Flappers, split tips, thick painful calluses? It is frustrating to have to get off the wall not because of exhaustion, but because of tender, burning, and sometimes bleeding, fingers.
Skin injuries in bouldering are caused by abrasion. The abrasion is aggravated with dynamic moves, by using large holds, and by having rough calluses that catch and rip off. Taping the fingers is a temporary solution, but long term this prevents protective calluses from forming. Therefore, start bouldering sessions without finger tape, but apply it when the skin starts to feel hot and sore. Keep calluses sanded smooth. Limit the use of large jug holds and dynamic moves. Stay hydrated to keep skin pliant and resilient. Always wash the chalk off after a bouldering session, and use a hand repair cream afterwards.
Causes of Skin Pain When Bouldering
Skin gets tender from rubbing against rough holds. Other causes of sore skin include:
- Gripping too hard
- Dynamic moves, where landing means grabbing at holds while literally on the fly
- Being new at bouldering, or returning to bouldering after an absence
- Thick, painful calluses
- A bouldering session longer than your skin is currently conditioned for
How Do You Protect Your Skin When Bouldering?
If your hands are naturally very dry:
- Avoid chalks that have a drying agent; instead, choose a brand that lists the ingredients as 100% chalk or 100% Pure Magnesium Carbonate Powder
- The alcohol content in liquid chalk will aggravate dry skin’s tendency to skin splitting
- People seem to report fewer skin issues with Friction Labs chalk, and more skin issues with the Black Diamond brand; try switching brands if problems arise
- Immediately after a bouldering session, remove chalk by washing the hands with a moisturizing soap
- Apply a moisturizing or skin repair salve after the climb, reapply at bedtime and leave it on overnight
If your hands are naturally sweaty:
- Before the bouldering session: try wiping the palms with an alcohol wipe, or with an alcohol-based hand sanitizer, before applying chalk
- Consider using a hand antiperspirant like Tite Grip Original Hand Grip before chalking up (link goes to Amazon.com)
- If 100% chalk does not provide a dry enough grip, try a chalk brand that includes a drying agent
- Liquid chalk is a good option: the alcohol content will evaporate the sweat, and it will also tighten the pores to reduce sweating
- Wash the chalk off immediately after the bouldering session, and apply a moisturizing or repair salve to keep the skin supple
5 Quick Tips to Prevent Skin Injuries
- Keep calluses well-sanded: if they are thick and protrude, there is a high risk of the callus catching on a hold and tearing off
- Use good footwork, and keep weight supported by the legs, to take stress off the hands and fingers
- Develop core strength to reduce reliance on the hands for supporting weight
- Keep the grip light and relaxed
- Avoid snatching at holds: keep technique deliberate and fluid
More Tips on How to Protect the Skin When Bouldering
When skin has not yet been conditioned with regular bouldering, it’s a good idea to start off with shorter sessions, giving the skin time to adapt. Taping extends session time, but it will also prevent the skin from forming protective calluses. What I do, personally, is apply the tape after 30 to 35 minutes on the wall when the skin is just beginning to sting.
Drink plenty of water and stay hydrated. Well-hydrated skin is more elastic and resilient, and therefore less prone to tearing and injury.
Use a variety of holds during your session, to avoid chafing the same skin areas repeatedly. Large jug holds in particular are associated with blisters and flappers, so avoid doing multiple routes back-to-back that are mainly jugs.
Don’t readjust your grip when you place your hand on a hold, as this creates unnecessary chafing. With good technique, the hands stay where you put them until you move on to the next hold.
Limit dynamic moves to what is strictly necessary to send the problem. Dynamic moves put a lot of stress on the skin of hands and fingers, accelerating skin thinning and likelihood of physical damage.
Static climbing, on the other hand, is much easier on the skin. In static climbing, the body is usually in contact with 2-3 holds, and movement is slow and deliberate. In contrast to the momentum-driven leaps of dynamic moves, with static climbing fingertips take much longer to get raw.
If the skin on your hands and fingers becomes red, tender and hot during your bouldering session, take a quick break and apply some finger tape to the tender areas. This will help prevent the progression to blisters.
Climbskin Hand Cream was made specifically for skin repair related to climbing. It is protective when applied an hour or two before getting on the wall, and is very soothing to use after a bouldering session. The repair cream is available on Amazon here.
Allow blisters and other injuries to heal between sessions, or protect them with climbing tape.
Antihydral Cream: An Option to Toughen the Skin?
There are a lot of cautions in regards to using this product. Use at your discretion.
Antihydral cream is a drying agent that can be applied for temporarily toughening the skin. Because it is extremely drying, it is not recommended for those who already have dry skin and a tendency to skin fissures.
But for certain people with very sweaty hands, Antihydral can make a huge difference with performance by hardening the skin, reducing sweating, and allowing chalk to adhere better.
Antihydral cream works by stiffening the outer layer of skin. It should be applied a day or two before the planned bouldering session. Be prepared for a trial-and-error mission, as different skin responds differently. It may take anywhere from one to three overnight applications before developing enough thickness to make a difference. But see the warnings below.
Svilen Online (1), who regularly uses Antihydral, gives us some cautions: be careful not to overuse the product, since it takes time to see the effects. Start with a single application, on the night before the bouldering session, and see how that goes before experimenting with more. He also cautions strongly to not apply the ointment on joint creases, as this will cause very painful skin splitting.
A very thin layer of cream is applied to the fingertips and palms, and is left on for anywhere from 15 minutes to overnight. Be very careful to avoid joint creases. Any remaining residue is washed off in the morning, or after the desired time (e.g. 15 minutes) is up.
Overuse of Antihydral can cause deep skin fissures that take weeks to heal, so the product must be used with great care. Reactions vary so much that for some people, one 15-minute application can cause skin splitting that takes 1-2 months to heal, while others need to apply it for 3 nights in a row to achieve effective results.
As an example of using the product, Andrew Bisharat (2) of EveningSends.com applies Antihydral twice a week, on the palms and fingertips, and he finds that this schedule is what works for him personally.
Another important point about Antihydral use: use a pumice stone or nail file to smooth out the thickened skin, as it can be rough, uneven, and prone to catching and tearing. Always climb with smooth skin to avoid tears and flappers.
How Do You Prevent Blisters When Bouldering?
For those who do not boulder often, taping is an effective way to keep painful blisters from developing.
However, taping is less beneficial for those who boulder several times a week, because this practice will prevent the skin from thickening into protective calluses. To prevent blisters, increase session duration slowly over time. During sessions, stop climbing when the skin gets to the point of being hot, red and tender. To continue the session, climbing tape can be applied at this point.
What Is a Flapper, What Are Split Tips?
You’ll know it when you have a flapper: the skin will be ripped back, exposing raw flesh. The flap of skin will be precariously attached, there may be a lot of bleeding, and the pain will have you catching your breath.
Flappers tend to happen more often with outdoor bouldering, where holds have rough, sharp edges. But overdoing things on a gym wall will do it too. Too many dynamic moves puts enormous stress on finger skin. Overhangs and large holds such as jugs are also notorious for creating flappers.
To prevent flappers:
- Keep skin smooth: before getting on the wall, check your hands and sand off any callus edges and any skin tags that stick out.
- While bouldering, take breaks to allow your finger skin to cool back down. Hot skin is fragile and more prone to tearing.
- Keep hands dry when climbing: moisture makes the skin more fragile, so stay chalked up.
To treat a flapper, bouldering guru Peter Beal tells us to cut off the flap as close as possible to the undamaged skin, wash off the area, and apply a disinfectant before covering it with a loose bandage (3). A tight bandage may delay healing by keeping moisture trapped against the wound.
Trying to reattach the skin by taping it back on rarely works. The dead skin usually won’t graft back. For faster healing time, it is simpler to cut it off. A nail clipper or nail scissors will work well to cut off the skin flap.
A split tip is a slit, or crack, in the fingertip skin caused by excessive dryness, by repeated friction from using too much of the same type of hold, or by continuously shifting one’s grip on holds. Splits, or skin cracks, can also happen in the finger joints.
To prevent split skin, stay well hydrated by regularly drinking enough water and using a moisturizing cream or salve after using chalk.
To treat a split tip:
- Rinse off the injury to get rid of chalk and dirt.
- Cover the wound with an antibiotic ointment such as Neosporin.
- Applying liquid bandage, such as LiquidSkin Pro, to the wound will allow you to continue bouldering unless the split is a large one (the links go to Amazon.com).
- Taping the split tightly shut will also allow you to continue climbing. A Band-Aid or bandage made for the purpose is best, but climbing tape will do until you get home.
Allow the injury to heal before getting back to bouldering, or it can become a chronic problem. Apply Climbon or Climbskin salve to speed up the healing (links will take you to Amazon.com).
Are Calluses Good for Bouldering?
Calluses can improve bouldering by providing protection from the abrasion of rough hold surfaces.
Is There a Reason to Shave Calluses for Climbing?
Oh yes. A callus that is too thick, or that has a rough uneven surface, will catch on edges while climbing. This can cause the skin to peel away and form a very painful open wound called a flapper.
How Do You Develop Calluses?
Calluses develop over time with regular bouldering. The trick is to avoid sessions that are so long that blisters develop, but that are long enough and frequent enough for skin to thicken and calluses to grow.
How to Treat Climbing Calluses
Don’t let calluses get thicker than the surrounding skin. This prevents painful pressure points when placing hands on holds.
Sand the calluses with a nail file or pumice stone until they are smooth. Each callus should be flush with the surrounding skin. If using a pumice stone, the best time to work on the calluses is in the bath or shower when the skin is softened and wet.
After sanding the calluses, apply a thin coating of a healing salve such as Climbskin Hand Cream or Climbon (links are to Amazon.com).
Sources
- http://www.svilen.info/index.php/climbing/climbing-blog/49-antihydral-a-tabu-in-climbing
- https://eveningsends.com/review-antihydral/
- See Peter Beal’s book, Bouldering: Movement, Tactics, and Problem Solving (https://www.amazon.com/Bouldering-Movement-Tactics-Problem-Mountaineers/dp/1594855005)