When the winds turn bitter and the air dries up, your skin can be the first to suffer, but knowing how to get glowing winter skin is easy when you focus on protecting it both inside and out.

Adjust your products

As the calendar pages steadily turn, adjust your beauty products to better protect you from the elements. The most common skin complaint in winter is dryness, so switch to a daily moisturizer that’s a little stronger and more hydrating than the one you use in summer (with sun-blocking capabilities too, of course). Try switching to a toner with a lower concentration of alcohol, or with no alcohol at all. Lip balm is a must every day—don’t wait until they’re chapped to protect them.

Adjust your routine

In addition to a new lineup of products, you may have to alter your skin care routine slightly. If you find that your skin still feels dry during the day even after using moisturizer in the morning, consider buying a small tube of gentle, hydrating lotion with no artificial scents or colors that you can use on dry areas throughout the day.

Those with acne-prone skin have an especially difficult balancing act in the winter. Common active ingredients in topical acne treatments like salicylic acid and benzoyl peroxide also tend to dry skin out. You may need to cut back on the amount of treatments you use and the number of times you treat your skin in a day. Try using acne-care products in the mornings, when skin tends to have a buildup of oil. Before you go to bed, switch to a gentle cleanser, and follow with a strong moisturizer.

Bundle up

Moisturizers and other products do help you get glowing winter skin, but they aren’t enough on their own to keep skin safe from the harsh winter elements. In general, products work by restoring moisture that skin has already lost. Bundling up for the weather helps keep skin from getting chapped in the first place. When you compare the protection capability of a physical barrier like a scarf to any type of topical product, the scarf wins every time.

Fortify skin from the inside out

Just like every other part of your body, your skin can only be protected so much from the outside. If you aren’t drinking enough water, there’s no reason to expect your skin to remain hydrated. Do your best to down six to eight glasses a day (schedule them if you have to!) in order to keep your whole body—including skin—as balanced as possible. Keep up on other healthy habits, too. According to WebMD, good sleep habits can help boost natural collagen production and cell turnover, while a regular exercise regime increases the flow of blood and nutrients to the skin.

The low temperatures, dry air, and harsh winds of winter can take a major toll on your skin. Luckily, a little bit of preparation and protection will keep you healthy and hydrated, and that's a sure-fire way to make it all the way through winter with glowing skin