After years of dry skin issues, dermatologist visits, diabetes, nose bleeds, cracked lips and fingers I have arrived at a few things that work.
First for hand creams I don't like anything greasy, it has to soak in right away and leave no gooey feeling. For that I find that Eucerin BLUE label Daily Hydration lotion works. Some hand creams are too thin, some are too thick. For me the Eucerin blue is just right. You may have to apply more often but it's worth it to me so as not to have greasy hands. It's a must before you go to bed and will solve cracked fingers as they begin. Before I retired I used O'Keeffe's Working Hands hand cream. It takes a little more work to get it into your skin and there is a little more greasy feeling but it does go away, it's good at work. Also I wear gloves for every and all situations outside. Including the load in and load out of musical equipment.
Once you do have cracked fingers time is of essence. Apply triple antibiotic ointment asap then cover with a cloth band-aide, not the common plastic type. You will be amazed at how quickly the crack will begin to heal. I've actually played gigs and just kept changing band-aides at break if needed.
Yes I have tried New Skin liquid bandage and superglue. I don't think it really helps the healing process but it probably does stop the crack from getting bigger. And does stop the stinging an bleeding while playing so I still use the New Skin in a pinch. But honestly nothing heals better than Triple Antibiotic ointment in all cut situations. My Dermatologist says that super glue is just introducing more poison into your body and we get enough of that in our daily lives.
For lips I use O'Keeffe's unscented Lip Repair, there are others I'm sure but the applicator does not push the stuff out in my pocket like the round tube products. For me CARMEX is the best but not pocket friendly. Burts Bees products work too.
Nose: Every time I wash my hands I put good old H2O in each nostril with my fingers. You can snort it or just put a soaking wet finger up your nose. If I am having a particularly dry nose week then I apply hand cream to my nostrils. My family doctor taught me this years ago. According to my dermatologist, if your hand and nose is dry so is your scalp. He suggested using Head and Shoulders Parabin free shampoo exclusively. So I do.
Other: Diabetics sweat sugar which cases chafing which can turn into dryness between your fingers, under arms, behind you rears, between your toes and in your crotch. A tube of Vusion is the best answer once this happens but at $600 for a very small tube it's not something everyone can justify. Elidel works too but it's over $200 for a smaller tube. Instead my Dermatologist told me to use Zeasorb AF everywhere. Feet, crotch, armpits...anywhere you can use powder. Man this stuff works mostly as a preventative measure but can reverse too.
Sorry for the long and seemingly off topic reply but it's all related.
