The simplest, most effective way to care for skin and prevent dryness is to drink water, and lots of it. For the average person 2 litres of water a day is enough to replace the water lost by the body. Water is essential for the body to transport substances around the body. Not only will water keep your skin healthy and radiant, it will also clear away any toxin build ups under the skin which cause spots and blemishes.

Another way to prevent dry skin is to change your showering habits. Hot water showers, although tempting on a cold day, can actually dry out skin more. "Our skin contains special proteins and fats that make up a protective barrier and lock in moisture to protect us from harsh outside environments. Dry winter air, forced-air heating, extremes of temperature and the frequent hot baths and showers we take all strip our skin of this natural protection," says Dr. Megan Moore, a New York dermatologist. Replacing hot showers and baths with lukewarm baths will help to reduce the loss of natural moisturizers, and reducing the time of your shower is also beneficial. After a shower or bath, the skin is most able to absorb moisturizers in the following two minutes.

Chapped lips often dry out in hot summer weather combined with sun exposure, or cold winter weather combined with dehydrating air conditioning. Chapped and sore lips can be soothed and healed naturally, with a few ingredients, either combined or on their own. Olive oil, honey, beeswax, and shea butter can all be used on lips. If you notice that after you run out of chap stick your lips dry out particularly fast, this is most likely to be a result of the chapstick. Commercially sold chap sticks contain moisturizing agents which replace the oils produced by your body naturally, so the body stops producing these oils, and becomes dependent on the chap stick, relying on you using the chap stick more and more. To remedy this, use one of the natural moisturizers mentioned above (you may have to apply them quite often at first) until your skin rebalances the level of naturally produced moisturizers.

If you fly on airplanes, you may notice that your skin feels tight and dry during and after the flight. Particularly during long haul flights, recycled airplane air causes blocked sinues, dry skin and itchy, sore eyes. The best way to remedy this is to drink plenty of water, and avoid alcohol and caffienated products.