I couldn't find this discussed around here, so here goes...

My hands, which are my livelihood, have suddenly started to develop dry flakey skin on or near the tips. It doesn't hurt to play strings with this condition and only once in a rare while does an edge of skin catch awkwardly on a string. At this moment I have two tips with this condition, one on each hand. This appears also to be unrelated to my playing as the areas affected aren't always areas which contact the strings. I haven't changed anything about my technique or my instruments so I think this might be related to the latex gloves I need to wear on my part-time job (in order to protect me from things which cause such conditions I suppose), though I only wear them for a couple of hours daily, change them at least three times, and wash between changes.

Regardless of the cause, and I want to figure that out too, is there an ideal hand cream for musicians? By this I mean one that doesn't cause more problems than it solves, gums up strings, has side-effects, or cost the world. Home-made recipes would be cool, but I will buy otherwise.

For the past week or so I've been using my Bride's St.Ives Extra Relief Collagen Elastin dry skin lotion at bed time, but during the day it would only cut into my playing time. So far no discernible results.

Who uses what, and why? Risks?

Thanks in advance to this the wisest of friends, Mudcat.

Peace, Mooh.