Picture it: You've just come out of the cold and had a long, hot shower. Then as you hunker down in the warmth of your home, it hits you like a winter storm: the scaling, itching, cracking and peeling skin and the breaking hair.

Sound familiar?

If you're facing dry skin and hair in the winter months, you're not alone. That's because winter — or more specifically the cold weather, long, hot showers and your household heating system — causes a deficiency of water in your body.

What many people don't realize is that the solutions to winter dryness are just as common as the problem, ranging from taking shorter showers to moisturizing with the right products. And today, like almost everything, they come fit for the eco-conscious naturalist.

Betsey Beaven, an Andover resident who works part-time in Whole Foods' Health & Nutrition department, said a proliferation of new, natural skin care lines have been developed by individuals who originally set out to find remedies for themselves and their families.

"The number of natural products that have been created for the skin have tripled, if not more, in the last few years," said Beaven, who before working at Whole Foods was a homeopathic research assistant to a naturopathic doctor for 15 years. "The demand is there now."

Dry skin, on the other hand, has been around forever.

During the winter, many face Xerosis (abnormal dryness) or Pruritus (a scaly, itchy condition) on their skin. And it only gets worse with age, as skin produces less oil.

Though common, dry skin is a medical condition. To treat it, many experts are now suggesting it's best to look for products with no parabens — preservatives commonly used in beauty products and lotions that have been banned in countries like Japan and Sweden due to speculation about hormone mimicking properties.

As for moisturizing your hair, Jose Batistine, owner and top stylist at Indra Salon and City Spa in Andover, agreed products that contain natural ingredients are the best way to treat dry skin.

"When using products containing less carcinogens and toxic chemicals, you just feel healthier," Batistine said. "It's a great motivation for everyone who wants to feel good. Now that everyone is trying to make a difference, people are using more natural products to repair brittle hair, and in general."

He said this time of the year we need to drink more fluids.

"Our body chemistry changes, our blood tends to thicken and we don't eat as many fruits," he said, "so we then fall in to the feeling of being depleted of moisture."

Today, in the push toward more natural products, many brands contain some sort of natural remedy. They often contain a blend of cosmetic, pharmaceutical, herbal and medicinal ingredients, including Kiehl's, located in the Burlington Mall.

"Kiehl's has a long tradition of offering discerning customers formulas for dry skin and hair made with uniquely efficacious, natural ingredients," said Rachael Kelley, Kieh's public relations manager.

For centuries, use of these ingredients have crossed over from culinary to cosmetic. The difference is that now products containing natural ingredients that work with your body's oils to improve your hair and skin are sold all over.

TIPS FOR MOISTURIZING DURING SKIN CARE

Avoid excessive washing with hot water or non-moisturized soap.

Moisturize after showers and hand washing to lock moisture into the skin.

Invest in a humidifier. Heaters take moisture out of the air. Skin needs about 30 percent humidity in the air to stay moisturized.

Avoid licking your lips, it only helps to further dry them out.

When toweling dry, pat dry, leaving some moisture on the skin

Take fish oil, a rich source of Omega 3 fatty acids that helps maintain the protective lipid layer of the skin

Moisturize after washing your hands

Take Vitamin E, a nutrient vital to healthy skin found in foods like oatmeal

Wear gloves when using harsh detergents, soaps and household cleaners.

TIPS FOR MOISTURIZING DURING HAIR CARE

Use an ionically charged blow dryer to help with static and protection of the hair's cuticles.

Get your hair trimmed regularly.

Don't over wash.

Don't over color.

Moisturizing hair products with natural ingredients

The main ingredient, Buriti oil, is an extract from the Buriti Palm tree, also known as the Moriche Palm, which grows throughout central Brazil and the southern Amazon basin. Its antioxidants have natural healing properties. It is also considered one of the richest sources of beta-carotene.

$24 for either shampoo or conditioner, 6.7 ounces; $26 for hair mask, 4.2 ounces, at Indra Salon and City Spa in Andover.

Made with olive fruit oil and fair-traded, organic Moroccan Argan oil that has been used for centuries, the products are ideal for hair weakened by overexposure to sun, chemical-processing or excessive heat styling.

$19 for either shampoo or conditioner, both 6.8 ounces; $25 for hair mask, 8 ounces, at Indra Salon and City Spa in Andover

Moisturizing skin products containing natural ingredients

Mike Arsenault, an Ipswich native, acupuncturist and herbalist, developed Emily Skin Soothers, Inc., to treat his infant daughter, Emily, in 2007, because he couldn't find a product with no parabens or artificial additives with the minimal natural herbal ingredients. He sold the product to Whole Foods soon after. The product treats dry-type eczema, flaking dry psoriasis, cracked hands and cuticles, dry cracked heels, rosacea or diaper rash

$13, 1.8 ounces, at Whole Foods or at www.emilyskinsoothers.com

Indian Meadow is a certified organic product line, which Beaven says is rare because it involves an expensive yearly review, was founded in 1994 by two women, an organic farmer and a registered nurse, who is also a certified organic herbalist, on their 102-acre farm in Downeast Maine.

$13.89 for Indian Meadows Love Your Face Cream, 4 ounces; $15.89 for Indian Meadows Love Your Body Cream, 4 ounces, at Whole Foods or www.imherbal.com

MyChelle Dermaceuticals Pumpkin Renew Cream is a balance of natural products that nourish and hydrate for sensitive or regular skin by supporting the skin's immune system.

$25.85, 1.2 ounces, at Whole Foods or www.mychelleusa.com

Another Certified Organic and paraben-free product, it is a concentrated blend of organic Neem leaf extract, Neem oil and hand-filleted aloe vera. Neem has been used for thousands of years in treatments. It acts as a blood purifier and tonic, supports healthy skin, immune system response, healthy bowel function, and aids in the maintenance of glucose stability.

$16.95, 2 ounces, at Whole Foods or www.organixsouth.com

Superbly Restorative preparations are rich in natural, essential fatty acids and the antioxidant Vitamin E to moisturize, protect and nourish the hair and skin.

$25 for Skin Salve, 1.4 ounces; $35 for Restorative Body Lotion, 6.8 ounces, at Burlington Mall Kiehl's or www.kiehls.com

Contains natural products, including Vitamin E and sesame seed oil. It contains no parabens or artificial ingredients. The bottle itself is made from 50 percent post-consumer recycled content.

$2.99, 12 ounces, at Whole Foods