You know how I know it's winter? It's not the temperature dropping or snow falling on the ground (fat chance of that in Los Angeles). No, instead it's when I get my first dry, cracked knuckle that I know the season has changed.

Do you fall victim to dry winter skin too? The chapped lips, scaly elbows and painfully parched hands? It certainly doesn’t make it "the most wonderful time of the year" if you ask me. But luckily I found some solutions to keep my skin from completely drying out this winter. Check a few out below:

First, it's important to realize that all lotions are not created equal. (In fact check out some of the best ones here -- and the worst ones here.) So to find one that will really do the job, look for ingredients that are humectants like glycerin and hyaluronic acid -- they'll attract moisture to your skin. Also look for occlusive ingredients like rosehip, avocado and hazelnut oils to seal that moisture in. Click here for some perfect examples.

Second, our moisturizer isn't the only thing we need to change out during winter. Cleansers and body washes can also dry out skin, so switch to creamy formulas come cold weather. Check this out to see what you should use.

Third, slathering lotion on already scaly, flaky skin really isn't going to do much. If your skin is flaky then that means your top layer is covered with dead skin cells -- not much point in moisturizing those, right? The best bet is a two-pronged attack: gentle exfoliation to get rid of the flakes and then moisturizing. See what you should use to exfoliate here.

Need more help for chapped skin, eczema and dry lips? It's all right here.

Here's to smooth, soft skin all year long! (Or at least until the summer sun and chlorine dry it out again.)

• Got bigger issues than dry skin? Help is here.

• Are winter breakouts driving you nuts? Look no further.

• Is frizz ruining your holiday look? Not anymore.

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