By Marianne Szymanski Special to OnMilwaukee.com Published Dec 22, 2013 at 8:19 AM

As colder weather sets in, so do chapped lips and dryer skin. Children and chapped lips means uncomfort. Dry skin means itchiness and scratching. It's best to be prepared ahead of time for a remedy. While a pediatrician can offer a personalized product for your child's condition, there are plenty of over the counter options for minor signs of dryness. It's always best to still consult with your child's pediatrician just top rule out anything else.

Toy Tips tested out some brands of moisturizing products that are appropriate for children and adults.  These made our top list.

Carmex Everyday Healing Cream.  It's non-greasy which makes it easy to put on your child without a thick residue on your own hands. Designed to penetrate dry, rough and cracked skin, it worked well on heels, elbows and hands.  It  does have a softer scent of the regular Carmex lip balm. We suggest adding a coat of that on your child's lips after as protection. Now that these come in different flavors, have your choose the one they like best. It will help make it easier for you to have them wear it.  For a little extra something for Mom, the Ultra Hydrating  Moisture Plus lip balm with SPF15/Sunscreen come in stylish tubes. Mom testers liked the  clear gloss finish and the soft vanilla flavor.  Gluten-free, too. 

One of the worst feelings are those little cracks near your cuticles or around your nails that are just downright. painful. We found two products that seem to work for that.

CapriClear Moisturizing Spray. This easy to spray bottle of clear liquid fractionated coconut oil is 100% natural.  Mom testers used this at night on their face as well as their hands and reported a healthier looking complexion and softer hands after a few days use.  We suggest to keep it on the nightstand as a quick reminder before bedtime so the fractionated oil can soak into the skin. It also worked well on the lips to prevent dryness and moisturize.  It's also gluten-free. 

The Carmex Healing Ointment in the concentrated form. It comes in a tub and is greedy going on but if you put on overnight, by morning, you will see and feel a difference. It's hard to do during the day because you wash your hands so often and it really needs to set in the skin to work. The magic ingredient is in the formula.

For the lips, EOS by far has the cutest packaging of all the products in our review. The tangerine flavored anti-bacterial balm looks like a little yellow egg and when twisted, it reveals a sweet smelling sphere of rounded easy to apply paraben-free balm. The shape is makes to easier to apply to lips than a traditional stick. Shea butter, jojoba oil, antioxidants, green tea extracts, honey and vitamins alleviate dry lips while phenol has antiseptic properties. Gluten-free.

Elemental Herbs All Good Lips is an herbal balm that uses zinc oxide as their main main active ingredient which is known to help prevent sunburn. For parents and children who plan to be outdoors in the cold weather to enjoy winter sports or just playing in the snow, a sunscreen is mandatory. These organic lip balms are sticks of extra virgin olive oil and organic beeswax. Available in 3 flavors, the company is transparent with the full ingredient list that you can find on their website and on the product itself. The tinted colors are a nice alternative to a heavy lipstick.

No one expects to get scars or wants them to stay on their body. There are some products  that claim to promise scar removal. In review, we have not found any products that completely made a scar disappear. But, we did find some products that altered the appearance of a scar to look much better. Regardless of how a scar came to be, these are three products to consider to alter their look.

Medicine Mama's Apothecary – This certified organic healing ointment is made with honey, royal jelly, olive oil. propolis, bee pollen and beeswax.  All natural ingredients soothed on the skin helped the pain of burns and reduce inflammation of scars.

Kelo-cote Advanced Formula Scar Gel is a colorless gel that bonds to the skill to form a coating that dries east.  It is resistant to water and helps to diminish the appearance of the scar. Testers reported that it did improve the appearance of a scar and quickly reduced redness.

Scar Away. These latex-free silicone sheets claim to prevent the formation of new scars. Our reviewers reported that they were easy to apply ( like a bandage), were comfortable  to wear and  greatly changed the appearance.

Our favorite lotion for baby is Noodle and Boo.  Protecting delicate skin is what is most important  when choosing a lotion to moisturize baby's skin. Made with sweet almond oil, Vitamin E and C, it  smooths on easily holds a sweet baby scent.

Finally, remember that the sun is still strong in winter and playing outside in the snow can still cause sunburn. Join in the fun with all the winter sports your kids enjoy but moisturize and be sure everyone wears a sunscreen when outside. 

Marianne Szymanski Special to OnMilwaukee.com
Marianne is the founder of TOY TIPs and a lifestyle editor that believes embracing new discoveries together with your children is a rewarding way to engage family time, enhance creativity and create forever memories. In this column, Marianne and her two children travel, craft, cook and play to share their ideas and reviews.

Marianne is a leading independent toy researcher. She has been testing and reporting on toys in the US and across the world for over twenty years. As the founder of The Toy Tips Research Institute, she has led her team to review more than 25,000 toys. Over 7,000 current Toy Tips report cards are available free to parents, grandparents and educators on toytips.com.

Marianne is an adjunct professor of entrepreneurship at Marquette University where she holds a dual degree in psychology and marketing. She is a also a graduate of the Stanford Publishing Course at Stanford University.