How to to stop my fingers from bleeding

My weak fingers always seem to bleed from around the cuticles after crack climbing, regardless of if it’s a finger crack or a hand crack or whatever. I suspect it’s from scraping them against the inside of the cracks while placing and removing gear, and also obviously from jamming. Anyone got ideas on how to stop this? Besides improving my technique of course, I don't ever plan on doing that. Things I’ve tried

1. Moisturizing - used lotion 4/day for a week leading up to a weekend trip. Was bleeding after the second pitch on the first day
2. Trimming hangnails - I used a baby nail clipper to cut the hangnails away and still tore them somehow. Usually would cut them in the morning.
3. Superglue - I’ve been gluing the cuticles a few times per day when climbing, but this gets annoying. Last weekend I still somehow managed to tear something and bleed around the glue.

Right after climbing
A few days later

worried about your hand modeling career?

for me, this is just how it goes and if it gets to be to much i just throw some tape over it.

caughtinside wrote: Hmm, you're already doing the obvious - moisturizing.  I have the same issue sometimes, I think it's from overchalking.  

Are you using chalk with a drying agent?  If so, change that.  Metolius super chalk used to destroy my skin.

That's actually the chalk I'm using. Didn't realize it contained anything else but chalk...

master gumby wrote:
worried about your hand modeling career?

for me, this is just how it goes and if it gets to be to much i just throw some tape over it.

I'm kinda getting tired of getting blood all over the rock and everything I own. And the less time I have to spend fiddling with tape the better, nawmsayin? 

dude trim your cuticles. then they wont get caught on the edges of abrasive rock as you jam your fingers/hands into cracks.

Mounir Fizari wrote:
I'm kinda getting tired of getting blood all over the rock and everything I own. And the less time I have to spend fiddling with tape the better, nawmsayin? 

Fair point.... but can you say you are a woodson crack climber if you dont have blood on your clothes?

FrictionLabs is probably the most skin friendly chalk I've used. I don't think it provides the best friction or drying but it's fantastic for skin quality.

Definitely your chalk causing the problem. 

Had similar issues with Metolius Super Chalk, but they went away eventually when I switched brands.  The Metolius stuff seemed to over-dry my hands, leading to cracking and bleeding.  It sucked for sure.  FrictionLabs may be decent chalk, but it is way overpriced.  Several companies make chalk that contains no additives--I like the Frank Endo chalk.  It's cheap, basic, and it just works.  When I read up on chalk, I found that different chalk deposits contain different levels of metals such as nickel; that might be an issue for some people with very sensitive skin, so if one brand doesn't seem to resolve it, you might try another.  

Lotion doesn't cut it. Had a similar issue and using O'Keefe's Working Hands has done wonders. Put it on regularly and especially after climbing. That and trimming those cuticles, yo.

Better yet, get your cuticles done by a pro. Do it with your girlfriend and get the mandatory apres' mani-pedi lovin'.