because I'm trying a new one) to keep the hounds at bay. And so far, we seem to have reached detente. Here's what I'm reduced to, simply to survive the winter:

AM:   Shower. Don't dry off, but immediately slather Vaseline Intensive Rescue moisture-locking lotion on skin. Then towel off (This, of course, means washing one's towel every day or two.)  Now coat face with Avon's Anew 10% Vitamin C Serum. Then apply Kiehl's Ultra Facial Tinted Moisturizer SPF 15. (My normal mineral foundation brings out the flakiness in my skin in the winter.)

At regular intervals throughout the day, hands must be treated with L'Occitane Shea Butter Hand Cream or Burt's Bees Almond Milk Beeswax Hand Cream, whichever is convenient. (We're talking three or four times a day, or the side of my index fingers will snag my clothing.)

PM: When getting ready for bed, slather Kiss My Face Olive and Aloe lotion on skin before donning pajamas. Now coat face with Exuviance Evening Restorative Complex or Kiehl's Abyssine Cream, and you're ready for bed.  (I never thought I'd be one of those women who needed a different moisturizer in the winter. But now I am. Yikes.)

God help me, I'm missing the dampness of England. My skin was supple, my hair was curly, and though I was occasionally chilled to the bone, at least I looked good.