i am not sure, but I am going to guess people will say Coconut Oil.

I get badly cracked and chapped skin on my finger tips. I've found coconut doesn't really do it for me, but tallow works wonders. It reminds me of the days when lanolin was recommended for dry hands.

This past week I've finally cured my cracking hands and it was possibly a combination of three things: getting a humidifier for the bedroom at night, cutting way down on handwashing, and rubbing tallow into them regularly.

That your dry skin is on the backs of the hands makes me wonder if it's not just a matter of excessive handwashing, but more indicative of something in the diet. Usually people focus their handwashing efforts on the fingertips. Other than the usual vitamin C, gelatin, and fat recommendations, I'm not sure what else could be missing.

Have you looked into the possibility of allergies (e.g. to fragrances you encounter, or to materials in your gloves)? Do you wash dishes regularly?

I tend to have rough farmer hands most of the time since I hate gloves and like gardening. They were softest when I had a milk cow and made butter so you might try rubbing in butter rather than coconut oil.

You kinda have to play around and see what works best for you. Coconut oil works great for many, but causes others (me!) to redden up. Jojoba oil is supposed to be the closest to our natural skin oils, and it does make my skin super-smooth. Pure Shea butter is amazing for times when you want moisturizing and some longer term protection- it's a bit tacky and makes a lasting non-greasy layer outside your skin that might be just what you're looking for.

Increased gelatin and fat in your diet may give you more resiliency in your skin long-term.

So coconut oil will not really moisturize but condition the skin. My knuckles get so dry when the weather changes that they crack and bleed. The rest of my skin gets dry too. If I have them in water at all it worsens them. Anyway...this is what I do every season.

• I use gloves when I do the dishes or any cleaning for the first month or so in cold weather.

• Right out of the shower I put sweet almond oil (doesn't matter if it's the kind you cook with or the kind in the beauty section. They're the same) on. Jojoba would be best but it's too pricey for all the time use.

• When I was my hands during the day I try only to wash my palms and not the back of my hands. This seems small but it's huge. I also re-apply almond oil just to the backs of my hands a couple times a day.
• At night I put the almond oil on and then some fuzzy gloves. I only do this until my skin adjusts to the cold (3 or 4 weeks) and then I'm good.

I don't notice it's any better for me since Paleo...I just use almond oil instead of conventional products now.

Get a good hand moisturizer. I use a shea butter product sold in an organic store near me. It is thick and really works and has only familiar ingredients.

I might ditto the coconut oil. It's probably not a paleo solution, but my daughter gave me the Satin Hands stuff from Mary Kay for my birthday, and it's a life saver for me. Three steps, but works nice. Also, be sure that if you are allergic to wool that you aren't using any lanolin products.

I've had this problem for years and the only thing I ever found that actually penetrated and worked was the below linked creme by Portland General Store. It's expensive, but resolving the cracked and bleeding knuckles was definitely worth it for me. It also doesn't leave my hands all slippery, which I haaaaaaaaaaate.

http://www.portlandgeneralstore.com/collections/skincare/products/wood-super-thick-body-creme

As a chemist, my hands are constantly exposed to solvents, which cause my hands to undergo frequent and spontaneous ...combustions.

I found that lanolin works really well to relieve the symptoms.