The Over-40 Guide to Keeping Your Entire Body Moisturized This Winter

All the lotions and potions you need to beat the dreaded dryness.

This story has no affiliate links. These are just our honest to goodness editorial opinions.

Greetings from the heart of darkness! Good times around here in mid-December when night falls just after 4 p.m. and thoughts (at least my thoughts) turn to scintillating inside voice convos, like How early can I go to bed? and Is this the night that I finally queue up “My Brilliant Friend”? knowing that I will miss out on half the series since it’s subtitled and I can’t seem to put down my phone. And then, there’s the ongoing thought (both in my head and often in discussion with the women I know) about the new demands of our peri- and postmenopausal skin—especially in winter—and when I will have to break out the lotion. 

Who knew that moisturizing would become a full-time job? When I was chronologically carefree and dewy in my youth (read: before perimenopause), I gave little thought to what moisturizing meant, other than smearing something creamy on my legs after I shaved and, when I was really conscientious, applying sunscreen, and maybe reaching for eye cream when I was truly on the ball. 

Then came menopause—peri and post—along with entering my 50s, when my skin started to lose a bit of its, well, plumpness, and my overall tone started to look slightly uneven. According to WebMD, I can thank my decreasing estrogen levels for this. In addition to being a powerhouse hormone that revs up in puberty and keeps our bones strong, estrogen stimulates the formation of collagen and oils. Hence, when estrogen production slows, not only do the dry itchies arrive but the changing ratios of hormones in your body reduce your ability to retain moisture. Among the tips for treating dry skin at our age? Skip the hot steamy showers, use gentle soaps, and MOISTURIZE!

I wish I could skip the showers altogether; I hate getting wet when it’s cold outside, no matter how toasty my house may be. Plus, on the days I have to hose off, that means lubing up as well, which feels like an Olympic sport these days. A sport in which I am a bronze medalist at best. But even though it is a lengthy process that I happily complain about, my well-honed regimen has served me well, leaving my skin supple, and dare I say, not looking or feeling my age, even in the depths of winter.  

So, I’ll break it down for you: The way I see it, once you wipe away the steam on the bathroom mirror, you are racing against time to get all your parts glistening with creamy unguents (such an under-appreciated word) while your skin is still moist, and therefore, most receptive to the onslaught of product. Here’s what works for me:

The Ordinary Skincare Line

I do my face and neck first. At nearly 57, I’m lucky to be fairly wrinkle- and dark spots-free. I attribute this NOT to my moisturizing routine but to the fact that skin cancer runs in my family, so I’ve always been The Whitest White Girl You Know. I still hashtag #paleskinnedjewess when I post pics of me at the beach with a parasol and a hat.

I like The Ordinary skincare line ($6 – $32), not just for the results, but also for the downright inexpensive price points. Which is probably why I have three or four of their products in my morning and night face routines that leave me nearly glowing. There’s a serum (either this or this; I can switch off or use the same twice a day), a Vitamin C product in the a.m. and a retinol product in the p.m., and a moisturizing oil (this in the morning and this at night). I only stray from the brand with Supergoop sunscreen if I’m going out, or Ilia eye cream if I’m staying in. I’ll estimate that it takes me about 15 minutes to apply all of this crap from start to finish if I leave time for each “layer” to dry and set.

PRO TIP: Jenny co-founder and former beauty editor Megan Cahn once had an esthetician tell her that your face begins at your nipples, and I couldn’t agree more. I apply all these products (minus the oil) to my neck and décolleté, as well as my face.

Niod Neck Elasticity Catalyst (NEC)

I am deeply devoted to Neck Elasticity Catalyst by Niod ($72). NEC is a balm and it’s expensive; there’s no way around it. But, go try this right now if you’re near a mirror, I’ll wait. When you press your arms into your body, does your chest wrinkle? If you lean into the mirror like you are some half-crazed middle-aged supermodel about to plant a kiss on the glass, are you seeing your neck crease up like crepe paper? If yes, might I suggest NEC. My neck and chest look like I’m about 30—and that’s a quote from my facialist. So I don’t care what it costs. Give NEC at least five minutes to dry.

PRO TIP: Whatever is left on my hands after I do my face and neck, I wipe on the backs of my hands and up my arms. This is a trick I learned from my facialist, who has the hands of a 15-year-old. Why? Because she is dipping into products all day long. Think about it: Whatever takes care of age spots or wrinkles on your face can surely keep your hands looking younger. So wipe away.

Kiehl’s Creme de Corp

I’m ready to attend to the larger body now. Kiehl’s Crème de Corps ($60) is my gold standard here in the winter because it’s a heftier product. Although I like Wonder Valley’s Hinoki Body Oil ($85) as well, mostly because I love the scent and it’s a nice luxury in the middle of all this obligatory self-care that is making me cranky even as I write this. (Note: in the summer, I like Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse dry oil ($43) for the same reasons, even though the name is a lie; it still takes about 15 minutes to absorb into your skin.) Back to Kiehl’s or any other hefty moisturizing body cream. No matter which brand you prefer, it goes everywhere. Like, if I’m really good about it, I’ll hit up the back of my shoulders and as much of the reach-around that I can touch, as well as the top of my feet and my belly.

PRO TIP: If you really want all those moisturizers to work their magic, I recommend dry brushing before you get in the shower. Are you on the dry brush bandwagon? It’s a fascinating and rather disgusting little practice where you use a stiff bristled brush and go over all of your parts with as much pressure as you can handle before you scrub up, because in theory, this encourages cells to regenerate and new smoother skin to surface. Since I’m incredulous about all of this moisturizing to the point of being almost bitter, I include dry brushing in my time-suck of a routine.

Tenoverten The Sole Mate

Is it over??? Can I get dressed yet? Nope. Tenoverten makes this balm in a stick, The Sole Mate ($36), that gets rubbed on my heels before I put on socks or house slippers. If I’m really in it to win it, I’ll add on something for dry cuticles (I tend to polish my nails less in the winter and so I treat my “naked” fingers with a bit more care than in the summer when I’m polished up 24/7).

PRO TIP: If you are finding yourself with little dry patches on your elbows or your back or other places where you had never experienced this before, I have another tip from Megan: Aquaphor! Jenny founder, Lili Zarghami, swears by it, too, and has even been slathering it on her face. WebMD agrees, saying as moisturizers go, petroleum jelly is “one of the best.”

This entire cream-filled routine takes the better part of 45 minutes, and when I say cream-filled, I’ll indignantly remind you that no one has offered me a doughnut. Le sigh. If you hadn’t noticed, I kind of resent all this time “wasted” in the bathroom, juggling products. But my skin is smooth and far from dry, and dare I say it, I don’t look my age. So I’ve gotta believe it’s my parasol and my hat and yes, all this dedication. Take THAT, menopause!

Want our stories delivered to you? Sign up for our newsletter, then follow us on Instagram, Threads, and Facebook for regular updates and a lot of other silliness.