You love your skin – and you love having a dewy summer glow all year round.

Unfortunately, that’s a little less likely during the cold winter months. When the thermometer drops and the winds pick up, your complexion has its work cut out for it. Whether you’re oily or dry, balanced or sensitive, your skin must mount a thorough defense against the cold to keep itself healthy and glowing. The least you can do is help it out. Here are three simple skincare tips that help you do just that.

Reduce the Heat in Your Life

Nothing feels better than heat in the winter. Whether it’s from a hot bath, a scalding shower, or a blasting thermostat, the warmth feels great during the chilly months. Bad news, though: It’s terrible for your skin. The skin struggles to retain moisture during the winter months because of the lack of humidity in the air. The dry heat zaps your skin’s water and oil content, leaving nothing between the harsh elements and your delicate cells. If you’ve got the heat too high – at home, in the car, in the shower – you’ll notice your skin may start to flake and itch, redden, or become dull.

Your best bet? Limit the time you spend in the shower and the number of baths you take. Long soaks are awesome, but they’re especially bad for leaching away the skin’s oil. In either case, keep the temperature as cool as possible, especially if you use scrubs or face washes that contain salicylic acid or other drying chemicals.

Maximize Moisture Fast

As the weather gets colder, our skin becomes drier. As a result, we think it’s best to go out and purchase an even thicker moisturizer to accommodate for that. While that may partially be true, it’s just as important to find a moisturizer that has the right ingredients to protect your skin and the lipid barriers that break down with the cooler temperatures. One of the best ways to protect the skin is to purchase a lipid barrier recovery cream to keep moisture content high and immediately restore skin’s most critical protective barrier layer. It should also replenish the four key lipids (good fats) our skin produces when we’re young since it has now been discovered to deplete as we age. This is what causes uncomfortable dryness and fine lines. But with an intensely nourishing facial moisturizer with quadralipid and lactic acid technologies, these key lipids can be restored and so can the bounce, hydration, and radiance of your complexion. In addition to this you should also consider the following tips:

• Invest in a good humidifier and keep it running in your room at night.
• Start actuallydrinking the eight cups of water a day you keep promising yourself.
• Eat watery fruits and veggies, such as apples and celery.
• Apply your moisturizer directly after washing your face or showering.
• Wear socks, leggings, and long-sleeved shirts to lock in moisture overnight.

Also, make sure you’re not stripping your skin’s natural moisture and oils away with harsh cleansers or chemicals. If your facewash irritates your skin, stop using it. If your moisturizer burns when you put it on, consider another. And if your hands are screaming by the time you’ve washed them three times, you need to reconsider the soap you’re using. Sometimes the best way to maximize moisture is simply to preserve what’s already there.

Use an At-Home Microneedling Device

One of the best tips for taking care of your skin in the winter is to use an at-home microneedling device. Rather than paying the extra money for a specialist treatment, you can get many of the same benefits from an affordable device that you can use again and again, right at home. You simply turn it on, run it over the surface of your skin – usually the face, but you can use it elsewhere as well – and Voilà: in just 60 seconds, you’ll be glowing like a pro.

How does it work? The tiny needles puncture the skin, creating tiny micro-injuries. Your body then sends in the troops: blood, nutrients, collagen, and more will work together to heal the area of the skin where the microneedling device was used. By adding this device into your daily skincare routine before you moisturize, it allows for the cream to absorb, giving you that healthy bounce and glow. You’ll also experience improvements such as plumper, firmer, and more even skin, right away and long term.

If you’re ready to say goodbye to dry, winter skin, try one of these tips above. We promise you’ll notice the difference.