In the winter months I feel like my skin is always tight and dehydrated. Needless to say, it’s irritating and uncomfortable. Many folks experience dry, itchy skin in the winter months. I turned to About.com’s Beauty Guide, Julyne Derrick, for some helpful tips and advice on how combat dry, itchy skin. Below are exerpts from a recent article she wrote on the subject.

Why Do I Suffer From Dry Skin in the Winter?

In winter, low temperatures, low humidity and strong, harsh winds deplete skin of its natural lipid layer, which keeps the skin from drying out. The dry air from furnaces and other heating sources also suck the moisture out of skin. To keep skin soft and supple, your goal is not to add moisture to skin, but to keep moisture in.

Dry Skin Tip: Keep Water Lukewarm, Not Hot

Hot water robs skin of moisture causing dry skin, so it's best to shower in lukewarm water. If you can't bear this rule, try to keep your showers short and try showering only once per day. This also means skipping hot tubs. The hot, hot temperature, combined with drying chemicals, is torture on dry skin.

The same rule applies to hand-washing: Wash hands in lukewarm, never hot, water. If your skin turns red, the water is simply too hot.

Dry Skin Tip: Moisturize After Showers or Hand Washing

Your skin will tell you when it's dry. If your skin feels tight and taut, it's time to add moisture. There are so many tips to moisturizing skin that Julyne created an article on it.

See Body Moisturizer Tips: How to Keep Skin Moisturized.

Dry Skin Tip: Exfoliate on a Weekly or Semi-Weekly Basis

Moisturizer is much more effective on properly exfoliated skin. Use a salt or sugar scrub in the shower and exfoliate your face with a mild scrub made for the face.

Dry Skin Tip: Invest in a Humidifier

Ever notice how older people in desert climates look like leather? The moisture in the air is actually good for skin. If you live in a low-humidity climate or you are around furnaces in the winter, invest in a humidifier.

Buy an humidifier online.

Julyne says that your skin needs more than 30 percent humidity to stay properly moisturized. A room heated by a furnace can have as little as 10 percent moisture. In the winter, consider sleeping with a humidifier in your bedroom. Keep doors closed so the moist air doesn't escape the room.

Dry Skin Tip: Skip the Drying Soaps

Soaps can be drying. Stick with a creamy moisturizing cleanser that contains glycerin or petrolatum, such as Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Body Wash or Purpose Gentle Cleansing Wash for the face. Both are available at drug stores.

Dry Skin Tip: Baby Your Hands & Feet

Hands and feet can suffer terribly from dry, itchy skin. Put on moisturizer and gloves BEFORE you head outdoors in the winter

Dry Skin Tip: Don't Forget Your Lips

Licking your lips will not moisturize them and instead will help dry them out. Lips retain less moisture than other parts of the body, so they tend to dry out more quickly. A simple lip balm works wonders.

Dry Skin Tip: Protect Your Face, Too

If you have super, duper sensitive skin, consider avoiding rinsing your face with tap water, which can contain harsh minerals that are especially drying to the skin (Dr. Dennis Gross says New York water contains a lot of harsh minerals, while Seattle water, for example, does not. Go figure). Instead use a cold cream like Pond's to cleanse your face or use bottled spring water. Also see my Top 6 Face Moisturizers for Men.

Dry Skin Tip: Consider Fish Oil Pills

New studies show omega-3 fish oil pills may soothe super dry skin. Patients who took fish oils pills in a study reported in Allure magazine, saw significant results within a few weeks. "You can see, within six weeks, the skin, hair and nails improve markedly," according to skin expert Dr. Andrew Weil in Allure.

Julyne says “ever since I started taking fish oil pills in March, 2007, I have received numerous compliments on how amazing my skin looks.”