My Fingertips ALWAYS Hurt. What's Wrong?

[Jak Angelescu]

Hey guys and dolls. I’ve been getting so frustrated lately. It seems I continuously, ever since I played really, have always had an issue with “callouses are always FORMING but never FORM.” If that makes sense. The callouses tear, break off, peel off, etc before they actually set and I’m left with fresh baby skin underneath no matter how long I play or don’t play.
I barely get an hour of time in before I have to stop because they shred so bad that I have to stop for a while. Yet when I return to playing, the pain is WORSE. It stings and makes vibratos, bends and slides so uncomfortable. I’ve never actually had callouses form, and stay formed, without falling off or tearing and shredding off within a day.
If I were to show you my fingertips in a photo, it literally looks like I took a cheese grater to them and yet I only played for an hour. Any tips would be really wonderful. Thanks!
PS: I changed to a lighter gauge string and changed my strings out, thinking that could have been the culprit but it wasn’t.

 

[idssdi]

This sounds very weird to me. One thing I can think of is do you shower very hot and long or put your hands in hot water a lot? Because those two things really affect your calluses a lot(just water already does the job of affecting your calluses hot just does it quicker)

 

[Jak Angelescu]

GAAAHHH IDS YOU ARE A LIFESAVER!! I can’t believe I didn’t think of that. I have to wash dishes by hand and the water is VERY hot, and i usually wash dishes twice a day because I cook all the time so I have loads of pots and pans to do. And then I usually go to the gym or run, and then come home and take a hot shower and THEN I practice. Or I practice in the evenings after I’ve done two loads of super hot dishes by hand. And I’ve done this for ever. I’ll make the necessary changes and see what happens. Thank you SO much!

 

[Noah Berends]

This happened to me a lot, and my issue in particular was that I was using too much unnecessary pressure when playing I would always push down on the strings harder and play more aggressive. With thicker string gauges generally more pressure is a must, but I got into the habit of only being as tense or putting in only as much strength as I need, nothing more. Having a lighter touch I’ve found has also done wonders for speed and accuracy, as I don’t have to “wind-down” the muscles per se as I lift my finger from one note to the next.

 

[Aaron Aldous]

Awesome (no pun intended) tips here guys, I’ll keep an eye on mine since I’m guilty of turning the water temp up from time to time haha. Alongside the aforementioned advice, here’s a suggestion that could benefit anyone with issues regarding their calluses:
Years ago, I picked up on a tip from a bass player friend of mine who used to soak his fingertips in surgical spirit/vodka for 20 mins after each gig/upright bass practice session. Worked wonders for me when an acoustic guitar would start to tear my calluses up

 

[Sayonil Mitra]

Damn. I have never seen/heard of this problem before but definitely it was eye-opening.

 

[Jak Angelescu]

@Ids I just wanted to let you know I took your advice today and I played guitar first before I did dishes and took a hot shower. I could finally play for over 4 hours before they started to even get a little sore, but no peeling at all. You’re amazing, my friend! Thank you!

 

[idssdi]

No problem! I’m happy to help!

 

[Christopher Lonski]

Yes,the reason, as previously mentioned, is moisture on your calluses. You want them to be as dry as possible before playing. So avoid playing after a hot shower, avoid using any moisturizers or lotions. You can usually get away with washing and drying your hands before you play which I recommend to avoid grimey strings. Someone mentioned dipping your fingers in vodka- I used the highest percentage isopropyl alcohol which was like 92-94%(the other 8% or so is water, the less moisture the better) and just hold your fingers in a dish or shallow cup of it, pull them out and let them air dry. It should only take a few seconds because the alcohol content is so high, and then repeat as many times as necessary. This worked wonders on my calluses when I had taken some time off from playing and came back with softer fingers.