A callus is a hallmark that you are stepping into the world of guitars. They act as a barrier to protect the inner flesh of your fingers. It becomes problematic when calluses lock with the guitar wires, So how to stop guitar calluses from peeling?
- Playing regularly
- Moisturizing your hands
- Maintenance
- Avoiding dampness
- Use of string softener
- Use of Lubricants
- Applying super glue
- Applying bandages
- Don’t bite the calluses
- Taking regular breaks
I will discuss them in detail in the article.
Contents
What is callusing?
Calluses are a protective covering that your fingers form to avoid external interventions such as too much friction or pressure. It comes out as significantly thicker skin on the outer edges of your fingers.
It is desirable in many cases because it guards your muscle tissues against excess rubbing and injuries. That can not only be uncomfortable but can also cause infections.
Tips to Avoid Guitar Callusing
Playing Regularly
The first step in avoiding calluses is playing the instrument regularly. It will not only help you get a good grip on your guitar. But will let calluses take their place, and eventually, you will get used to this type of outer skin on the fingers.
On the other hand, you will stop playing the guitar because of the forming calluses. You will play again. You will have to pass through the painful process again.
After some time, the calluses development process will be complete, and you will not suffer any discomfort or overgrowth, but regular interaction with your guitar is necessary.
Moisturizing Your Hands
Never skip this step if you want to avoid all types of discomforts and peelings of the calluses. Wears and tears of the skin occur because of dry skin and cracks that form due to friction.
Dry skin is more vulnerable to cuts due to sharp objects. So if you will put on a good moisturizer on your fingers, it will cause maximum dead skin cell accumulation on the surface that will easily break away due to friction, causing injuries.
So remember to moisturize your hands before each guitar session, especially your fingers.
Maintenance
Maintenance and good hygiene play a significant role in the development of calluses. The progression of calluses may be an effortless stage for one guitarist and a painful phase for the other.
It all depends on how you treat your fingers while forming calluses. Let me clear here that you can never get rid of calluses, but you can make the process easier and more rapid for yourself by taking good care.
How Can I Maintain Calluses?
You can maintain good calluses’ health by taking proper care of your fingers. Look for the chappy surface. If strings on your guitar are catching the skin of your fingers and causing pain, calluses are peeling away.
You can cut the extending peels out of your fingers with a nail cutter. Filing will boost the procedure and will ensure that no peels are overgrown. The use of pumice stone will be the most comfortable option in this situation.
Avoiding Dampness
Strictly speaking, never play your guitar with wet hands. Using a guitar with damp hands can cause you many disadvantages, including a poor grip, damaging string, and your hands.
Skin is soft when it is wet, and the slightest friction can cause significant wear and tears to it. So never play the guitar with wet hands.
Playing guitar with wet hands results in the peeling of calluses, and your skin is more exposed to deeper wire cuts.
Playing guitar with wet hands can also make your hands vulnerable to infections.
Use of Soft Strings
Tight strings are often a good choice if you are trying to work on your finger calluses, as they provide the fingers with higher pressure and friction, a hence decent choice for the production of calluses. But if your calluses start to peel or cause irritation, use soft and thinner strings.
You can also untune your guitar and un-tight the strings to comfort your fingers. Once the calluses are back to normal, you can tune your guitar again.
Use of Lubricants
String softener is another option that you can try. These are the friction lubricants that you can apply to your fingers and the guitar strings to reduce friction. You can use petroleum jelly and other gels available on the market. But avoid excess use.
Putting an excess of lubricant on the hands or the string will make it slippery. Hence causing discomfort when playing the instrument.
Another reason for using a small quantity of lubricant is rust. It will attract dirt and dust, which will cause your string to lose its quality.
Applying Super Glue
The first question that will pop in your mind after reading this heading is what is super glue. Super glues are ointments that you can put on your skin to avoid and treat peels. If the calluses are stripping away and causing you pain and discomfort, apply superglue to the skin.
It will help the peeling skin settle. When skin condition improves, you can gently separate the dead skin cells off the surface.
Applying Bandages
Keeping the contact of skin off the strings is another hack you can try. If the calluses are peeling, covering the affected area with small bandages when playing the guitar can help. It will not only stop the peelings from hurting you but will prove an effective remedy for infections.
Peeling calluses can cause pain, but their contact with outside objects can invite the invasion of viruses and bacteria.
You can use bandages to isolate the cut from the environment till it heals. It will keep it dry and will ensure fast healing.
Don’t Bite The Calluses
Stripping skin causes a lot of irritation, and it is regular to feel a verge for picking or bitting over the dying skin. But picking over bitting on the peeling calluses can worsen the condition. It hinders the natural healing process of the skin.
It can cause a significant wound. And makes the surface more vulnerable to infections. So avoiding this type of behavior is the first key to healing. Use a nail cutter or filer to file and cut the extra skin on the calluses.
Try not to touch them regularly because doing so will incline you towards picking or biting on them.
Only contact the skin when putting on a moisturizer or filing them with a tool.
Taking Regular Breaks
Many of you have this concept in mind for more and better. The longer you will play the guitar better it will be to adapt the skin to your new routine.
But wait, no. It is a wrong concept. Yes, don’t stop playing the instrument, but excessively squeezing the skin against the guitar can also make it worse.
The healthy way is to play the instrument at regular intervals by introducing orderly breaks. By following this routine, your fingers will not only be used to forming calluses, but you can avoid the feeling of discomfort of peeling.
Why Guitar Calluses Peel?
You need to know the factors that can make your calluses worse. Here are some of these factors. By taking care of them, you can avoid peeling.
Natural Processing Cycle
Our bodies grow every minute. They shed off old cells and generate new ones. When the skin on our calluses reaches its maximum age, it converts to dead skin cells. The dead skin peels off the surface giving place for new cells to grow.
Friction
When our fingers move on the string, it offers them too much friction. As you play the guitar, your fingers continue to feel that resistance. It causes wear and tears that eventually peel.
Dry Skin
Dry skin paves the way for early aging of the skin, and excess dryness can cause exfoliation of the skin same goes for calluses.
Dampness
If the skin is damp, it is more delicate and sensitive to cuts and wounds. If you are using the guitar soon after contact with water, it will cause your calluses to peel.
Conclusion
When you play a new instrument, there are many changes that you have to adapt to. The body forms its resistance to accommodate coming changes.
Calluses are among those changes. But at some point or the other, you may be uncomfortable with this change.
Especially when they start to peel. You can make it easy by following some tips such as moisturizing your hands, taking regular breaks, and maintaining good hygiene. Eventually, you will get used to Regular peeling and its solution.
FAQs
Should You Moisturize Guitar Calluses?
Keep your hands moisturized. But repeatedly applying moisturizer to the calluses will make them damp. Just apply before going to bed or early morning after washing your hands.
Why Did My Callus Fall Off?
The skin can grow. But after reaching a maximum point, it stops growing. It stays part of our body as dead skin cells and falls off as soon as new cells replace them.
Are Guitar Calluses Permanent?
No guitar calluses are not permenant. They go away when you stop the practice. It takes about one to one and half months for the calluses to heal completely.
