I recently bought a new ball, and in the first game with it, I ripped off a piece of skin from the thumb on the left side at the first joint below the nail. I was not knuckling or squeezing the ball; the thumb hole was too tight. After some trial and error experiments with the size and shape of the thumb hole including a new insert, my local pro solved the problem. It was not a pitch or span issue. My release is OK with no blisters or ripped skin.
I did use Nu Skin for a couple of series with another ball in my arsenal while we were working on the grip issue. Nu Skin forms a hard shell over the damaged skin and protects it very well. However, I stopped using Nu Skin because I wanted the thumb to heal, and I thought that Nu Skin would slow the healing process. So I used tape (Vise hada patch blue) over my thumb which eventually did heal in a couple of weeks.
The tape worked alright.
I hope that this post helps you. Let us know how you are doing. Good luck.
