How to battle the ravages of winter on your skin

There's hardly been any snow to shovel this year, but Old Man Winter still finds ways to wreak havoc.

Even though people bundle up, the wintry weather takes a toll on skin. From the face, the most exposed part, to more protected areas of the body, 'tis the season for dry, itchy skin and outbreaks of eczema.

On light-complexioned people, dry skin shows up as flaking, reddened itchy areas or cracked skin. Those with darker complexions face keratinized dehydrated disorder, a scary-sounding term for dull, ashy-looking skin or patches of grayish-colored, flaky skin usually on the face, elbows, knees, feet, hands and...