My hands are raw and my nails are brittle. I trim then every day now. I also take Biotin, something my pharmacist recommended along with daily vitamins, (will it help? because I want to keep expense to a minimum). My nails still crack to where it’s uncomfortable or downright hurts. As for my hands, they LOOK different these days, and they are very sensitive.
I where dishwashing gloves, on top of wearing two sets of non-latex gloves that the cooks use when handling food.
I was a dishwasher for two years, never wore latex gloves, and had none of the effects you are experiencing. My WAG is some sort of reaction to the detergent, or soaps. I remember the red detergent (Cannot remember its name or purpose at the moment) being especially brutal to skin.
I’d also ask if you have the same problem without gloves. They may be contributing to rather than reducing the problem.
I’d recommend Vaseline as a barrier/moisture-retention. For instance, when you get out of the shower, slather on the Vaseline. This works especially well right before bed - stick a pair of your latex gloves on over the Vaseline to keep it from rubbing off while it soaks in.
If you can find Creamy or White Vaseline, it seems to work a little better for me. And it has some water incorporated, so it will act as a moisturizer.
Regular Vaseline will keep moisture in your skin, but won’t add any.
“Bag Balm” and “Corn Husker’s Lotion” are both good for extreme dry skin. They are old-timey but fairly widely available. Bag Balm is like a very thick paste; Corn-Huskers is a liquid.
My vet would also use Neosporin as a moisturizer, when the skin was cracked and bleeding.
If you want to be less old-Timey, or are allergic to Lanolin there’s “Neutragena Norweigan Formula Hand Cream.”
Pediatrician here - before the guidelines switched to advising less handwashing and more antiseptic gel use I would wash my hands hundreds of times a day, and in winter in particular would get horrible dermatitis as a result. I swear by Kerodex 71. Apply it once every four hours or so. You rub it in and set it up under cold water. Saved me from bleeding knuckles which looked bad to patient parents I can tell you.
I can vouch that biotin does, in fact, help. I don’t know if it’ll be enough to counteract the ongoing damage you’re doing, but I can say that it makes a difference in hair & nail growth.
hoo boy people, read the OP, he says two layers of NON latex gloves
DO your hands stay in gloves all day? change em out let em dry, are they used in the rinse sink too? My workmates have a heavy hand on the bleach in the rinse sink and it is not safe to pull dishes out of there with a gloveless hand.
I washed dishes and never wore gloves and never had any problems. I do love corn huskers lotion it’s like baby powder in a liquid form. Non-greasy it’s the lotion of choice for the commercial fisherman I know.
Can’t speak for the OP but I’d assume it’s two pairs of tight, non-latex gloves - like medical gloves. Over that, dishwashing gloves - like your grandmother might have worn, except extending a bit higher, probably no floral pattern. Restaurant kitchen sinks tend to be pretty deep, so even when wearing the dishwashing gloves, soapy water (and the soap is harsh, harsh stuff) often spills over the top of the gloves and pools down by the hands and fingers. That’s why dishwashers often wear the medical-style gloves underneath - to prevent splash-over water from getting all over their hands.
To the OP - are the non-latex gloves tight enough? I know we had a dishwasher who was quite petite (and timid)… the soapy water would run into the medical-style gloves because they were too large, and the skin on her hands would be basically soaking in the stuff all shift. Her poor hands ended up raw and red and peeling; finally someone noticed and figured out the problem and we just ordered her extra small gloves. It took ages and lots of Bag Balm for her hands to clear up, but the problem was much less severe with the tighter gloves.
I wear the two tight gloves underneith because part of what I have to do is clear the sink’s drain of nasty stuff, and I can’t get it out as well with the outer glove, so I take it off to do that along with more detailed cleaning, (where the large gloves get in the way).
They are as tight as they can be. I should change them more though.