Now that fall is here and winter is around the corner, the cold, dry weather and indoor heating may wreak havoc on our skin, leaving it dry, scaly, flaking and itchy. SkinCareLab.com has the answers to protect your skin this season, with great products to keep it well moisturized and supple.

Our skin loses moisture and becomes dry mainly because of environmental factors that cause water to evaporate from the top level of the skin, the stratum corneum. Also, because of the harsh detergents found in common shower and bath products, the skin's natural oils are often stripped from the surface through frequent showering, leaving you very dry and often flaky and chapped.

Moisturizers contain humectants, which draw water from the atmosphere and work to seal the skin with moisture. Formulations are designed either as oil-in-water solutions, or water-in-oil solutions. The water-in-oil formulations tend to be what is found in the thicker products for older, drier skin types, as well as body moisturizers and night creams. These products are usually formulated with ingredients such as petrolatum, mineral oil or shea butter.

Daytime facial moisturizers tend to be lighter, and are either oil-in-water formulations or oil-free (which are especially designed for oily acne-prone conditions). The oil free products may contain hyaluronic acids or silicone derivatives, both of which provide the slip and hydrating effects of oils, only without the greasiness.

One of SkinCareLab's favorite moisturizers is a new addition from La Roche-Posay. Hydraphase XL is an emollient moisturizer that is formulated with Mexoryl XL to both hydrate the skin and protect against UVA/UVB damage with a built-in SPF 15. A moisturizer with sunscreen is recommend for daily use. Even though it's cold, Ultraviolet light is still strong enough to affect and damage the skin.

great products for fall are available at SkinCareLab.com