I partnered with AVEENO® on this post. All opinions are 100% my own. I’m participating in the #AveenoDailyChallenge for three weeks.

When it comes to my skin and incorporating healthy habits into my daily life, I can sometimes get into a rut. Whether busyness gets me distracted, the stressors of daily life keep my sidetracked or sometimes, dare I say it, pure laziness gets ahold of me - it all wears on my skin. As we begin to delve into the colder months, it's not only important to begin incorporating healthy habits into our lifestyle, it's imperative. From colds and flu to dry skin and eczema, it seems Fall and Winter are frought with ways to bring you down. So how can stay on top of it without slacking off? Why, using the buddy system of course. It's proven that when you work things in pairs, you have greater success at whatever you are trying to achieve. Of course, you'll want to naturally pair things that make sense like delicious raw honey to sweeten an indulgent tea as a healthy way infuse antioxidants into your diet and to destress. And no, pairing ice cream and your weight loss plan are not a natural pair. (Sorry.) Another way to ensure that you maintain a healthy routine is to make it a habit. Whether it's doing something at the same time every day or pairing the same items together when you use them, "association" is a great way to commit something to memory so that you maintain it. For the next three weeks, I’ll be participating in the #AveenoDailyChallenge, using both AVEENO® Daily Moisturizing Body Wash + AVEENO® Daily Moisturizing Lotion every day. This nourishing duo contains colloidal oatmeal, which is soothing for dry, irritated skin. It's also blended with rich emollients to help replenish skin's moisture barrier. I don't know about you, but I'm not a fan of dry, itchy skin regardless of the season. Will you join me on my journey to healthy, beautiful, nourished skin? To participate, follow me on social media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram) and be sure to tag me and use the hashtag #AveenoDailyChallenge. I'd love to encourage you during this 3- week challenge! Subscribe to A Girl’s Gotta Spa! beauty blog. Watch our reviews on YouTube, see our pins on Pinterest and check us out on Instagram and Twitter. Got a Kindle? We’re on Kindle too!

One of the worst offenders of dry or dehydrated skin is when it comes to cracked skin on your hands. So painful and it feels like a neverending cycle of trying to keep germs at bay with repeated handwashing, which totally dries you out, and then moisturizing to try to combat the dry skin.

A few years ago I learned this simple trick you can do at home that really helps to get rid of the dry skin and hydrate it leaving those cracked, painful hands behind.

What You'll Need:
A bowl Hot water (but not scalding)
4 paper towels
1 cotton towel
Plastic wrap
Scrub
Lotion

How- To:

• Pre-cut plastic wrap in a large enough section that it would cover a 13x9 dish (do this twice) and place to the side.
• Fill a bowl with hot water and putting it aside.
• Break off 4 paper towels all as one, but then split in two (so that you have two sections that are two paper towels connected.) Place them in the bowl of water.
• Over the sink apply an exfoliating scrub, like A Girl's Gotta Spa! Salt Scrub, to dry hands. Be sure to massage the scrub thoroughly getting in between fingers and paying attention to the cuticle area, too.
• Rinse.
• Before drying hands, remove the two sections of paper towel from the bowl and ring out the water and lay them flat on the counter.
• Use the cotton towel to pat hands dry, leaving them slightly damp.
• Applying an uber hydrating lotion, like A Girl's Gotta Spa! Energizing Citrus Body Lotion, to your hands generously (as in, more than you would typically apply to hands.)
• Wrap one hand in one section of warm paper towel and then wrap with the section of plastic wrap. For your remaining hand, you'll need to enlist some help to do the same for this hand.
• Relax and wait 3-5 minutes, then unwrap and if hands are still damp, gently pat dry.

Sometimes I apply a little more lotion once I've unwrapped my hands. It really depends on how bad your hands are.

Repeat this twice weekly until you see a marked improvement in your hands. In between this DIY hand pampering, always apply your lotion as you normally would.

I can say I always notice a difference after the first time I do it, but I've had friends who are mechanics or work in construction that the cracking is really bad and while they notice some definite softening and hydration right away, it takes repeat treatments before the cracking completely resolves.

Being part Italian, olive oil was always a staple growing up in my childhood home. As a child, I never knew the health benefits my parents and grandparents were passing on to me, all I knew is that it added delicious flavor to my food.

Once I began to work in beauty, I was mesmerized by all of its benefits to skin, as well. Olive fruit oil is high in Vitamin E, which we all know is fantastic for its anti-aging properties. It's high in oleic acid and is a good skin cell regenerator. It works to attract external moisture to the skin, while still permitting the skin to properly release sweat, shed dead skin and release sebum.

Olive oil is rich in antioxidants like Vitamin E, but also includes vitamin A, polyphenols, phytosterols and avenasterol. Antioxidants work to neutralize free radicals and combat environmental pollutants and aggressors that we all deal with daily.

These antioxidants have the natural ability to stimulate cells and return skin to a firmer, smoother, and healthier state. In order to craft the best lotion for dry skin, olive oil is one of the main ingredients in A Girl's Gotta Spa! ® Body Lotions. This natural moisturizer will keep your skin hydrated and nourished. I've long been using soaps, lotions and body washes with olive oil and have seen for myself the profound affect it can have to keep skin healthy. If you use skin or body care products with olive oil, rest assured, you will kiss dry, itchy skin goodbye!