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Left pinky for years had a callous on nuckle near the tip. Now when I don't throw in Winter, it rubs raw in Spring. My pinky is slightly bent now with a little arther. Oh well.

As to taking care when throwing in different environments, I too have been unfortunate when demoing. Summer time, 90F.three days straight. End of second day . . .Blisters on my nearly bald head the size of silver dollars. I always wear ahat now!

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A sure fix is buy a cream called Working Hands. It is in a small green tub. It heals cuts & splits like magic in a couple of days.

It gets very cold here in the winter & I always get splits from having my hands in clay for long periods.

They even have one for feet that works. Okay I don't put my feet in clay but they do get heel splits in the winter.

Joy

I've used Working Hands for several years and it works like nothing else I've ever tried.  I'm also a bass fisherman so my hands get beat up by releasing fish…..Working Hands keep them from cracking and getting sore.  Don't get the lotion….doesn't work as well.  Get the green tub.

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The first time I made a series of small plates, I literally ground off the tips of my right thumb and forefinger. OUCH! And that was with a plain old Masonite bat, not wood, and the clay wasn't all that groggy!

 

Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream. I use it all the time for not just cuticles -- it's great for chapped lips, dry skin, and any cuts and scrapes. I call it "everything cream," personally. Lemon has antimicrobial properties, plus it smells yummy. I also use their Intensive hand lotion (with Baobab tree oil, I think?) when I need to do a larger area. It's not cheap but it works and a little goes a long way.

 

(Incidentally, I too have a callous on my finger from years of pencil-holding, so I know what you mean!) :D

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I developed a huge writing callous on the side of my middle finger in college. It was always sore and inflamed as a pharmacist for 30 years. When working my head was always tilted clutching the phone to my scrunched up left shoulder so that created another problem. And don't get me started about standing up for 12 hour days, 5-6 days per week. I have since retired from pharmacy years ago and all those problems have subsided. Ironically, I throw standing up at home and enjoy it.

 

- Paul R.

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Aaah, maker's hands!

I get the raw pinkie too. With dry hands, I find the best trick is to not go back and forth too much between wet and dry. If you're throwing, keep them damp at all times, and when you're done, wash well and moisturize right away. Everyone's got their favourite hand cream, and I tend to like ones with a heavy dose of beeswax.

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Well, I couldn't come to the forum for a few days and what do I find here coming back? A bunch of good tips for throwing and for hand balm. Unfortunately all the hand balms you are talking about are not available here in Switzerland. I'll come to NCECA this year: are there distributors there who sell those balms and ointments? And, oldlady, I use cotton gloves too in the night, over creamed hands.

 

And regarding the throwing: I get raw pinkies from centering with coarse clay (not from the pulling up). I guess the grains are on the wheelhead and inside the groove of the centering rings....

 

Evelyne

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I can vouch for both of those items Peter listed.

 

I keep the O'Keefe's in my desk at school, as I am constantly washing my hands, when I help students.  I feel it coats the hands better than a standard lotion.

 

The Bag Balm, I've never used on my hands.  I use it on my lips, and it does an amazing job.  But it it can heal and protect the thin skin of my lips (or the cow's utter that it was made for), I bet it will do a great job on hands.

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Summer school under David Dontigny during the raku years. The clay was highly grogged, and pretty course. I would start in June with nice clear hands and a week later would have open sores on the pointer hand knuckle, the pinky hand knuckle and the thumb hand knuckle. There was nothing that would clear them up, and as I was throwing every other day and some weeks every day . . . you just dealt with it. First year, I hated raku, hated the style of throwing(tight) that he tried to get me to do. Also disliked the fact that most of the class was run by grad students that really weren't near as knowledgeable of throwing as I. I was much more attune to functional wear at the time, and was not in to the lack of durability of the raku. I liked the surfaces, and would love to have them at a more durable level, but the isn't going to happen without a lot of luster and other effects that I really don't want to get into. I did do raku with an electric kiln that was on its last legs in the 80's with the kids, and they loved it. However, the next year the school closed in the area where we did it as a central supply and it happened no more.

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I was babysitting my niece and nephew the other night, and I saw a bottle of HEMPZ moisturizing lotion in the bathroom. I tried it, and FELL IN LOVE. It wasn't greasy and the smell was subtle and pleasant. My hands felt super soft, and best of all, it's cruelty-free--no poor babies were tested on! All ingredients I could read at a glance. Great stuff! I'm gonna hunt it down and get a bottle! ♥

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