Regrowing/toughening skin over scar tissue?

I have fragile skin to start with, but during the lockdown I built a horizontal crack trainer out of deck scraps, and immediately got some gobies. Of course I was too frothy to let them heal, and started making gains, so those sores on the backs of my hands lasted all season (at least 6 months or more).

Now if they barely touch rock they just open up even after months of no jamming.

I taped, wear gloves, but does anyone have any experience with regrowing or toughening skin over the scar tissue?

I’ve used creams and rhino skin performance, and I’ve got my tips pretty dialed, but haven’t figured out the backs of my hands yet ( although haven’t payed as much attention as tips admittedly.

Thanks

saign charlestein wrote:

I have fragile skin to start with, but during the lockdown I built a horizontal crack trainer out of deck scraps, and immediately got some gobies. Of course I was too frothy to let them heal, and started making gains, so those sores on the backs of my hands lasted all season (at least 6 months or more).

Now if they barely touch rock they just open up even after months of no jamming.

I taped, wear gloves, but does anyone have any experience with regrowing or toughening skin over the scar tissue?

I’ve used creams and rhino skin performance, and I’ve got my tips pretty dialed, but haven’t figured out the backs of my hands yet ( although haven’t payed as much attention as tips admittedly.

Thanks

Sounds like permanent damage, welcome to old age!

Buy crack gloves.

The scar tissue I got eleven years ago from climbing bareknuckled has stayed with me ever since. Like you described, mine would reopen at the slightest provocation on easy terrain.

The only improvement I've seen has coincided with using collagen in the past couple years. I've been able to climb some longer routes on glacially-polished granite and Wingate tapeless. Those routes were primarily finger cracks and face, but did have some important hand jams.

Focus on jamming technique, not on skin toughening. Climb so you don't tear the skin, period. But if you know you're going to be doing miles of crack, tape up. Still, even the odd jam on a face route (always a joy) can open you up. Focus on micro-adjusting each jam before weighting it. Lastly, if you go back to the crack machine, always tape or use crack gloves. Bleeding on an apparatus is just not a good practice.

Unfortunately scar tissue is your body's stopgap measure for fixing holes in your skin. If the damage to skin is not too extensive the body can repair the existing tissue: like for like. If the damage is too extensive or ongoing the body will create scar tissue (This is a bit of an oversimplification as far as to what types of damage will create scar tissue).

Scar tissue is more brittle and fragile than what was originally there and does not have the same structure so it's not able to become dense and create a callus the way skin can.

Like those above have suggested, protecting the scars with tape, gloves or some dark majik of your own devising is pretty much the only option.