Climbing Hand Care and 10 Things I Hate About climbOn Bar and Creme by Guest Contributor Jeline Guiles
As a female climber, hand care is essential. Call me high maintenance, but when the palms of my hands sound like sandpaper when rubbed on a t-shirt, a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do!
So what does my hand care routine consist of, you ask? First, I make sure to wash off all the chalk from my hands after I'm done climbing. Sometimes this takes a couple of times (with soap) to get all the chalk off. The chalk residue will continue to dry out your hands if you don't get it all, so be sure to wash your hands as many times as it takes. Then, I slap on some climbOn! creme as a moisturizer. If I'm going to bed, I use the climbOn! bar because it seems to stay on longer, helping the skin repair quicker.
When in the shower, I try to gently exfoliate the dead skin from any tears, flappers, or thick calluses I might have. A lot of climbers try to avoid this step because we like having built up our skin to withstand sharp holds on the wall, but to me, it doesn't really make a difference. I'd rather have smooth hands than sandpaper hands. Also, the key words are "gently exfoliate", so I don't think the build up of calluses would be affected if you exfoliated just a little bit of the top layer on your palms and fingers.
And that's pretty much it! There's not much to it! I think the most important thing to remember is having some balm or moisturizer (such as the climbOn! bar and creme) to help with skin repair.
And since I'm so obsessed with using climbOn! bar and creme, here are 10 things I hate about it! (Kind of a spin from the movie "10 Things I Hate About You").
10. I hate that it's all natural and I can recognize and pronounce every ingredient in it. I mean, who doesn't want chemicals they can't pronounce to be absorbed into their skin and into their body?
9. I hate that the climbOn! bar is so easy to use. I'd like the application process to take about an hour, but it only takes 1 minute.
8. I hate that it works so well to repair my skin. As a self-professed scab and callus picker, climbOn! really makes it difficult for me to do so because it repairs cuts and skin tears so quickly.
7. I hate that one bar can last a long time, even though I use it every night before bed.
6. I hate that I can use climbOn! for other things such as diaper rash on my daughter or the pads on my dog's feet. I hate multi-use products.
5. Speaking of, I hate that it's edible because all the ingredients used are food-grade products. What else can I accidentally feed my dog and have anxiety about now?
4. I hate that the employees at climbOn! are so helpful and easy to work with on an order.
3. I hate that the product has been around since 1996 and the company still stands by the same mission they created back then: to provide consumers with and educate them on all natural products.
2. I hate that I've been using it for years!
AND finally...
1. I hate that I can't live without it and that I love it. As a climber, I need my skin to hold up during training sessions and outdoor trips, so it's essential I bring it along. Woe is me!
Jeline Guiles is the editor-in-chief of Climb On, Sister! – a blog dedicated to igniting a passion for climbing amongst girls and women. To find out more or get connected, visit her blog or follow on Facebook or Twitter.