Ways to 'fix' calluses

[Magical Muffin]

Basically, I have a problem with my fingertip skin tearing. It's not like "Oh crap there goes my last layer of skin better find a few band aids" but it's annoying having your finger's skin flake off, and it looks like I have gangreen if i've been playing guitar a lot (lol), and everytime I get out of the shower it looks like I dipped my fingertips in ice cream, or put them in a blender or something.

I think the reason I have this problem is because, before I started playing guitar, I'd often bite my skin a lot (Instead of my nails, lol. Old habits die hard). I don't do that anymore, obviously. Any advice? Like supergluing my fingertips?

[JEM77BRMR]

How about this?



It's super glue for the skin. Works good for me when the tips of my fingers crack in the winter.

[Sickbean]

Originally Posted by Magical Muffin

Basically, I have a problem with my fingertip skin tearing. It's not like "Oh crap there goes my last layer of skin better find a few band aids" but it's annoying having your finger's skin flake off, and it looks like I have gangreen if i've been playing guitar a lot (lol), and everytime I get out of the shower it looks like I dipped my fingertips in ice cream, or put them in a blender or something.

I think the reason I have this problem is because, before I started playing guitar, I'd often bite my skin a lot (Instead of my nails, lol. Old habits die hard). I don't do that anymore, obviously. Any advice? Like supergluing my fingertips?

The Badass Stevie Ray Vaughan technique is to stick your left hand fingertips to your right forearm with superglue, then rip them off, taking some skin with you.

My less badass/painfull method is to dip my fingertips in surgical spirits.

[Magical Muffin]

Originally Posted by JEM77BRMR

How about this?



It's super glue for the skin. Works good for me when the tips of my fingers crack in the winter.

That stuff looks good. I'll check it out the next time around a store that sells those kind of things. Same thing with the spirits.

As for the badass way, I wanna keep my fingertips, kthx

[Mr. Killer]

How long have you been playing guitar?? I used to have the same problem during my first days playing guitar. But now my fingertips are as hard as rocks!!

[ColinMmmmm]

Rock climbers have the same type of problem. There are products that will soften the skin, which is supposed to prevent the splitting and cracking you're talking about. Ripped calluses are terrible when climbing - once you start bleeding all you can do is tape 'em up and grunt through the pain.

[DavyH]

I don't particularly try to develop super hard, dry calluses, and if they do start to get rough I give them a light going over with an emery board. Whether this is right or wrong I have no idea, but my fingertips never split or tear.

[rob777vdy]

my neighbour has the same problem as you.she has to use strings made out of different metal to normal strings,cant remember what strings she uses though

[Sickbean]

Originally Posted by rob777vdy

my neighbour has the same problem as you.she has to use strings made out of different metal to normal strings,cant remember what strings she uses though

Raspberry Bootlaces?

[rob777vdy]

Originally Posted by Sickbean

Raspberry Bootlaces?

yeah thats it

[Magical Muffin]

Originally Posted by Mr. Killer

How long have you been playing guitar?? I used to have the same problem during my first days playing guitar. But now my fingertips are as hard as rocks!!

Just over a year, tbh. A lot of the people here have been playing guitar longer than I've been around

As I said before, I think the biggy is that I had the bad habit of biting my fingers before I started playing, so my fingers never really had time to 'heal up'. The biggest problem finger recently has been my index, cause I love doing lots of slides, wild vibrato, crazy major third interval bends, etc.