WAG Grips/Callus Issue

[txgal]

DD's coach has been focusing a lot of attention on her bars since this is her weakest event and she wants her to score out of 5 in May and move to 6/7 in January (most likely 7 as she has the skills, but for bars). However, because of this extra time on bars, her hands are very callused. This has not bothered her much as her hands are always callused and it doesn't hurt as much when they rip (or it doesn't faze her as much when they do rip). This past week, though, she has begun getting calluses on her 2 middle fingers that fit through the grip holes. She can't put a bandage on them as that would make her fingers too big to fit through the holes on her grips. But if she does nothing, the outside of her fingers start bleeding and bring her to tears. Does anyone have any advice or suggestions for how to treat this? Her coach suggested making the holes slightly bigger, but when her fingers toughen up, the holes will be too big for her fingers. I'm not sure this is the best solution...

 

[iwannacoach]

Do the following one to two times a week........

Wash her hands with soap and water to get rid of any residual chalk.

Keep a damp/wet wash cloth or hand towel to re-wet each callus before and during the process.

Gently exfoliate calluses while they remain bloated water absorbed during the wash and rinse. I like, here it comes, 220 grit sand paper to begin with and then finish with a very fine 300-400 grit sand paper.

Only remove enough dead skin to regain some sensation, but not to the point of normal sensitivity. You can get an idea of how far to go by using the sand paper on a moderate to slight callus, and then briefly on "normal" skin. It's best to leave more callus than too little and have to repeat the process in 4 or 5 days.

Put a little vitamin E oil on any cracked or raw spots. Garlic oil works well also if she doesn't mind the brief burning sensation and the faint lingering odor.

Finish the process with a quality hand creme, and let it absorb during a good night's sleep.

 

[txgal]

Awesome! Thanks so much...we'll be heading out to the store tomorrow to get these items. Is this something she could eventually learn to do on her own? (She's 9 about to be 10 next month).

 

[iwannacoach]

Awesome! Thanks so much...we'll be heading out to the store tomorrow to get these items. Is this something she could eventually learn to do on her own? (She's 9 about to be 10 next month).

Well back in the old days we used old fashioned razor blades to trim the excess off one thin layer at a time until we could feel the sensation of the blade as we got close to live skin. Figure if a mid teen gut can learn how to handle a razor blade, it should be a breeze to teach a ten year old over the course of three or four sessions.

The best part of this method is it takes a few minutes to exfoliate and the dead skin comes off slowly enough that there's little risk of going too far. There's absolutely no risk of making a total mess of her hands, so no worries.

 

[mariposa]

I got my daughter a synthetic pumice, called Mr. Pumice, at Sally's and she keeps it in her shower to file down her calluses. Helps keep her from ripping too much. They have a pink one that is rounded and perfect for hands.