This Polar Vortex everybody on the East Coast is speaking of? It makes me very, very happy that I now live in California. Why do people voluntarily live in the freezing climates when there is a promised land on the West Coast with 75 degree weather in January? Why?! (Yeah, yeah, greatest city in the world, family, jobs, blah, blah, details. It’s COLD out there, and it’s WARM out here.)

After 8 years of putting in my New York City dues, I can’t relate any longer to the cold weather complaints…but I can relate to the skin ailments that come along with Ye Olde Polare Vortexe. The skin on my body has never given me any troubles: no rashes, no flakes, no scales, nothin’.

But now, it’s as if a red switch has been flipped while an alarm sounds: “Abort! Abort! Everybody to the control room! You are falling apart! Your body is old!”

Suddenly, my back, my tummy and the areas surrounding my underarms are an itchy, scaly, dry, tight mess.

I’ve lived my entire beauty life surrounded by products for dry skin, without paying much attention to them. As an oily-skinned, acne-prone gal, the idea of suddenly hunting for emollient, moisture-rich creams is hilarious. Yet that’s exactly what I’ve been doing the past couple of weeks, becoming a virtual Dry Skin Detective to unearth the best products for dry skin and the best remedies for the tightness and itchiness.

There are the basics, obviously. Think of these as…

(Hey, look who’s learning Photoshop! But I digress.)

– Don’t take hot showers. They zap the moisture from your skin and disrupt your skin’s protective barrier. Keep your water warm, and try to get in and out of the shower quickly. I know this is difficult, and probably the last thing you want to do when it’s freezing in the bathroom. Your skin, however, will thank you.

– When you’re sudsing up, avoid soap and use a gentle, fragrance-free cleanser. This sort of seems like a no-brainer, but I’m shocked by the sheer number of people (even those with double-X chromosomes!) who still use drying, barrier-stripping bar soap. Exceptions can be made for fancy designer soaps like Cor, which are awesome.

– Slather on your moisturizer when you’re fresh from the shower and your skin is still damp. I keep a bottle of whichever lotion or balm is currently holding my attention on the ledge right outside the shower, and I literally apply it while I’m still standing in the shower, immediately.

– Choose a moisturizer that’s fragrance-free and features an emollient, barrier-repairing, moisture-trapping situation. The best ingredients for dry skin include glycerin, ceramides, urea, sodium hyaluronate, or even dimethicone and petrolatum (these are less beloved by some health nuts, but personally I think they’re just fine and have simply suffered from bad PR).

E. deals with dry skin, as do my father and several of my friends, so while I’ve been surrounded by the problem (and the solution) for years, it’s only recently that I’ve dug deep on the best products for dry skin. While this is by NO MEANS an exhaustive list of the best dry skin remedies, the products below are a few of my personal favorites that I heartily recommend:

The Best Products for Dry Skin:

1: AmLactin: Gently exfoliates with alpha-hydroxy acids (specifically 12% lactic acid). This will help get rid of flakes and expose the fresh, new skin underneath. I’m currently on this and have been using the past several days in a row. It’s slightly freaky because you are putting acid on your (likely) irritated skin, but it’s an extremely gentle, hydrating acid, and I can report that it really is working wonders.

2: Lubriderm Daily Moisture: I used to scoff when E. told me that Lubriderm was one of the only things that worked on his severely dry skin. Then I started using it myself and realized: Lubriderm is a LIFESAVER. It sinks in quickly and moisturizes like a dream without being all sticky and tacky.

3: Kiehl’s Skin Rescuer Stress-Minimizing Daily Hydrator: Remember how I was recently explaining that I’m obsessed with Kiehl’s Skin Rescuer? It helps repair your skin’s barrier, which makes it a godsend. So, even though it’s supposed to be for your face, I slather this stuff all over my body with wild abandon. (And I haven’t received a press sample in a good, long while. This is my own money I’m happily burning through!) Introduce a body version, would you, Kiehl’s?

4: Ellovi Butter: Made of only six ingredients, this raw body butter is water-free (not to mention cruelty-free). That means it doesn’t have any preservatives, parabens or chemicals…but it does have natural goodness like macadamia nut oil, coconut oil, marula extract, hemp seed extract and shea butter. They claim that it’s non-comedogenic and can even be used on the face, but I just stuck to my body (with good results).

5: Fenix Moisture Protection Cream: Full disclosure, my friend Bill owns Fenix Cosmetics, but there’s a reason that people with sensitive skin and conditions like eczema, acne, rosacea and even Lupus are obsessed with Fenix. Bill gave me a jar of his brand new shea-butter Moisture Protection Cream to try, and I fell in love. It comes in both fragrance and fragrance-free versions, and liquifies in your hands from a solid balm into a super-moisturizing, emollient oil. It even works on cuticles, calluses and rough heels. Truly awesome.