Janet as long as your skin is not alergic to neat Fairy Liquid, try rubbing
plenty in before you start work. I discovered this by accident. We used
Fairy Liquid as a harmless lubricant when threading and pulling PVC cables
through rubber watertight glands whilst building Lifeboats. Of course our
hands were covered with the stuff and it made them easier to wash, but I
carried on using it by rubbing it into my hands even on other normal work
:-))

Mike