How to Care for Your Climbing Calluses (and prevent flappers)

Here we are: the beginning of a new year. It’s been a long and difficult road for many during the past couple years, and pandemic conditions around the world have truly put people’s well-being to the test. Fortunately for us out here in Vancouver (and British Columbia,) our climbing gyms have stayed largely open and, helped along by the inaugural introduction of climbing in the Olympics this past summer, have seen a wave of new climbers onto the scene like never before; hence: the birth of the “COVID climber”.

Amidst climate chaos, political protests, and the like, climbing gyms with their colourful holds, dynamic environments, and quality route-setting, have been filling an important niche in the holistic health of the community. And if we can play a tiny part in helping you achieve your climbing goals, we're golden!

Our hand balms are 100% natural and vegan, lightly-scented, and help you do what you want to do more and for longer: play. 

How might we do that? Well, oh curious human being – let’s talk calluses. Most climbers, from brand spanking new to well seasoned, know that with a ton of climbing, calluses (aka build-ups of thicker skin,) tend to form on your palms and pads of your fingers. These calluses might make you feel like you’re flexing some higher power-given exterior skin muscles when you’re able to somehow pull on crimps and slopers harder, BUT – they can also be a double-edged sword without proper care.

Everyone (and I say everyone “in a Southern accent”) in climbing either laments or dreads the absolutely harrowing 'Flapper'. No, this is not your next door’s party parrot or some ironically-named variation of Angry Birds, but it’s a large piece of skin from a callus that haphazardly hangs off your hands. Can I get a collective “Ewwww”?

That’s right. Flappers have the potential to stop your project sesh midway and force you to miss those valuable climbing days you can’t stop talking about at the office. Preventing flappers, or at the very least minimizing the potential of an incoming one, will help lower your odds of having to take a frustrating but necessary break while your skin heals over.

While overall health – proper nutrition, sleep, stretching and conditioning – takes much of the credit, hand care is surprisingly important. And the best part is that it requires minimal effort. Right after washing your hands post-climbing (like we all should’ve been doing even pre-COVID times, amirite?), apply moisturizer or balm. At this point, your skin is ultra dry from chalk and soap, so it needs to regain it's moisture. If you don't like any amount of greasiness, applying the balm before bed will help your skin repair from those pesky pinches and crimps.

Combining that with periodic sanding of your calluses so you don’t give your skin an opportunity to flap away? Heck yeah. Soft and supply (Harry Potter-approved) hands with a tough, leathery feel to them. That crush. 

With Just Hands Stuff hand balms, you only need to apply a pea-sized amount. Not too much, not too little – just right. One of the best parts about this balm is that the skin-loving butters and oils will soak right into your skin, so your skin can keep on keeping on, helping you and your best balm buds climb more. (say that 3x fast!)

So go on, climb and play on those High Walls and Low Balls. We got your back, I mean hands.

Written by Alex Chang