Even though the weather hasn’t been particularly seasonal around here, my skin would tell a different story.  Every year as the air gets colder and drier my skin reflects that, and up until a few years ago it was a major problem.

I would go through bottles and bottles of body lotion to no avail.  The heavy creams ended up breaking me out or aggravating eczema without resolving the dry skin, and so it became a frustrating battle of trying to mend the dry skin without setting off the sensitivities.

Then I was introduced to a product by Oil of Olay; the In-Shower Body Lotion.  It is packaged in a yellow bottle, but don’t confuse it with the shea butter body wash.  While I still occasionally use the product, it was more the technique that came along with it.  The In-Shower Body Lotion suggests that you apply the product after you’ve used your usual soap or body wash, rinse and pat dry.  I suppose you could liken it to a conditioner for the body, putting it on after your ’shampoo’ and then rising.

By altering that step, I can now use my usual body butter/lotion/cream and get the moisture I’m looking for.  Once I get out of the shower, I put my lotion on before I dry off.

Yep.

It may sound a bit bizarre, but I find that the moisturizer seals in the water that’s already on my skin.  Instead of expecting the product to do all the work, it works with the water to hydrate my skin all day.  The other benefit is that I use a lot less product, since it smooths over damp skin a lot easier than it does dry skin.  This paired with regular exfoliation keeps my dry skin in check, until the warmer months roll back around.

Edited to add (thanks to @AwwLawdItsEb):
This technique can also be used on the face.  Before I put on my moisturizer and sunscreen I just mist my face with distilled water.  I keep the water in a small travel size spray bottle that I picked up from the drug store.  You don’t need to soak your face, just enough to see a light sheen.  I found I also used a lot less product this way too, which is important for those expensive face creams and serums!