Skin after climbing: how to properly care for it

Kůže je lezcova největší síla, ale také největší slabina a důvod pro brek. Každý nováček i mírně pokročilí se sem tam zasekne a přemýšlí, jak se nejlépe postarat o své rozpraskané prsty, utrhnuté mozoly a nepříjemné „flappers“. Jelikož my na to hrdě před nedávnem přišli, tak jsme velice nadšení, že s vámi můžeme nyní své vědomosti sdílet.

Before we embark on this monumental task, we must emphasize that what a person is, it's a slightly different skin. Even among us at VARP, we don't have the same durable hands. Climbers like Alex Honnold can climb joints without gloves and have very durable skin. But most of us have a curse on us and suffer from eternally flaky calluses, skin splits and generally very sensitive skin. Therefore, take this article as tips and tricks, not as a holy bible. In the end, it's all quite individual.

Purity

As they say "cleanliness is half health". The same goes for skin after climbing and trying to keep it intact. Everyone climbs better when they don't have to reach for greasy holds. This means washing your hands before climbing to get rid of most of the grease we have on our hands. The second part is to find out what kind of skin you have and take care of it adequately. Dry hands should be regularly "greased" so that they do not crack. Hand creams, soap with oil and so on are good for this. Naturally oily hands, on the other hand, should be dried (degreased). But this is not as much of a problem as with dry hands, as they crack more.

Finger customization

The human body is extremely intelligent and can adapt to our surroundings. Skin is no exception to this rule. You've probably noticed that your skin changes after climbing depending on what you're climbing the most at the moment. When climbing on sandstone (such as Elbe Sandstone or Bohemian Paradise) and other soft stones, the skin adapts by softening. If we climb on harder stones, on the contrary, it hardens and hard calluses form.

So what is a good option in between? For most of us, it's indoor climbing on artificial walls. The large variety of grips that we find in gyms will ensure us good calluses wherever it is needed - i.e. on the tips of the fingers and sometimes even on the palm. Then it's just a matter of how much you take care of your hands. Filing calluses is a good practice to keep them from growing back and tearing. If you climb on softer rocks, file the calluses a little more.

Skin injury

split skin

It occurs (split) when slipping off small slats or by straining dry skin. It is an unpleasant tearing of the skin around the edges of the toes. The solution to this is quite simple. A smart climber doesn't even have to stop climbing because of splits. First, stop the bleeding, which should not be heavy. If you have a liquid patch, you can add it there. But most importantly, tape the split. Then you can happily continue on.

It takes about a week for such a wound to heal and to make matters worse, it is then prone to further injury for some time. We recommend taping your finger after a few more climbs to prevent recurrence.

Flapper

A torn callus, or flapper, is a piece of skin that peels off on one of the toes. It's a very unpleasant injury that happens when a climber falls from big sharp holds or doesn't have enough filed calluses, which subsequently heal.

How to deal with it you ask? First, stop climbing so it doesn't get worse. Wash and clean your hand. Try not to get rid of torn skin, ie. don't cut it, don't bite it and especially don't tear it. Then tape your finger if you want to keep climbing. If not, treat it like any other skin wound you have. It is important to say here that you should not put the tape on the flapper directly. The sticky part of the tape would tear off a piece of your skin, which is definitely not pleasant. It is better to use a little bandage or even the other side of the tape on the base.

Blisters

When climbing, we get blisters most often on the balls of our fingers where we hold the holds (especially buckets and handles). If the blister is small, there is not much to deal with. In short, tape your finger and you can continue climbing. When the blister is already big and uncomfortable, it's time to start dealing with it. The ideal is to stop climbing (or at least switch to other types of holds).

Above all, never pop the blister! If it is really too big, pierce it with a sterilized needle at its edge and squeeze out the liquid. Then wash it, dry it and feel free to throw an adequate plaster on it. If it bursts on its own, the first step is washing and disinfection.

If you want to climb with a blister, do the same as with a broken callus. Use some sort of backing so the sticky part of the tape doesn't tear the blister off and hurray back onto the wall.

Skin after climbing

After climbing, a simple rule applies - "He who waxes, he climbs". Hands are dried after magic. The easiest way is to wash your hands after climbing (to get rid of the rest of the maglaze) and then use hand cream. In this case, a normal "lubricant" is sufficient, which can be bought at any store or drugstore.

The second way to treat your skin after climbing is to buy climbing wax. They are small round pixels that you can find near the cash register on every wall. Our favorite at Climb On and we have to say it's a godsend! The wax will lubricate your hands and rapidly improve their regeneration and the feeling in them.

The second thing we do, usually the day before climbing, is file the calluses. An uneven callus breaks off easily. We recommend buying a small file for climbers (or a piece of sandpaper) and file the calluses. The goal is to have them smooth and not too big.

And what else?

Now that you know how to take care of your skin after climbing and enjoy it, it's time to look further. If you don't know what boots choose for climbing in the winter months and what sole is best for climbing, we will be happy to advise you.

Climbing is great, but being on one wall can be boring. We have prepared for you a list of the best walls in Prague and its immediate surroundings, which will help you choose the right one. But if you want to try climbing outside, take a look at ours TOPOS climbing areas in Prague or a summary of the largest and most popular ones such as Braník, Hlubočepské plates, Prokop valley and Divoká Sárka.

Do you want to support VARP and don't know how? Look into our store, where we have new stickers in four different colors!