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Skincare 101 for climbers
Chalking up and climbing on harsh rock gives a hard time for the skin of your fingertips which is a small yet crucial part of climbing. Filing, different chalks and hand lotions can seem as nitpicking for new climbers, but most climbers end up fussing about skincare sooner or later.
For many the first “game changer” in skincare is a good hand file that helps you file away the thickest bits of skin to avoid nasty "flappers". Filing might seem counter intuitive, as usually the problem in climbing is lack of skin when you've climbed on rough holds. Many ask, “Isn't filing only going to make it thinner?” When climbing a lot, the skin starts to thicken on your palms and around your finger joints, and when you keep climbing with slightly sweaty hands, the thick parts tend to rip off especially on dynamic moves. Hence, we recommend filing those parts to avoid those tiny set backs known as flappers.
Very sweaty hands? Even though many doubt if this is true, there are differences between chalks and their quality. We recommend testing different brands to find the one that suits your skintype the best. BK staff's all-time favorite is the silky smooth Tokyo Powder and as a close second come Friction Labs' chalks. Liquid chalk works well when the weather gets warmer and powder chalk doesn't quite cut it. Liquid chalk dries the chalk onto your hands and takes the moisture away from your hands. Our team has found that Friction Labs' Secret Stuff and Black Diamond's Black Gold are quality products that work nicely.
Or EXTREMELY sweaty hands? Some have extra sweaty hands which can often feels like a curse for a climber. Unless the temperature is close to zero, sweaty handed climbers can only dream about hard sends. Thin skin makes sweaty skin worse, and for some, even thickened fingertips are no better. Luckily Rhino Skin Solutions have come up with Tip Juice and Rhino Dry to make hard climbing (or climbing all together) possible for sweaty hands and fingertips. "Dry" can be used for the whole hand while Tip Juice is stronger stuff and meant only for the fingertips. Both are antiperspirants which dry skin effectively.
Skin worn to the point of blood is no stranger to climbers. The skin is so worn out that even water stings. Beeswax-based ClimbOn Creme brings quick relief to sore skin. Containing shea butter and aloe vera gel, ClimbOn Creme moistures dry skin effectively. It's excellent when used overnight as it is a thick creme which takes a bit of time to absorb. As lighter hand lotions, Rhino Skin Repair or Split+ work wonders for recovering skin. Both lotions are very absorbent and are recommended to use straight after climbing. Both are all-natural lotions containing tea tree oil and other goodness to heal your skin.
The most nagging wounds are splits on top of fingertips or around finger joints. Splits are usually caused by dry skin or sharp holds ripping the skin. These typed of wounds often tend to come back again and again and don't heal without appropriate care. The first step is to clean the wound and put some thick creme like ClimbOn or Crimpoil so the healing can begin. Keep it moisturized and when the skin starts to renew itself, file excess dry scaled skin around it so it doesn't rip open again.
Sometimes the climbing must go on even though your skin disagrees. After cleaning, moisturizing and bandages, there is taping left. There are lots of different tapes on the markets and, in this case too, quality replaces quantity. Bad tape is good for nothing as it often slides off after every try and your tape roll will be finished in no time. There is (almost) nothing as irritating as retaping several times in a session. This is where Leukotape enters the room. Better tape for climbing has yet to be found, especially when you have the proper taping technique to go with it. Beth Rodden shows you how it's done in this video.
Other important factors to improve friction and help your skin recover are pidon parantamiseksi 1) brushing holds and 2) preventive measures. Brushing holds is important not only for your performance but also for respecting climbing etiquette. Clean your chalk and tick marks off the rock and take your rubbish with you (also those bits of tape!)
Climbing in a manner that prevents skin wounds is the way to go. Rest properly between tries (repetitive tries while being tired are good for nothing), cool your hands between goes, chalk them up real well before climbing, tape preventively if you notice some sharp parts rubbing and, most importantly, stop climbing before bleeding! If you've worn your skin out until it bleeds, it takes a lot longer to heal. Exception to this: it's the last day of your climbing trip and you've got nothing to lose. In this case, go full gas and take care of your skin post-climbing with the help of this guide.
Wishing you skin-friendly climbing sessions,
BK:n team