A little trick for saving your hands

My hands are my most important tool. When I get a cut on my hand I feel impatient as a band aid reduces my sensitivity, and seems to get in the way of all that I do. I sometimes overwork my hands, and create skin cracks or sensitive spots. It is so hard to be patient and let my hands heal. I have found a product that helps in some circumstances.

New Skin liquid bandage is my little secret. It won’t work for those deeper cuts that need a serious bandage. In that case I turn to band aids with flexible fabric, which aren’t as bulky feeling and stretch against the contours of the skin better than regular band aids. I know that this sounds like a commercial, but New Skin is a genius of an idea. You paint it on your boo-boo. It protects it from dirt and air and light abrasion. I tried other brands, but have found that this one creates a more resilient skin barrier after one or two coats than the spray kind.

New Skin comes in handy when I have a sore spot, as in the case of using this rug hooking tool. I get going with such vigor, and the tip continuously hits against my other hand’s forefinger as I am feeding the hook the strip of wool. I try to go slower and not hit that spot, but I guess I like to torture myself and keep the repetition  going through the pain. A protective layer of liquid band-aid sure does help my finger as I continue to hook.

Here I am knitting. I just got these fabulous Sunstruck knitting needles from Knitpicks for Christmas. The great thing about them is the nice and pointy tips, which make it easy to make stitches. After knitting about a million stitches going at a clip, my forefinger starts getting very sore. That’s another job for New Skin. A coat or two will reduce sensitivity without giving you that band-aid feeling. And I am good to go.

Liquid bandage also helps with little cracks in the skin and keeps me sewing. I know I should use a thimble, but I find them hard to get used to in some applications.

Another time my hands get a beating is when I am plying yarn on the spinning wheel and the threads start to be wearing on my skin after 350 yards pass over my fingers. Do I want to stop? No. Not moi!

Gardening is another time that I can’t be bothered with band aids. A protective coating is often all that I need under my gardening gloves. Now I could take a break from handiwork. Read a book. Stare at the computer. But I really would rather be creating. I suppose I could go shopping for more supplies. That definitely is a genius of a runner-up idea.

Keep this on your shelf as part of your tool kit. Your hands will love you and your creative heart will be happy.

Have a happy day ~ Karen

Advertisement