As temperatures fall and we huddle up at home, we hope to avoid most of the nasty winter weather hovering outside our doors. However, even if we can keep these blisteringly cold temperatures from sneaking indoors, it’s hard to say the same for the dry, winter air that quickly dries out and cracks our skin – especially when life requires us to constantly soak dishes, shuffle wet laundry and wash our hands.

Although there are many lotions and moisturizers that will keep your skin healthy and smooth, there are also several tricks and home remedies that you can easily take advantage of, now and in the coming winter months. Below, you’ll five easy ways to keep your dry skin from cracking under the cold.

Stock up on essential oils.
Needed oils: Lavender oil, evening primrose oil (diluted)
How to Use: add 4-5 drops of lavender oil to your bath water. Then follow your relaxing (and well-deserved!) bath with an application of diluted evening primrose oil, which is filled to the brim with fatty acids that strengthen skin cells and boost their moisture content. Want bonus points? When you’re soaking in that bath, try out Real Purity’s Ylang Ylang soap bar for an extra dose of moisture.
Wanting a few extra essential oils that also help moisturize that skin? Our other favorites include Chamomile, Geranium, Hyssop, Lavender, Patchouli, Rose, Sandalwood and Ylang-Ylang – and we use many of them in most of our products ;)

Sweeten your skin with a little sugar.
Ingredients: sugar, shredded coconut
This combo acts as a dynamic duo when it comes to instant, easy to use scrubs that keep your hands moist and happy all day long.
How to Use: mix equal parts sugar and shredded coconut. Leave by the sink or in any of your bathrooms. Every time you wash your hands, grab 1-2 tsp. and scrub your hands, then rinse. Voila! Easy-as-pie moistened skin, no matter how often you’re dunking your hands in water.

Don’t forget the baking soda.
We all know baking soda plays an important role in any household. Want softer sheets, soaked pots or NO smell lingering in your fridge? Baking soda is probably the item most turned to for these easy, quick fixes. We all know that baking soda has endless uses – but why are we listing it in this post?
How to Use: Every time you wash the dishes, drop 1-2 tablespoons of baking soda in the dish water. Wash the dishes as you normally would, and then once you’ve pulled your hands out and dried them, use a moisturizer and skip the dry skin that comes with extra dish duty (the sugar/coconut mixture above will work, or you can try our favorite Velvet Glove Hand Lotion). Baking soda not only helps eliminate acids from those dinner dishes; it helps keep your hands soft and supple after washing.

Citrus fruits aren’t just for munching.
Ingredients: sugar, juice from any citrus fruit
We love anything with household ingredients, so this tip has to make the list.
How to Use: Nab a little bit of sugar and pour it onto a slice of your citrus fruit. Any fruit will do – orange, grapefruit, or lemons all work well (and smell delicious). Take the slice and rub it on your dry hands (or elbows! Or knees! Or feet!) for approximately a minute. Then, leave the liquid from the fruit on your skin for another 3-5 minutes. This easy remedy works like a charm on any dry spot.
BEWARE: this will hurt if you have cracks near the dry area. So it might be worth it to you, but remember that it’s going to sting when that citrus fruit sinks into those cuts and scrapes.

Stay hydrated.
Ok, ok – we know this one’s boring. How often are people scolding you for not staying hydrated? But we just couldn’t skip it – remember to DRINK THAT WATER! Too often, women turn to expensive moisturizers to keep their skin soft, when an extra bottle or two of water would help control those cracks spreading across your skin. Hydration happens best when it’s from the inside out, and let’s face it – water’s probably the least expensive on this list of household remedies.