Between open houses, holiday parties and office happy hours, the month of December can do a real number on your skin. I'm not saying that I'm an expert on problematic complexions, but I have learned a few things about "saving face" during the party season. Here are my top five tips for dealing with grouchy skin:

1. Drink lots of water. The combination of cold weather and cocktails can dry out otherwise normal-to-oily skin faster than you can say, "Pass the eggnog." While scientists are divided as to whether or not ingesting water makes a difference when it comes to your complexion, I'm inclined to say that it does. Shoot for 2 1/2 to 3 liters of water a day, and see what happens.

2. Eat oatmeal. I'm a true believer in the beneficial properties of oats for your heart and your skin. The morning after a party, your blood contains toxins and impurities that can lead to break-outs. Eating a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast can clean up your blood stream to help keep you break-out free.

3. Exfoliate. If you've got skin, you need to exfoliate. Dead skin cells are the number one cause of holiday break-outs. To get rid of this gunk, you need to exfoliate your face at least once a week. Many people like scrubs for exfoliation, but I tend to go a little overboard with the buffing, so I stick with exfoliant masks like Alba's papaya enzyme mask.

4. Steam your face. Next to exfoliation, steam is probably the best thing you can do for your complexion. If you don't have access to a steam room at the gym, here's an easy at home alternative. Fill your pasta pot half-way with water and bring it up to a boil. Place a hand towel over the back of your face and lean over the gently boiling water. Be sure not to get too close to the surface of the water because steam can actually burn your face. If you can stand the heat, aim for five minutes of steaming twice a week.

5. Moisturize. What the booze and dry air removes, you need to add. To do this, I recommend slathering on moisturizer at least two times a day. Yesterday, for example, I rubbed face cream on about four times, including one coating of bag balm right before going to bed. Sounds kind of gross, but so does a major breakout.