UKC

Just come from the bouldering wall and my hands are buggered. So, what hand cream do you use, if any?

Suggestions, mockery (I use a bottle of 'man up' etc) below.

Cheers.

In reply to planetmarshall:

MTFU juice occasionally works, failing that try https://www.bananafingers.co.uk/climb-on-1oz-bar-p-647.html

In reply to planetmarshall: Big fan of Climb On, creme is great for replacing the moisture after using chalk and bar for cuts and grazes.

In reply to planetmarshall:

I just use normal cheapo moisturiser after climbing indoors. In my opinion it helps get rid of the chalk dryness and stops my skin hurting as much, I'd definitely recommend it.

I've currently got a tube that has 'For MEN' written on it in big letters so that means my masculinity isn't threatened or something. In fact I'm pretty sure a bottle of women's moisturiser would have absolutely no effect at all. I heard it's not tough enough to work on mens skin.

In reply to planetmarshall:

I'll start this by stating that I'm drinking...I'm in glencoe, I'm 52, been climbing for 35 years and the conditions are the worst I've ever seen at this time of year....the Clachaig has a lecture on, no pool table, bar not serving whilst the talk is on and I'm looking at a post about hand cream!! It's all not what it used to be...

In reply to planetmarshall:

I've been using Climbskin for a couple of years now and I've found it better than regular moisturiser for the tips and calluses. It does last well. I only use it when it seems necessary.

In reply to planetmarshall:

Aveeno cream - before and after. The stuff is like magic.

For very sore skin, up to and including grit rash, Sudocream. An oldie but a goodie!

In reply to planetmarshall:
Climbskin is a great hand cream and is not wax based so absorbs super quick.

In reply to planetmarshall:

Lotil. I have to wash my hands at work a lot with a scrub wash, making the dryness worse. This works.
Chris

In reply to planetmarshall:

I'm using Climb On at the moment, because samples were being given away at a bouldering competition I went to with my son. It's good stuff and I have in fact paid money for it in the past, but I won't be needing to do that again for a while now.

An Australian acquaintance told me climbing walls there have hand cream dispensers in the changing rooms.

In reply to planetmarshall:

Anything will work, vaseline/sudocreme will help, but I'd only use them just before bed (to avoid greasing up everything I touch). I like nivea soft during the day (my wife has loads).

Climb on is great, the UK made probalm also works, but I find probalm stings if used on snotty nose rash/open scrapes (climbon doesn't for some reason).

Skincare places sometimes sell a climbon type substance for a lot less than climbon (about half price by weight).

In reply to planetmarshall:
Apparently pink razors for women cost far more than completely identical blue razors for men because women are willing to pay a premium for the 'lady' branding. I think the same thing is happening in reverse for hand cream - if you label it 'Climb-' so it looks macho guys will pay 3 or 4 times as much for something that's no better than the product for the much larger female market.

The Neutrogena Norwegian Formula is perfect because 'Norwegian' is nearly as macho an adjective as 'Climb', it works great and I can nick it off my wife.

http://www.boots.com/neutrogena-norwegian-formula-concentrated-hand-cream-u...

In reply to planetmarshall:

Since hand cream and body lotion is nothing more than oil and water mixed with an emulsifier and some preservatives, you might as well cut straight to the chase and get some shea butter, which is 100% natural and absolutely amazing on dry and cracked skin.

In reply to tom_in_edinburgh:

I was putting some Norwegian Formula Hand and Nail stuff on whilst reading your post. Managed to rip a hole in the middle of one of my fingernails a while ago and this stuff seemed to stop it hurting and make it start working like a fingernail again pretty well. Palmers Cocoa Butter is also very good, and smells great to boot.

In reply to planetmarshall:

Properly destroyed my hands with rope burns (don't ask) and the nurse changing my dressings suggested Vaseline 3x daily for the new skin.
Vaseline is greasy and takes forever to absorb. I got fed up, and reverted to Climb On.

Hands coming on brilliantly. Nurse amazed at my progress.
Climb On is solid, easy to apply, absorbs quickly, doesn't leave my hands greasy.
I'm a big fan.

In reply to planetmarshall:

My girlfriend and I made our own hand balm, it's pretty basic. Beeswax, vitamin E, Shea Butter, Lavender Oil, and possibly a few other bits melted in a saucepan and then set in egg cups. We got the equivalent of 7 bars of Climb On for about 17 euro.

In reply to MischaHY:

Yeah, I do a very similar thing: beeswax, shea butter, and some olive oil (for a slightly softer texture than the Climb On), plus some essential oils -- equal parts of tea tree, clove and myrrh makes it mildly antiseptic and analgesic, and actually seems to speed up skin healing if I've been shredding my hands on gritstone.

However, since no-one's mentioned it on this thread yet: I've also had good results from the time-honoured bouldering secret that is Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream. It's very popular with polar expeditions, including for use on sled dogs' paws; I mention this in case it helps up the ruggedness enough for people to brave the cosmetics counter. *g*

In reply to planetmarshall:

If you are looking to ease dry skin then any moisturiser will do the trick. If you have damaged/sore skin then Elizabeth Arden 8 hour creme can't be beaten. I've had days out in font and trashed my skin, a dose of that overnight and I've been able to climb no problems the next day.