I feel your pain, when I was growing up my dad worked with a lot of pesticides and wierd chemicals. His hands got so dry he could make a fist and his knuckles would split and bleed.
as a result I'm pretty vigilant in skin care. I try to rub lotion on my hands and forearms at least once every other day. Also drink lots of water, being dehydrated is bad for skin too.
My wife does those parrafin dip things too, she says its really good for your skin. I do it so I can run around the house with wax gloves!!