Winter Skin Care Pictures Slideshow: Experts Choice Products

WebMD Experts' Choice reflects the opinions of the editors or experts only, not of WebMD. WebMD does not endorse any specific product, service, or treatment

Cold Comfort for Your Skin

Baby, it's cold outside, but your skin doesn't have to know the mercury's low. Keep yours moisturized and pampered all winter long with WebMD the Magazine Experts' Choice top products for your face and body. We took our quest for the best cold-weather skin care products to the pros: two cosmetic dermatologists, David Colbert, MD, and Laurie Polis, MD; and a wellness expert with a nutrition-focused skin care line, Keri Glassman, MS, RD, CDN.

Winner: The Best Hand Cream

The cold and wind can wreak havoc on your hands. Look for lotions with the big three: humectants, emollients, and occlusives (the label might say glycerin, lecithin, paraffin, and/or petroleum). Our experts' top pick, Vaseline Intensive Rescue Healing Hand Cream ($4.49), with its uniquely high concentration of glycerin (16.8%), “can change your skin physiologically,” says Polis. “It helps your skin heal itself.”

Honorable Mentions: The Best Hand Cream

Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Hand Cream ($5.19) is great for healing dry winter hands, Polis says, but it could be too greasy for daytime use. It's great for nighttime, however, and cracked cuticles, Glassman says. The panel also liked Lubriderm Advanced Therapy Hand Cream ($8.99). “It creates and leaves a lasting barrier on the skin to lock in moisture,” Colbert says.

Winner: The Best Lip Care

A good lip protectant should have sunscreen, even in the winter, and natural oils. Our winner, Aveeno Essential Moisture Lip Conditioner With SPF 15 ($3.99) has these, plus skin-soothing oatmeal (Aveeno's trademark ingredient). Glassman lauds the product's jojoba oil, a natural anti-inflammatory, and says this balm “provides long-lasting essential moisture and also helps condition and protect.”

Winner: The Best Face Wash

Many cleansers are ineffective because they don't rinse off completely, but our experts' favorite, Aveeno Ultra-Calming Foaming Cleanser ($8.39), is gentle and comes off using just your hands and warm water, making it our experts' favorite. And it has feverfew as a main ingredient, which, Glassman says, “can reduce inflammation and is great at gently soothing skin without irritating it.”

Honorable Mentions: The Best Face Wash

Frequently recommended for dry and sensitive skin, Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser ($10.79) divided our judges. Polis says that “it's so gentle, it's ineffective. It lacks the necessary cleansing ingredients like surfactant and an exfoliant.” On the flip side, Colbert routinely recommends it to his patients. DDF Non-Drying Gentle Cleanser ($30) is good for gentle exfoliating, but, Polis says, “It doesn't come completely off easily.”

Winner: The Best Face Moisturizer

The competition was fierce, but our winning pick is Aveeno Ultra-Calming Daily Moisturizer With SPF 15 ($16.79). This lightweight moisturizer helps actively manage dry, red, uncomfortable skin, and “the feverfew in it soothes redness, irritation, and inflammation” Glassman says. “It has all the three components (humectants, emollients, and occlusives) of a good moisturizer,” Polis adds.

Honorable Mentions: The Best Face Moisturizer

Our experts liked drugstore staple Dove Deep Moisture Facial Cream ($6.99) because it contains sunscreen, glycerin, and omega-6 essential fatty acids -- great for your skin, says Glassman -- and it's priced right. They also gave high marks to Olay Complete Defense Daily UV Moisturizer SPF 30 ($14.99). “The green tea extract has topical benefits,” Glassman says. “It can help prevent wrinkles and premature aging.”

Winner: The Best Body Lotion

One product reigned supreme in this category: Vaseline Intensive Rescue Clinical Therapy Skin Protectant Body Lotion ($4.49). Our experts were most impressed with how fast it works by combining just the right amounts of glycerin and petroleum jelly with the skin-protectant dimethicone, to seal in moisture. “Your skin is better moisturized as soon as you put it on,” Polis says. “It increases your body's own natural moisture factor and helps prevent moisture loss."

Honorable Mentions: Best Body Lotion

With alpha-hydroxy and urea, Eucerin Plus Intensive Repair Lotion ($9.89) gently exfoliates and intensively moisturizes; Polis says the intense dose of moisture is great for heavy nighttime repair. Aveeno Intense Relief Repair Cream ($8.49) is also good for nighttime use, and Kiehl's Crème de Corps ($9) fared well as an all-around good moisturizer. “It's heavy and the color isn't the most appealing,” Colbert says, “but I actually liked the feel of it on my legs.”

How Our Experts' Choices Were Made

To select our WebMD the Magazine Experts' Choice Best Winter Skin Care winners, our three experts considered nearly 100 products to find the season's best. They used six criteria as their guide: scientifically sound ingredients, proven excellence, optimal wearability, durability, ideal touch and feel, and low price.

About Our Experts:

David Colbert, MD, founder and head physician, New York Dermatology Group.

Laurie Polis, MD, director, Dermatologic Services, SoHo Skin & Laser Dermatology Group.

Keri Glassman, MS, RD, CDN, nutritionist and president, Keri Glassman, A Nutritious Life, a nutrition counseling and consulting practice, and developer of a nutrition-focused skin care line.

Watch for more Experts' Choice winners in future issues of WebMD the Magazine.

Note: WebMD Experts' Choice reflects the opinions of the editors or experts only, not of WebMD. WebMD does not endorse any specific product, service, or treatment.

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