Hand calluses are common with weightlifters, guitar players, and bricklayers. They are merely evidence of dedication to continued efforts in our work. You should be proud of hand calluses as they shield our hands from damage. But, treating hand calluses and caring for them is essential when it is about avoiding painful tears which can put a stop to your workout. Read through this article to find out the right method to remove hand calluses and prevent them from developing in the future.
Are calluses on hands good?
Callus on hands
You know your workout is getting serious when you start thinking about hands callus care. A callus on the hand is a part of your skin where the skin has started getting thicker and harder as a result of pressure or friction. For example, kettlebell enthusiasts get calluses from kettlebell handle.
Hand calluses are good as they toughen up the skin and protect it from blisters and tears. If you do not want to develop calluses, you can wear gloves while lifting weights. The problem with calluses is sometimes they can tear off. If this happens, you will develop blisters, or they can start bleeding. And then you have to stop working out till you fix the blisters.
It is essential to file up hand calluses frequently. If you do not file them, they become more prominent and more raised from your palm and are likely to tear up if anything pinches them. If you file the calluses regularly, they become level with the rest of the palm, and there is less chance of them being pinched. You can use a pumice stone, or an equivalent synthetic to file the calluses. Gently rub the pumice over the callus, and then a hard layer of the skin will come off.
Hand callus causes
Tissues around your finger can build up and harden as a response to various skin conditions or injuries. Warts, contact dermatitis, and calluses are some of the cause of hardening of hands. Calluses are the most common cause of hardening of the skin on the fingers.
Calluses on the hands are a common reaction to repeated injury, friction or pressure. If you started doing outstanding work with your hands or even began handling new tools you may have a callus, this includes gardening tools or gym equipment. This is because the tools apply repeated pressure to your palm which results in hardening of the skin.
Signs of hand callus
- Dryness of the skin
- A waxy appearance
- Bumpy and rough skin feeling on the hands
- Slightly tender with no pain when pressed
Why you should not use gloves at the gym to prevent hand calluses?
Well, one might argue that they can use gloves to avoid calluses of hand at the gym, but gloves interfere with the grip. Gloves make whatever one holds thicker and thus harder to grip and remove the contact with the bar. That means you cannot feel the bar when it starts to move in your hands. This is a sign of grip failure. Gloves are not bad for the gym, but you need to be aware of how they affect you. The ideal thing you can do is to take care of your calluses.
Why does my callus on my hand hurt?
How to stop hurting hand calluses?
Hand calluses feel hard, rough, dry and flaky. They could be painful when direct pressure is applied to them. The ideal thing to do is to take care of them to reduce the pain. The following steps will help treat the symptoms of calluses.
Step 1: Pour Epsom salts into a bowl of warm water and mix thoroughly. Put your hands in the pan and relax. Soak your hands for about 5 to 10 minutes.
Step 2: Using one hand rub gently with a pumice stone. Do the same with the other hand. Since your skin is wet and soft, the pumice can scrub the top and previously dry epidermis.
Step 3: Dry your hands and inspect your calluses. If there is still dry skin, carefully trim away the remaining callus with the scalpel. If it is necessary, you can use the pumice stone again to rub frayed edges.
Step 4: Dry your hands and apply the moisturizer to the entire surface of your hands, being attentive to areas that were previously callused. Give an extra massage to the areas where callus form. Try to leave a thin layer of moisturizing cream on your hands so it can soak into your skin.
Things you will require to remove the calluses
- Half cup Epsom salts
- Pumice stone
- Sterile scalpel blade
- Hand moisturizer
Repeat the procedure weekly or whenever you notice your calluses are returning When using the pumice stone, rinse your hands regularly to clear the debris so that you can assess your progress.
How do I prevent hand calluses when working out?
How to stop callus on hands from the gym?
Calluses formation on your hands during training are inevitable. Generally, the skin on the palm of your hands, right below the fingers will thicken and harden as a result of training to produce a layer to shield your hands from tears and blisters.
When you grab a bar or handle and pull it, there will be pressure applied to the area of the palm that is just below your fingers. The skin will be picked in between the bar and your fingers, and callus will form as a result of stress over time.
The callus can become problematic during work out and especially if they tear. A callus tear can take time to heal, interfering with your work out. The following practices are going to help you
minimize the formation of calluses on your hands and to manage them once they form.
How to grip a bar at the gym?
How you grip a bar in the palm of your hands will have an impact on callus formation. Place the bar at the crease of where the fingers meet the palm to reduce calluses formation. Less skin will be pinched in between the bar and your fingers compared to gripping the bar where the bar is in the middle of the palm.
Weight lifting gloves at the gym
Gloves are not highly recommended, but they reduce the formation of calluses. But gloves come with hiccups.
1. Gloves increase the diameter of the bar or the handle, making it thicker and more challenging to get a secure grip.
2. Gloves make hands sweaty throughout the workout. This makes them smelly if they are not cleaned frequently.
3. Gloves are not durable, and they fall apart eventually over repeated washing.
4. You will not get the full feel of the bar, and you cannot fully appreciate the weight in your hands.
You may use neoprene pads instead of gloves. Neoprene pads are generally pads which are made of neoprene and are typically the size of your palm. Use pads if you want to manage your calluses or if they are painful. You can also use pads if you're going to add an extra layer to the bar to make it more challenging for the grip.
How do you get rid of calluses on your hands?
There are several ways to remove calluses from your hands. However, you should consult a doctor first if you are not sure how the callus formed or if it was diabetic.
The best time to take care of hand calluses is after a shower. This is because the skin on your palms will already be soft and moist from the water; this makes it easier to trim and scrub the calluses.
What you will need to remove calluses from your hand
- Metal file or cheese grater designed for hands or feet
- Pumice stone ( A rock can be natural or artificial) used to smooth out rough skin. For efficiency, you can use a pumice stone which is attached to a handle.
- Hand moisturizer (you can use hand balm or hand cream, or even body lotion)
Procedure for removing calluses from the hands
Step 1: As you finish showering start filling the callus. You can spend more extra time filling away at the thicker, rougher and more pronounced calluses. Start side-to-side across the palm, and then up and down from the bottom of my palm up to the top of every finger.
Step 2: After scrubbing the calluses, use a pumice stone to smooth out the skin on your hands. Start with side to side across the palms, then scrub up and down from the bottom of the palm to the spike of the fingers.
Once you are done with the hands in the shower, you can use the same tools and methods to take care of the feet. The tools are designed for the skin, so it is not wrong if you use them for the feet.
Step 3: Once you are out of the shower, dry your hands thoroughly and moisturize them. The process is short and keeps the hands relatively smooth with less callus buildup.
Best Ways To get rid and prevent Calluses On Hands
So, how do I remove calluses on hands?
Using Urea Cream to prevent hand callus
When you are trying to discover how to get rid of calluses from hands easily and effectively, one of the best things you can do is to use a urea cream. Even though there are various urea creams on the market to select from, PurSources Urea is highly recommended for this purpose. It doesn't matter how you got your calluses or if they developed on your feet or hands. The PurSources Urea Foot Cream is powerful and will help you.
Using a Pumice Stone to prevent and treat calluses
One of the highly recommended hand callus removers is the pumice stone. Whereas you may think that pumice stone can only be used on the feet, the truth is that you can also remove callus from your hands using pumice stone as well.
When looking for a pumice stone, make sure that you get a high-quality one which cannot harm your feet instead of doing them any good. One of the recommended pumice stone for this purpose on the market presently is the Love Pumice Stone.
Using a salicylic acid to prevent and treat calluses
Another common method to treat callus is the use of salicylic acid. When your hands are callused, you will realize that the skin begins becoming thicker and harder. Nevertheless, to remove the callus, you require to ensure that the surface is soft enough to be able to remove it, by eliminating the dead cells. And this is just how the salicylic acid works. One of our best salicylic acid creams on the market for this purpose is the Bare Urea 40% Percent Plus Salicylic Acid Cream.
The best remedy using salicylic acid to remove hand callus is: First, you need to soak your hands in warm water for about 5 minutes. Then, using a pumice stone rub the region where you have the callus. Wash your hands and take enough Bare Urea 40% Percent and Salicylic Acid Cream and smear a thin layer. Allow it to sit for about 5 minutes until your skin has already absorbed all the cream.
