Playing guitar while using skin products?

[greendy123]

Guys I just want to know if it okay to play guitar with skin products like petrolatum, mineral oil stuff on my hands. I have to deal with this as my skin different from normal peoples' skin. I need keep my fingers from drying out as they hurt sometimes, get chapped, or even bleed. I don't know if that kind of stuff is bad for my strings, neck, or any part of guitar I touch. Oh before playing I usually let the stuff soak in my skin or dry out, so my hands are not sticky when I play.

Just let me know if you guys know anything about this stuff.

[beandip]

It should be alright as long as none of the products contain silicone or any type of solvent for nitro finishes.

[greendy123]

Do you know if those products increase the wear on my strings or actually protect them because of the mineral oil?

[Tom M]

They won't increase "wear", but they will deaden the strings quicker. Anytime you work excess grease, oil, and slop into the strings, they die quicker.

[Mephis]

Buy fast fret, And use it every time you get done playing to get all the gunk off the strings and off the fretboard.

That should help. Also "It should be alright as long as none of the products contain silicone or any type of solvent for nitro finishes." Ditto.

[Frantic_Rock]

I use Aveeno intense hand relief cream.
It makes everything so slippery and fast. I love it!

Use it all the time on my tele - because and it has no finish on the neck, and the cream smoothens things out.

[Zerberus]

It should be alright as long as none of the products contain silicone or any type of solvent for nitro finishes.

They won't increase "wear", but they will deaden the strings quicker. Anytime you work excess grease, oil, and slop into the strings, they die quicker.

+1 to both.... if you take proper care of the strings and neck (wiping them down after playing), you shouldn´t run into any problems other than changing strings a bit more often.

Ingredients to be careful with as they can pose a risk:
Any silicone based product or derivatives (Absolute No-No)
Any alcohols, ESP on nitro (I.e ANY ingredient who´se name ends in "ol", Exception: Eucerit is also an alcohol but immediately goes under the skin, no issues there)
Any other solvents such as terpentine, benzene and such (rare in cosmetics but can happen)
Any cellulose based products on Nitro (can react with and fuse to the finish, some will attack it)
Paraffin (wax) can leave a film of you glop on the cream. IMO the most likely cause for Frantic Rock´s Impression... BUT many people wax their unfinished or oiled necks anyway, so that´s not necessarily an issue.

Most creams have at least one of these (esp. alcohols for absorption and Paraffin to make it a cream at all), so I´d recommend rubbing them in WELL before playing, and wiping my hands off with a dry towel.

I personally would recommend Nivea Creme, I have had no bad experiences with people using it so far.

[Pierre]

Why do I feel totally out of it? It's good to use hand cream? Since when? What does it do?

[greendy123]

Why do I feel totally out of it? It's good to use hand cream? Since when? What does it do?

Your probably just a normal person so you don't need to deal with this problem. Some people have diseases so they need to use hand cream constantly or skin problems could get worse if not treated. By using hand cream it prevents further drying of skin and allows it to keep in moisture to allow it to heal faster.

[Zerberus]

Your probably just a normal person so you don't need to deal with this problem. Some people have diseases so they need to use hand cream constantly or skin problems could get worse if not treated. By using hand cream it prevents further drying of skin and allows it to keep in moisture to allow it to heal faster.

+1

My ex had the same problem, very dry skin... again, NIvea never caused problems on her or my guitars, and she played pretty well

[Pierre]

Ohhhh ok... pffiew.. I was seriously wondering that if i didn't take care of my hands they'd start rotting on the guitar or something...

When the comercial with Kerry King:
'I have sensitive hands. So to be even more metal and rock harder, I use... NIVEA CREAM!'

[Watroba]

I use Aveeno intense hand relief cream.
It makes everything so slippery and fast. I love it!

Use it all the time on my tele - because and it has no finish on the neck, and the cream smoothens things out.

I read somewhere that a famous player, from Gwar I believe, eats a whole bucket of KFC before going on stage, leaving his hands nice and barbequey .

I, however, have to have my hands ultra dry to play. I really like to feel the fretboard, and slippery hands makes this difficult. Plus it also conflicts with legato playing, making it harder to hammer on and pull off. But that's just me.

[Zerberus]

Wouldn´t surprise me if Buckethead did taht as well

[That90'sGuy]

Wouldn´t surprise me if Buckethead did taht as well

[Amateur]

Well, my situation is the opposite. I have sweaty hands and I get my fret board wet all over after playing only a couple of songs. Do you guys have any remedy for that?