I can vouch for him, this is legit. I don't cry though. So when I need to send hard, I go to the local orphanage and collect donations. Helps you too if you can fill a water bottle and drink before you go crush it.
Finger maintenance: Ice cold beer. Make sure the glass has spent some time in the freezer and treasure the glass with all 10 burning digits while enjoying that superb first beer after a heavy climb.
Matt, Thanks for the climbOn shoutout, proud that we are you're favorite. We do have a lots more to offer than just the traditional climbOn Bar. We have the vegan POLYN moisture body bar that is also in a biodegradable and compostable push-up tube. We have the climbOn Creme for larger areas. We have a vegan version of the climbOn Creme called climbOn Creme Lite. The list keeps going on, I don't want this to sound like a sales pitch. Just appreciate the support and know that with us being so small and in so many countries many don't realize how many products we have to offer. Finally, a quick tip --- overnight a clean pair of socks over your hands will do the job with a nice glob of climbOn. That's the trick Tommy Caldwell uses :-)
Skin farming technique of mine depends on the severity of skin soreness. Sometimes it's enough to talk to your fingertips before going to bed and trying to explain how much you need them to be ready for the next day. That might convince them to recover quickly. Some other times you have to be rough and tell them off, and hope you'll scare them into healing.
leave flappers on. I have received two during one session, so as an experiment I left one on, and removed the other. Results? the finger healed twice as fast with the flapper. (aka mini skin graph) Drew.K.
That's what I do too. I try to leave it on as long as I can. If it's filled with water, I lightly poke it with a sterilized needle to get the water out. It heals much faster this way.
@@erickstamand There is a difference between a blister and a flapper though. Flappers are normally a faster trauma, the skin ripping, blisters are a slower kind of wear on your hands. The fluid is trying to form a protective layer (Though draining is fine) but flappers are ALREADY damaged. I've heard a lot of conflicting info on whether to remove them or not. I remove them but then properly clean the wound and cover them overnight.
metropolisfpv it doesn’t reconnect, it’s like a natural barrier and cushioning between your skin and bandaid/tape. By the time the flapper is dry and ready to fall off there’ll be some actual skin underneath. Helps with comfort and by extension faster healing.
Water, fingernail file, sandpaper, coconut oil, and athletic tape. thats my skin care kit. stays in my pack and is light enough to take it on every climb. All cuts and flappers get taped shut. Coconut oil rehydrates the skin after chalking up all day, and promotes new skin growth. sandpaper gets rid of those bugger calluses and the fingernail file keeps my tips nice and clean and nails short. Last thing you want is to split your finger nail bed pulling too hard on a bad finger pocket or crack. And lastly THE MOST IMPORTANT SKIN CARE TIP FOR CLIMBERS!!! Stay properly hydrated! Staying hydrated throughout your climbing day will vastly improve your skins ability to regenerate quickly, as well as keep your skin healthy, which will prevent cracking and splitting.
A tip I picked up from hikers: there is a tape called leukotape. It is far superior to any type of athletic or climbing tape. It's super sticky and will stay on literally for days. It's super sticky though so I like to tape it to shipping label paper and cut it into strips.
My way of saving my hands is filing down excess calluses and covering all splits or tears that I get with a glob of vasoline before going to bed. This has usually kept the parts that need to heal moist while protecting my skin from drying out. My immediate first aid is usually chalk in the wound and a lot of hope that it will fix itself later. it seems to have worked so far!
I would really love it if you could do a 'how to' type thing on taping up injured or recovering fingers. I tore my A2 fully in my ring finger and have been experimenting with different taping methods while recovering but would love to hear and see your methods. Great video today!
Great episode, this is an area even fairly accomplished climbers tend not to think about. My "trick" is a product called O'Keeffe's working hands. It is super cheap and works fairly well. I load my hands up with the stuff in the morning on gym nights and rest days and it gives a great baseline moisture level. After climbing I use a climbon bar as that stuff works miracles. If you work a job that has your hands wet or requires lots of hand washing a using barrier cream keeps your hands from swelling or drying out, and this makes a big difference when you say hit the crag on the way back from work.
Repair for me starts as soon as i'm done climbing. I wash all the chalk off my hands then use a general purpose lotion after I've changed. Continue to lotion your hands maybe 1-2 times throughout the day. I also use Climb-on at night and recommend the same. In the shower i use a pumice stone to shave down calluses that are getting too large. Keep cleaned flappers on under some tape and it'll heal faster as @Dj Ka recommended below. I started my climbing career with a lot of skin problems, this routine as eliminated those issue.
I swear by Burts Bee's Hand salve. Smells like a summer meadow and heals my hands incredibly quickly (all natural ingredients and cheap to boot). I lather it on before bed because it can be a little greasy as well. In terms of my routine for skin care I usually use a pumice stone to take care of excess skin (preventing future flappers) on my hands. And then, as mentioned above, slap on some burts bees salve. The pumice stone does really well and seems gentler than sandpaper.
I've used climb on in the exact same way, put it on before going to bed. But also I use nail clippers to cut off those massive built up skin bits on the pads of my fingers. Really helps relieve the sensitivity. My old climbing coach told me about that one.
Personally I use the ClimbSkin cream, it's not oily at all, you can even put some in the middle of your session. As for the skin itself I cut off all the excess before I climb. A razor blade can be usefull for that !
I like to use Weleda skin food to keep my hands in tidy conditions. I used to just go with the flow and let callouses and cracks come and go, but since I've started taking care of them, no issues there.
I do a lot of walking as well and use this technique to prevent foot blisters too. Apply zinc oxide/climbing tape the night before to usual 'hot spots' so it really sticks. It will then protect your skin during the early part of a climb where it's still soft and full of moisture. Then post climb Aveno moisturiser and any damage will heal up a treat.
Mine is fairly simple, it just goes along as I do my daily skin maintenance routine. I live in California and the air here is really dry. Good for sweaty hands while climbing but not for dry skin.. So every night before going to bed, I would have to first apply Daily Moisture lotion to my entire upper body. When I'm done, aloe Vera gel to my face. Then, I'll apply antiseptic cream to my wounds on my hands. My hands and fingers get all the nutrients as I apply the lotion and the aloe Vera, so it's kinda like a go along win win solution for my hands. And plus, I apply them before going to bed, so it's gonna sit there and get absorb into the skin and "marinate" it for 6 hours on weekdays and 8 hours on weekends! Lotion moisturises the skin and provides protein and hydration (after all the dehydration from the chalk) to help maintain a healthy skin. Aloe Vera helps to heal the wounds and also hydrates the skin, and also helps to relieve if it burns! And the antiseptic helps to reduce the possibility of infection and helps inflammation. All that skin food to keep my hands going for a whole day's worth of climbing the next day!
I have a thing to avoid, not so much a must-do; I once cut the tip of my thumb, so I bandaged it, but when I went for a climb, it came of, ofcourse, so I put some tape on top of it. Ignorant me put the tape on way too tight, and left i on for several days, so when I pulled it of the entire tip was pale, hardened, wrinkly and dirty. It hurt like hell and took several days to get back to normal. I still have a scar and some slight wrinkles...
My goto is to use a razor blade (or similar) cut of the calluses with a knife and then -- as you said in the vid -- use climb on over night. Works fantastically well!
At if my hands are cracking super badly from being dry I'll use bag balm which was made famous because it is known by farmers as a lotion you put on a cows utter. This stuff works wonders though in healing your skin when you let it set in for awhile. And I also use sand paper to keep my calluses down that could turn into flappers if I don't take care of them.
I usually ripe my flappers off and just let them calas up I do clean them out still. and after climbs using curel hand lotion is great for when you washed all the chalk off your hands. Your hands are hands soft but not to oily if you want to do some bouldering or go right back at it after lunch or dinner.
I always put on the climbon before i go to bed. I got a flapper the other day, and it did help just over night!! I definitely recommend the climbon bar!
I'm quite sensitive to smells so I gow with either and odorless or vanilla/honey scented moisturizers. Always keep a nail clipper and file for dealing with flappers and skin maintenance at the rocks. NEVER SKIMP ON GOOD TAPE. my first roll was absolutely garbage and would slide right off if you so much thought about sweat.
What I use on my skin is a homemade goats milk lotion with charcoal dust added, rubbed in by a mint leaf that I grow. It gives it a burning sensation but helps it heal really quickly.
For cuts, splits, and flappers I use liquid skin/liquid bandaid before I tape. It has a built in anti-septic and is actually designed to stick to skin which makes it far superior to super glue. It's also cheaper and lasts much longer.
I file my calluses, put lotion on my skin to keep it from getting too rough but I keep my calluses tough enough to climb most rock. For flappers I have small finger nail cutters that can get under the skin and i cut off the excess skin. Then I put climb skin, and something I found from my local pharmacy that closes up the flapper and put a bandaid on top of that. May seem excessive but works pretty well.
If during a climbing session my skin rips off, I usually just clean it and then tape it. Afterwards, when I go home, I fill a bowl of very cold water and I add a little bit of alcohol. This make the skin harder and heals the injuries. I once used a skin dehydrator when I was in a trip to make the skin last longer. Hope the tricks were useful
My method that has worked very well for me is every night before bed I apply either Climb On, or Joshua Tree. The climb on works much better in the long run but not well in the short run so if I know I won't be climbing the next day or my tips aren't sore I use that. If they are sore however I use Joshua Tree as the anti inflammatory in it helps with the soreness greatly allowing me to climb without feeling it but does little for long term care in my opinion.
Instead of those expensive sandpaper boards (9$ or so), i use a standard drywall foam sanding block. $2 from the local hardware store and they last a super long time. plus they are larger and come in multiple grits so its great for taking down callouses or fine tuning skin!
Got my first flapper on Sunday coated it in my crappy chalk while at the wall to dry the bleeding so I could carry on climbing. Then just slapped some coconut oil on. I need to try some of these repair creams.
For un-callused hands if you hang off of some plywood right where you want calluses (hang until it hurts quite a bit) it will create super-tough and textured calluses!
For hard climbing sessions I like to use a base layer of liquid chalk as well as copious amounts of powderd chalk on top because I have super sweaty hands. Though if I am bouldering or climbing easy I just use powdered chalk to save the liquid stuff. If when I climb I get cuts or grazes on my fingers that draw blood (happens a lot) I dab them in chalk then tape them up, the chalk absorbs the blood as the tape protects it from further damage. If however I get blisters I forgo the chalk and use more tape done up tighter. After a session I wash my hands thoroughly, apply antiseptic cream on any cuts, grazes or burst blisters and then finish it off with a helping of Climb Skin cream.
For me, ive always taped problem areas when they get to a point that it feels like its gunna rip. Then, when Im home, i give my hands a full scrub down, let dry, file down any hardened skin, then oil with "j-tree" oil. Seems to have worked pretty well so far, my hands heal quickly :) Also, general hydration keeps the skin flexible and less prone to tearing
My skincare consists of different natural oils for example jojoba, avocado or almond. My miracle cream is Handy Gurugu from Lush. When I need extra care I just mix in some of the oils listed above. I do this at nights so my hands can soak up all the moisture. :)
So before I go out in the fields to harvest, I will typically soak my hands in hot water to soften the skin, then use a 120 grit sand paper to shave down uneven bits of skin that could potentially snag. After that, I throw on some balm and call it a night.
I love the climb on cream. I have the bar but I found the cream better. I put it on after a session and watch all the torn up skin just heal and be soothed :D
Friction Labs Secret Stuff liquid chalk base layer, followed by use of Friction Labs regular chalk for climbing. After-care consists of washing all the magnesium carbonate off my hands with soap and water, then giving them a liberal rubdown with ClimbSkin cream, which is non-greasy and smells great. Conditions calluses and keeps skin from splitting without all the oily, greasy mess. ClimbSkin - you've gotta try it!
Started using ProBalm about a month ago as an alternative to monkey fist. It was a bit hard at first so I stupidly chucked it in the microwave, it smelt awful! But worked wonders once I started leaving it in my chalk bucket to use immediately after a session. Especially great for slate climbs when it feels I'm holding onto knife edges!
On skin farming here's my beta. Stole my sister's electric nail file to sand loose skin and then treat at night with O'keefes working hands (way cheaper) after shower to hold the moisture in before I go to bed.
A lot of these comments already mentioned leaving the skin on flappers to help heal faster. I totally agree; you should do that. My secret technique works in tandem with this, but... it's pretty gross. Stay with me. When you first get a flapper, you'll need to drain all that fluid and blood out of the area to prevent infection. That area will continue to ooze fluid over a period of days, depending on how big or deep it is, but eventually it'll dry out and start to heal. Leaving the flapper on helps keep this ooze from getting infected, but if you want to speed up the drying process, you gotta pee on your blisters. Do it. Pee on your blisters. Do it. They'll dry out much, much faster. I swear. Is it gross? Yes. Is it sterile? Yes. Is it vegan? Kind of. Is it the most convenient thing to do? No, but it's a lot more convenient than not doing it. I have only anecdotal evidence that this works. I'd try to find a study but I'm not really excited about googling "peeing on flappers." Hopefully someone in the comments can back me up.
I've only been climbing for a few months, but one thing I have learned is there is a happy medium for calluses on your hands. I lightly scrub the tops off and us a good moisturizing lotion. One thing is you are a climber now your hands are not going to baby soft anymore. get use to it
What works great when you have a split is putting some milking fat on it in the evening and covering it with tape...at night when you sleep your injured skin gets soft and builts up new skin from underneath With this method it usually takes my skin only one or two nights to recover and to be ready for climbing again👌🏼👌🏼
i find skincare tricky, a weekly razorblade on the calluses does wonders and prevents flappers and i refrain from liquid chalk cus it right royaly f#@$s my cuticles. Got a split a while ago though and found nothing heals it like razoring off the dead skin and resting. But then i had a comp....so i didnt rest.....and the spit resplit 😐. Interested in try some of that climbers balm as well as a dab of antihydral in the future.
I always cut my cuticles by habit, i know it doesnt help but its my little superstition. Then i rub off ever tiny blister and callus which means im using a boat load of tape on all my sessions. For my chalk i just use generic chalk since i cant purchase any high end friction lab stuff. After Im done, i rinse my hands in cold water and use joshua tree climbing balm. It works like a charm and always leaves me feeling better after a hard day at the gym
This is going to sound strange, but i use a Mary Kay face emollient which is typically used to help with dry spots on your faces . I layer it on before bed and wake up to a new layer of skin to go tear away again. Man i love climbing :)
After a easy indoor session go for a swim, a few days later go for heavy climbing. I like swimming so I have no other choice than to repeat, but if you rarely swim keep it like that. Because after that STAY AWAY FROM WATER! It will not help you unless you do something like I said at the top^
Give your hands an epsom salt soak before sanding them. The excess skin will come Off much easier. Also I am a fan of climbskin because I can put it on an hour before climbing, my hands do not get slippery at all and my skin is more flexible and less likely to tear.
not really a skincare but a really important thing i do is warm up my hand with warm water befor climbing, because my hands are really cold so just a warm up for my fingers doesn't work .
Soak skin in warm water, file off some of the calluses, repeat, then lightly flour your hands with AP flour (literal finger flour) to dry hands out, then use climb on and away you go!!
First I will file my hands to get rid of rough spots and smooth out calluses, I will then trim off flappers if I have any. After the climb and before I go to bed i will apply a thick layer of climb on to my hands and allow them to soak overnight. In the morning I will apply another layer of climb on and then allow it to soak while I watch the news. Before I climb I will tape up any areas of my fingers or palms that are sensitive and throughout the climb I will check my hands and apply tape as new blisters or rough spot occur! When I get home another layer of climb on goes on after I shower and as needed for the rest of the night. I will also file my hands after I climb for any rough spot that may have occurred!
what I do for my skin is to cut any little flappers off with nail clippers and then soak my hand in vinegar or methalayted spirits( south african) the vinegar or meth burns you hands for about 2 minutes but in the morning your skin is much harder and tougher for your next training session!
I just got my first climbing lesson yesterday , I hard a really hard time due my weight and lack of fitness but im not quitting until I can see these videos again and remember how worried I was about damaging my tender hands :P
Start by lightly chalking flappers and splits before you tape so the tape sticks. Then finish your session. Come home and wash off all that grime and chalk. Cut off flappers, let hands sit in a nice warm tub of water, sand, then put the balm or oil of your choice on the raw areas.
I use lanolin oil, it's kind of thick and greasy but it sinks in over time since it's a sebaceous oil like what your skin produces naturally. It's not vegan since it's processed from wool, and of course everyone should patch test for allergies if you have sensitive skin.
You know you have climbed hard when you can't move your hands anymore and they are stuck in one position. Your skin is really dry and if you try to open or close your hand it feels like your palm is going to rip open. The ultimate cure for this is L'OCCITANE Shea Butter Hand Cream. This stuff comes in a cool paint tube and works wonders. Your hands "unlock" within 5-15 minutes depending on how dry they are! The cream re moisturises and repairs your skin so that the next day they are ready for more torture. I like to mix the hand cream with a little bit of Arnica (antinfiammatori) so that as it soaks in it also lessens the soreness the next day. Also just before I start climbing to dry my hands, my procedure is first make sure they are clean, then I take some of that hand sanitiser with alcohol that evaporates. This already ur skin out nicely but then I follow it with liquid chalk to really dry them out. Then as a final coat I use regular chalk from my chalk ball and now I'm ready. Then repeat. :)
Great tips and I can agree with the taping technique, even tough you went through it quite fast and not as precise as possible (but you mentioned it and I guess the message is clear). Personally I use ClimbOn for after climbing care as well. Some say it smells like toilette 😂 but I think it smells like lemon 👍 Best, Alex
My method is as followed... 1. Wash Your Hands To Remove Chalk 1a. If The Skin Is Broken, Clean With Hydrogen Peroxide, Put On Polysporin And Skip All Other Steps 2. Rub The Dead Skin Off 3. Use Some Kind Of After Climb Cream. I Have This Stuff Called Tiger Balm That Contains A Bunch Of Oils.
Redanx Hey man, I have some of that too but I didn’t know you could use for healing. Do you apply it directly to the raw, injured skin or wait for the wound to heal ?
This isn't my tip, but instead I heard it from Jonathan Siegrist! If you have splits in the creases of fingers, get a small stick or pen and tape it across the back of your affected finger(s) so that they are straight, then balm up, go to sleep, and by morning they should be fine as the pen makes sure you don't curl your fingers as you sleep :D
my fingertip tricks are antihydral after my tips get pink on longer, harder, redpointing sessions and then on the days where Im not so serious and just focus on endurance and well below my redpoint level I will soak my fingertips in apple cinder vinegar. The apple cider vinegar is a little trick from guitar players ;)
I thought the callouses were good because when I was climbing often and had them I would attach better and it hurt less. Now I made a break and have a baby skin but became so weak at climbing again.
Pro tip for skin care: I always file down my calluses, tape my fingers before when there are signs of flappers coming, and don't forget to clip your nails really short because they can crack and put an end to your session! Climb on!!!
I've tried climbon, still have one of those tester tins. Don't like it at all. Kind of hard to apply and way too greasy. Doesn't really absorb quickly. I've been using Handsan hand and nail Creme from the DM (german drugstore). It's antibacterial, absorbs quickly and doesn't make your hands feel greasy at all. Gives instant relief after a session and you can even get away with applying it an hour before your session. The best part about it? It only costs €1.25 or something for a tube. I've tried a lot of other, more expensive stuff but keep coming back to this. My skin is strong and supple and I haven't had flappers ever since I've started using it.
Personally, I like to use jojoba oil on my hands before bed. I think, by the time I get around to climbing the next day, my hands are dry but the backs aren't cracking (winter JUST ended...). I also really liked that hand salve by Burt's Bee's for the same reason.
Also, FILE, don't clip your fingernails! It helps reduce breakage, especially if you file in one direction. Also I hate seeing clippings on gym floors. Like, do it over the garbage, if that's how you're gonna roll...
I wash my hands three times with soup and water and than I put lotion on at and wait 10 minutes. After 10 minutes I take a shower because after a climbing session ur gonna be sweaty, and then I eat dinner and put some climb on on my hands over night. And then your done and are ready for another session.
it's not my technique but of a friend. he is a vascular surgeon therefore he is very skilled with the scalpel. so when his callus are getting too big he just trim them with the scalpel. he says it's better then sanding because his hands are never dry, so he can't sand them properly!
How is there no info nowhere on this skin issue that everyone has, you know, when your skin does a hole under one of the joints so its painfull to bend the finger or do a "fist" ? Its always right in the midle of a joint, where the finger bends. How do you avoid this ? And how do you cure it ?
Try to climb with technique and don’t climb stressed. This will prevent friction and eventually flappers. Not the question but why heal when you can prevent.
Aside from the occasional flapper I'm pretty lucky with my skin taking care of itself. But does anyone have any advice for that sore feeling in the meat of my fingers that builds up during long sessions? Like by the end I usually can't even pull on jugs
Any tips for climbers having hand eczema ? I try to use less chalk however after climbing I still have irritation and itching hands. Maybe I try climbing in bicycle gloves ?
I suffer from chronic hand eczema and, depending on the type of eczema you have, I suggest seeing a doctor, preferably a dermatologist, that can prescribe you some relatively strong cortisone lotion as well as some creamy pharmacy-quality lotions for the dryness. The best thing you can do to get rid of the dryness is apply some very thick & creamy, unscented lotion on your hands before bedtime and sleep with cotton gloves on. If I have small tears in my skin I do it with Bepanthen and that really helps. Some of those beeswax "lotions", like Climb on, work pretty well during the day. My eczema doesn't get irritated by the chalk so I can't really help with that, but it'll most likely help to take care of the problem rather than use gloves long term when climbing. If you need to use gloves while getting the situation under control, I would suggest gloves specifically designed for climbing or other sports where grip is important (I think there are some for CrossFitters, for example).
I find products like ClimbOn leave my skin to supple and in turn causes my skin to be less strong, unless I have a 4 day break, I avoid i. I've just resorted to a cold soak after a session, some light sand papering of the larger callouses, avoiding tape for skin and only use it for injuries... Oh and a LOT of climbing to get that skin super strong... If only my climbing ability and finger strength would catch up! Yet to use liquid chalk, but I am tempted to make my own. (Also I've heard Antihydral to be a god send for sweaty hands) GL everyone!
What I do is not take the calluses off until the become annoying and then I don't have to worry about anything that much ever and for sore muscles I use tiger bomb
Bucket of ice! no, it's not the ice bucket challenge, alternatively, a pan of cold water with ice cubes will require 5mins or more, this is a micro Wim Hoff method.
helo climbers. I started bouldering this year, and I've become quite addicted, but the biggest thing keeping me off the wall is my hands. Right now I'm typing with fleshy wounds on half of my fingers. They're all on the first half of my fingers, before first knuckle. -is that a common amateur thing? I develop nice firm calluses, then they all rip off. At the moment I can only climb twice a week, which is making my progress frustratingly slow. Any advice? Thanks.
I guess I have mental issues or something because my skin care technique is pretty much fight through the pain, send the stupid route, then put joshua tree lotion on all torn blisters before bed, today I had 20 of those... I just counted. It was a painful session. I marked my territory on that route with my blood.
