Skin issues: continuous peeling

Bear in mind that the peeling lags the cause of the peeling by quite some time.  By way of example, I get the minor peels about 2-2.5 weeks AFTER a desert trip.

Use of lotion on dead skin isn't worth much.

* My first suggestion is to talk to a dermatologist.

* My second is to trim the loose/dead skin when it delaminates so that you don't trap water, soap, and god knows what else in under the dead skin and continue the cycle.  Tiny manicure scissors work well for that.

* My third suggestion is prophylactic use of a skin product consistently for a few months to see if it matters.  I have found that the Climb On stuff out-performs anything else I've ever used except for Elta-tar (given to me by my dermatologist) but the E.T. stains terribly...  If you don't let the skin dry out and die, it might not peel so badly... and if it does not peel so badly, it might not dry out and die in thick layers.  While this is only my 3rd suggestion, I suspect it is actually the case.

I have the same problem when I spend a lot of time in rubber gloves, (high voltage work), I sometimes get prune fingers. Then climbing on the weekends and the chalk use really makes my tips peel. I find tea-tree oil and J-tree hand salve after washing and pumice stone works well.

Tony B wrote: Bear in mind that the peeling lags the cause of the peeling by quite some time.  By way of example, I get the minor peels about 2-2.5 weeks AFTER a desert trip.
Use of lotion on dead skin isn't worth much.

Yeah, this is a good point. According to the internet, skin takes about 4 weeks to completely regrow from bottom to top. So if you're getting these peels that are pretty deep, you're probably seeing the effects of some trauma from a few weeks ago. 

Tony B and Alexander Stahas - Good points, thanks for the valuable input! I'll probably look into scheduling an appointment with a dermatologist to better understand the issue.

ShanJ2me - Nice to know about the tea tree oil and its possibly pairing with salves. Thanks for the suggestion!

I have had almost identical things happen to me.

The first time it lasted for weeks and I was applying all kinds of slaves/tough feet stuff. Thought my hands were just really dry. Nothing was working and my tips were literally bleeding some days.

Then I tried the Gold Bond eczema cream, the one with 2% colloidal oatmeal. Put it on pretty thick at night before I go to bed and it clears it up in a day or so.

Hope this helps!!

Thanks Kevin Green for the suggestion, will add to the list :)

Oh, one more bit of advice from a neighbor down the street. Kind of a weird guy, but he seems to know a lot about various skin lotions. His little yap dog barks a lot, however. Strangest thing. He asked me if you were "a big fat person."

Jim Turner wrote:

I’ve read that belt buckles containing certain metals (maybe nickel) can cause eczema where the buckle touches skin.  So might be something to this.

I can attest to this. I have one belt that I wear, where the buckle touches my skin and gives me a rash, with itches like crazy, scratching it turns into something that looks like eczema 

That is normal for me when I stop intensive periods of climbing.  For me it is cause by excess skin growth and not enough abrasion loss.  Eg if I'm climbing for a 3 week on abrasive rock my skin growth increases.  If I stop climbing about 3 or 4 days later I undergo skin shedding because many layers have built up and not been abraded away.

If its itching or blistering before the peeling, it could be ecezma.  I have the Dyshidrotic type, so my fingers look like that after a bad flare up. The climbing chalk doesn't help it either. I use a personalized homemade cream (aka "grease") for my skin made of beeswax. vit e oil, avocado oil, and shea butter. But my go to when I don't have my grease, is bag balm.

California Baby Calendula cream is also good for skin issues. You can find it in the baby section at Target.

Hello how are you? I saw this old post of yours and would like to know if you somehow managed to fix this problem with your skin? I've been going through something similar for a few months now. 4 days after a climbing session my skin starts to fall out all over. I even changed my magnesium and even climbed without it, but it didn't help.

I have had this same issue in the past. I found that it was the type of chalk I was using. The Metolius super chalk would make my fingers peel like this, especially after climbing outside. I switched to Black Diamond white gold or some other types and the issue has gone away. But I still find that this happens occasionally after climbing on really chalked up holds. My assumption is that there is Metolius chalk on the holds from other people. Try some other chalks, ones without extra drying agents and see if it helps. 

I have had this same issue in the past. I found that it was the type of chalk I was using. The Metolius super chalk would make my fingers peel like this, especially after climbing outside. I switched to Black Diamond white gold or some other types and the issue has gone away. But I still find that this happens occasionally after climbing on really chalked up holds. My assumption is that there is Metolius chalk on the holds from other people. Try some other chalks, ones without extra drying agents and see if it helps.