A moisture-depleted body is the price you pay for wet and windy winter days. Although harsh, cold weather conditions can make your skin feel dried out and flaky, with a few simple tweaks to your routine, you can maintain gorgeous, healthy skin from head to toe. In this article, learn to protect yourself and your bank account with these simple beauty tips for the winter season.

1. Cover up. Even though you’re probably anticipating spring, winter isn’t over – so protect your body from the dry, cold winter air not only to stay warm, but also to ensure that your skin stays healthy, hydrated and beautiful. By exposing less skin to the freezing winter winds, your skin will better maintain healthy levels of moisture. Double check you have all your bases covered when you leave the house.

• Ears: Take out that hat shoved in the back of your closet to prevent red, chapped earlobes. Pick from winter’s hottest hat trends including sequined berets, fur-lined trapper caps and cashmere or cotton beanies.

• Neck: Wrap a soft scarf around your neck to maintain warmth and protect this thin, delicate skin from harsh winter air and damaging UV rays.

• Hands: Hide those overworked fingers in a cozy pair of mittens or gloves to prevent your knuckles from drying out.

2. Moisturize everywhere. “Cold weather dries the skin and strips away its normal barrier defense,” dermatologist Patricia Wexler, MD explains in Woman’s Day. “We lose moisture, so skin can get dry, cracked, itchy and flaky.” To maintain healthy hydration without spending a fortune, consider the following products:

• Full-body lotion: For silky skin, reach for Caswell Massey Honeysuckle Body Lotion with Silk. This budget-friendly body lotion brings healthy hydration from head to toe – for only $17.

• Heavy-duty hand cream: For $13, Crabtree & Evelyn Hand Therapy is ideal to defend hands, nails and cuticles from harsh winter weather. Formulated with high quality myrrh extract and hyaluronic acid, this intense cream locks in moisture from morning until night.

• Face-friendly moisturizer: At less than $20, Boots # 7 Protect & Perfect Day Cream SPF15 is a daily lotion that not only contains a potent blend of hydrating ingredients to lock in moisture, it also smooths out fine lines and wrinkles for younger looking skin.

• Extra moisturizing conditioner: "The environment can have some of the most damaging effects on hair in both summer and winter, but in winter it's often worse because people generally don't take as many precautions to protect their hair," explains celebrity stylist Nick Chavez on the online health resource MedicineNet. For less than $25, Ojon Recovery Hydrating Smoothing Cream is an affordable option for well-hydrated locks that stay healthy and manageable throughout the winter season.

• Hydrating body wash: Swap out your everyday soap with a moisturizing body wash like John Master’s Organic Bare Unscented Body Wash. For less than $20, this blend is infused with high quality extracts including milk thistle, sunflower and vanilla, and is ideal for all skin types.

• SPF – always: Most people assume that your skin is only at risk of sun damage during the summer. Au contraire! During the winter months, you actually need it more since the sun’s most potent rays are closest to the earth at this time of year. “You should wear an SPF of at least 15,” New York City dermatologist Heidi Waldorf tells iVillage. Neutrogena Healthy Defense SPF 30 Daily Moisturizer Light Tint helps you achieve lightweight coverage plus broad spectrum SPF on the face and neck. At less than $15 you can afford to apply this blend liberally for full protection.

3. Kill two birds with one stone. Save money by choosing multitasking products that can be used in more than one way, such as:

• SPF face foundation: Even in the middle of winter – don’t forget your sunscreen. Regardless of season, use an oil-free foundation containing SPF of at least 15. This will save you money on having to buy a separate facial sunscreen and simultaneously help protect your skin from future breakouts.

• Hydrating lip balm: Lip products that are nourishing and colorful take the prize this winter season. Double-whammies such as moisturizing lipstick and medicated lip gloss are versatile and can be found to fit your budget. Korres Lip Butter - Jasmine layers your lips with shea butter for intense moisture while rice wax seals in hydration, leaving your lips shiny and smooth all day long.

• Lasting mascara: Waterproof mascara and eyeliner outlasts winter moisture and can be applied less frequently, giving you more for your money with longer wear. Jane Iredale PureLash Conditioner is a conditioning color that hydrates while strengthening lashes for a look that lasts – for under $17

Be budget friendly and skin smart

Don’t be fooled into purchasing the most expensive product on the market. Often, the most budget-friendly products offer high-quality ingredients that can transform the health and appearance of your complexion. Dermatologist David Voron MD explains to WebMD that “inexpensive products work just as well as high-end ones…what's most important is how your skin responds to the product – and how you like its feel, not how much money you paid for it."

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See also:

Valentine’s Day Skincare and Beauty: Gifts for Him, Her or Both!

Pampering Skincare for Valentine’s Day: How to Create a Spa Day

Winter Makeup, Fashion and Hairstyle Trends to Take You into Spring

Men's Skin and Hair Care: Winter "Weapons" for Cold Weather