Winter can be unforgiving to skin health. Frigid temps, icy winds and indoor heating steal moisture and lead to skin dryness, making it feel dry and definitely not its best-looking. The good news is that the dryness (and damage) our skin experiences during winter is fixable. We’re here to share a few expert tips on how to revive your skin and bring it back to a healthy state just in time for spring.

Skip the body exfoliation if your skin is extra dry.

If you’re skin care savvy, you know the importance of exfoliating your complexion every so often to bring back its youthful glow. But if your skin is very dry (or worse dry AND cracked), we recommend you skip the exfoliation until your skin is in a healthier, more comfortable state. We checked in with LovelySkin founder, CEO and board-certified dermatologist, Dr. Joel Schlessinger, to get his professional take:

“Dry skin is compromised skin and exfoliation could make the condition go from mildy uncomfortable, to worse. Instead, look for ways to add moisture back into your skin while reinforcing the skin barrier. I advise my patients that deal with chronic dry skin to use the Epionce Enriched Body Cream. It instantly softens and soothes skin and contains zinc pyrithione, which can also be helpful if you deal with psoriasis and dry patches. Also, it helps to invest in a humidifier, avoid long or very hot showers and consider adding a water softener into your home.”

Repair cracked heels and revive your feet.

Winter can be tough on feet—especially if you suffer from dry, painful calluses and cracked heels. While these issues can be attributed to genetics (thanks, mom and dad!), they also occur when feet lose their moisture, causing skin to dry out and crack. If you work or stand on your feet for long periods of time, this condition only gets worse.

While adding a moisturizing treatment to your foot regimen is a must, this is a part of your body that you actually do need to exfoliate before adding moisture. Why? The dry, flaky skin and hardened calluses on your feet won’t allow your moisturizer to soak in properly. After you have thoroughly cleansed your feet, use an exfoliating and moisturizing foot product like Neostrata Resurface Problem Dry Skin Cream, which contains an advanced concentration of glycolic, lactic and mandelic acids. This combination of powerful exfoliators dissolves built-up calluses and prevents heels from cracking. Additionally, beeswax and oil extracts lock in moisture so heels are smoother and baby soft.

Pro Tip: Apply this powerful treatment to your elbows or knees if they also suffer from excessive dryness after the winter months.

How to reverse winter-induced skin dryness on the hands.

The hands often show the first signs of aging and increased dryness definitely contributes to that. Cold and flu season necessitates more hand washing than normal, which can lead to dry, chapped hands. Revive your hands with a nourishing, moisturizing hand cream like Epionce Restorative Hand Cream. Formulated with ultra-hydrating omega fatty acids and organic raspberry seed oil, this anti-inflammatory and antioxidant-rich hand cream brings dull, dry hands back to life.

Use a hydrocortisone treatment to repair chapped lips.

While it may be tempting to finally try the spring-inspired pink lipstick you’ve been saving, keep it in your makeup bag for now. You should repair dryness, flaking and chapped lips first if you want your lipstick to apply smoothly. If you’ve been neglecting your lips during the colder months, now is the time to finally repair them.

Traditional lip balms may add moisture to your lips, but they don’t actually heal the irritation, cracks and dryness. Achieve smoother, softer and healthier lips by choosing a medicated balm like FixMySkin 1% Hydrocortisone Healing Lip Balm. This 1% hydrocortisone lip treatment can be used up to 4 times a day to heal sore, chapped lips while infusing skin with emollient ingredients like shea butter and meadowfoam seed oil.

Pro Tip: Don’t wait until the end of winter to repair lip dryness. Keep this medicated balm in your beauty arsenal all year long.

Try a professional skin care device for instant rejuvenation.

Once you’ve kicked winter-induced dryness to the curb and revived your skin, it’s time to take your spring revival to the next level. Professional-grade, at-home skin care and rejuvenation devices can improve additional issues like sagging skin, wrinkles and other aging-related issues (which, as we touched on previously, are very much accelerated by cold weather and dry air.)

Prepare for the upcoming swimsuit season with a toning device like the NuFACE NuBODY Skin Toning Device. This handheld body-smoothing device uses microcurrent to minimize the look of dimples on the upper arms, legs, buttocks and thighs. It also helps to firm and lift skin. The best part? It’s compact enough to stow away in your carry-on bag.

Have a question for our resident expert Dr. Joel Schlessinger? Let us know in the comments below!