Expensive brands - they're not all they're cracked up to be

My hands have really been taking a beating here.  I'm in the kitchen a lot since I prepare all three daily meals most of the time.  I wash my hands a lot since I need them to be clean when I'm preparing food.  The air here is really dry and I really have to be conscientious about applying lotion or else my fingers will crack, especially at the tips.

I have quite a few small tubs of hand cream, mainly gifts from friends.  Some are quite expensive since they are 'branded'.  It's hard for me to use them since I treasure them so much but hey, they are given so that I can use them, right?  So I have used quite a bit since I've been here.

What I've found is that I really need the heavy duty one.  I've used one from Crabtree & Evelyn and it's useless on my dry hands, even though it was labelled as 'ultra-moisturising'.  I had to apply and re-apply several times because after the lotion has been absorbed, my fingers become dry again.  So, within three weeks, I finished a whole tub of the cream.  Cost really doesn't match the effectiveness, does it? 

What was more effective was hand lotion that's from a local brand.  It's a special formula for repairing dry skin and I guess it's formulated for the local weather.  I guess another solution is to wear gloves when I do the washing up but it's too troublesome.  But looking at how my hands are cracking, I think it's something worth doing.