Hand/Finger Skin Care Routines

I'm trying to figure out if hand/finger skincare is correlated with being able to climb harder routes. Did anyone start being able to climb harder once they implemented a hand skincare routine? Are hand/finger skincare routines more common among climbers who climb higher grades? What are your skincare routines? 

I mean, I climb harder when my hands aren’t cracked from chalk drying them out. Using lotion before you go to bed helps a lot.

The only way skincare has helped me climb harder is by building thicker skin where I want it (thus allowing more goes/climbing per session) and by removing excess skin where I don’t (which reduces the number of flappers and splits I get, again, equalling more climbing). Judicious use of antihydral helps to thicken my tips in season, and liberal use of emory boards and safety razor blades (the super-thin old-timey ones) helps to keep callouses in check. Other than that, I try to moisturize every night before bed (I prefer the tubs of Eucerin Advanced Repair). 

Mark Paulson wrote:

The only way skincare has helped me climb harder is by building thicker skin where I want it (thus allowing more goes/climbing per session) and by removing excess skin where I don’t (which reduces the number of flappers and splits I get, again, equalling more climbing). Judicious use of antihydral helps to thicken my tips in season, and liberal use of emory boards and safety razor blades (the super-thin old-timey ones) helps to keep callouses in check. Other than that, I try to moisturize every night before bed (I prefer the tubs of Eucerin Advanced Repair). 

+2

There are definitely routes with sharp holds, where skin is the limiting factor in how many times you can try the route. And a split fingertip, or a ripped flapper will definitely get in the way of trying hard for a bit. Yes, you can climb through some pain, with a flapper, a hangnail, etc., and sometimes you have to, many climbers have done the “tape/glue-and-keep-going”, at some point.  Not pleasant, and people take steps to avoid such situations with proper skincare.

But it’s not like there is a magic cream out there that will make you go from 5.8 to 5.12, just because you put it on your fingertips daily.

My “skincare routine” consists of washing hands as soon as possible after climbing, and applying Joshua tree climbing salve. I re-apply it at at night before going to bed. I also use a nail file to sand off calluses, as needed.

I have, over the years, used many different salves, Climb on, Burts bees, badger balm, Rhino skin repair, and many others that have been handed out as samples, passed on by friends, etc. in a pinch, I’ve even used a chapstick. There are many salves that work, a lot comes down to personal preference in smell and consistency. I always gravitate back to Joshua Tree as my default.   

Conventional lotion actually makes me climb softer (I want hard and calloused, not soft, supple & moist, finger tips). There are supplements you can take and specific salves you can use that can accelerate goby-healing, that might be useful and related. EDIT: +1 for that Joshua Tree stuff.

Not with chapstick though. Moist lips in the desert or alpine definitely help me climb my hardest day after day.

I think there is some kind of correlation between climbing hard and skincare, only because serious climbers are more likely to take their skin into account. Kinda like how non-serious climbers don’t care/aren’t aware about conditions and things like that. 

Lena said that there’s no magic cream that will make you go from 5.8 to 5.12, but antihydral was pretty damn close for me. I can climb longer and for more days on, which over a season equals a lot more climbing. I have naturally sweaty hands though. 

Detrick S wrote:

Conventional lotion actually makes me climb softer (I want hard and calloused, not soft, supple & moist, finger tips). There are supplements you can take and specific salves you can use that can accelerate goby-healing, that might be useful and related. EDIT: +1 for that Joshua Tree stuff.

Not with chapstick though. Moist lips in the desert or alpine definitely help me climb my hardest day after day.

Chapstick doesn’t add moisture to your lips. It is just a protective layer that prevents loss of moisture through your lips, and keeps the skin supple. Ingredient list in my chapstick says: beeswax, cocoa butter, coconut and sunflower oils, and a blend of EOs. Not that different from beeswax and oils concoction that is a climbing salve, the main difference is in proportion of beeswax vs oils.

You obviously wouldn’t put it on immediately BEFORE climbing. But you also wouldn’t put any of the healing salves mentioned here on before climbing.

No skincare routine is going to make you a climb harder, but if you ever find your skin to be what ends your session when you would otherwise keep climbing, then improving your skin care will let you climb more, which may help you improve as a climber. 

How much you will benefit from a skincare routine depends a lot on what your skin is like, and what the conditions are like where you climb, and how frequently you climb. Some kind of methenemine product (antihydral, rhino, etc,) is probably the closing thing to the "silver bullet" you seem to be looking for, but it will probably only make a major difference for you if you have wet skin/climb in hot and humid conditions frequently. If your skin is naturally pretty dry methenemine can dry it out too much and cause cracking, so be aware of that risk.

I quickly added 2 letter grades, 13a->13c after using antihydral.

That is why I created Rhino Skin Solutions.  There a re so many different needs of climbers that recovery, adding moisture, inhibiting moisture can easily bump your grade up if diled in.

I think yes because (as others have mentioned) if your skin is in good shape you can climb more, and if you climb more you get better. In his Enormocast interview Alex Honnold mentions that if he has one exceptional trait it's good skin, and that as a function of that he has been able to climb a lot of volume. I think that this is hugely significant. I obviously don't think there is any correlation between skin care and actually climbing better, but there is a direct one between skin care and climbing more, and a direct correlation between climbing more and climbing better.

Personally, the most important aspects of skin care are keeping my hands clean (including trimming cuticles, etc.) and using a drying agent (methenemine) regularly. I use Rhino Skins Tip Juice and the Performance lotion (Thanks Justin! Fun hanging, shooting, and climbing up at Shuteye this summer). I don't find that the various salves help my skin heal any faster or make my skin any less likely to split. I have recently started using the Rhino Skins Spit on super dry days, and I like it so far in certain contexts, but don't have enough experience to have a stron opinion.

I like to use "Antihydral," a very strong drying agent that can be used at night to ensure that my hands remain dry during the day since I have naturally sweaty hands. I also added fish oil to my diet. It really helps keep my skin healthy and has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. And by the way, Vitamin E is also good for damaged skin. Buy a pack of gelatin capsules, pierce a small hole with a needle in the capsule and dab it on your fingers. I was advised this method by the VitalSkin Clinic, and they have extensive experience in general, cosmetic, and surgical dermatology.

I just want something that will let me climb a week in the Red. I’ve done week long trips to Red Rock and Spain, had very little skin issues. 3 days in the Red and they are toast.

Tried Rhino products, climbskin, Joshua Tree, okeefes, still in search.