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Hi my name is Burk,

and I suffer from a chronic condition called super duper frickin sweaty as heck hands.

I need fresh advice on how to minimize damage to my precious cards. My practice decks get kinda gross and clumpy.

I'm sure y'all have had this convo before, so feel free to passive-aggressively point me in the direction of those posts.

Thanks for your time and effort fellas!

Hello fellow sweaty-hands buddy.

Ok this is what i do,

1. you know that sweaty hands deviate with the weather, somedays its pretty darn sweaty, some days not so sweaty. so find an environment that makes your hands a little dryer.

2. Wash your hands properly before each session, and dry them off well.

3. Practice in front of a fan, if they get a little sweaty, use the fan to dry your hands off a little.

4. Last resort, put a little fanning powder on your hands before the session, it helps to protect the cards just a little.

Washing your hands in cold water can help.

Another thing that I can think of, but have never tried so I don't know if this'll be bad for the cards or not, is to use some chalk on your hands. Something like what weightlifters use to keep their hands dry when lifting a barbell. It shouldn't be too hard to acquire, and is usually sold in blocks. Try it with a cheap deck first to see if it has any effect on the cards, though I doubt it will unless you use a lot.

MagikFingerz wrote:Washing your hands in cold water can help.

Another thing that I can think of, but have never tried so I don't know if this'll be bad for the cards or not, is to use some chalk on your hands. Something like what weightlifters use to keep their hands dry when lifting a barbell. It shouldn't be too hard to acquire, and is usually sold in blocks. Try it with a cheap deck first to see if it has any effect on the cards, though I doubt it will unless you use a lot.

I think having fanning powder does that to some effect.

volantangel wrote:

MagikFingerz wrote:Washing your hands in cold water can help.

Another thing that I can think of, but have never tried so I don't know if this'll be bad for the cards or not, is to use some chalk on your hands. Something like what weightlifters use to keep their hands dry when lifting a barbell. It shouldn't be too hard to acquire, and is usually sold in blocks. Try it with a cheap deck first to see if it has any effect on the cards, though I doubt it will unless you use a lot.

I think having fanning powder does that to some effect.

True, I just thought that using fanning powder on your hands sounded like a bit of a waste. Without checking I'm sure that chalk is cheaper than fanning powder. And hey, you might just want to start lifting some weights while you're at it

I think blotting the hands with a very absorbent towel would be better. I'd be concerned about chalk getting all over the cards and adversely affecting them - rubbed into the finish, the chalk dust could ruin the surface.

A hand sanitizer gel might help as well. Some have moisturizers (good for the skin) and all have a massive amount of alcohol in them for fast evaporation, which both dries and creates a cooling effect. Too much sanitizer, however, does require a washing now and then, because the non-evaporating elements of the gel will leave a residue.

So far I'm going with cold water hand washes and a very absorbent towel. I just basically towel off after 2 or 3 tricks/flourishes.

I've only ruined 4 decks so far. So good numbers as far as I'm concerned.

Thanks for your help gentlemen.

Have you spoken to a doctor or dermatologist about it? Perhaps they can provide some advise or even prescribe something to help as well.

chach wrote:Have you spoken to a doctor or dermatologist about it? Perhaps they can provide some advise or even prescribe something to help as well.

You know, I am actually pretty close to doing that. The only reason I havent yet is the fear of it being deemed petty by my doctor or others.