Help! My fingertips are dry as a bone!!

[bessa_L_R3a]

Ever since I started processing my own negatives, I have noticed that my fingertips are really dry, like the skin is leathery and sensation is minimal, although blood flow seems to be reaching the tips.

I don't know if this is the result of not wearing gloves in winter or from getting fixer or developer on them. A little chemical might have touched my hands the first time but I could swear that during all the rest of the developing sessions I have worn thick rubber dishwashing gloves.

Any ideas?

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

I usually use disposable powderless nitrile gloves, which you can find at B&H and other places. I've also taken to using them for loading sheet film--no more fingerprints.

One thing you might be noticing is that when you get chemicals on your hands, you tend to wash your hands more, or at least I do, and this can cause your skin to dry out.

Some people have an allergy to metol (which is actually an allergy to impurities common in metol, rather than to the metol itself), so this could be another possibility, if you are using a metol developer.

 

[Graham.b]

I have been doing my own d&p for many years now, and if right or wrong i do not wear gloves, only to hold the the negs after to inspect them with cotton gloves.
No problems as yet with the skin, may you have sensitive skin and a good i dear to wear for you own good.

 

[keithwms]

Skinsosoft.

 

[dpurdy]

I get the problem when I have my fingers in fix. If I spend a day printing and doing some bleaching and holding prints covered in fix, the next day I am likely to have such dry finger tips that especially my thumb will crack. The cure is to put some vitamin E oil on your fingers and then wear surgical gloves all day. The prevention is to put the surgical gloves on before getting your hands in the chems. I get the blue kind that fit very tight and cause very little loss of dexterity.
Dennis
Also I do get that numb feeling as well.

 

[Bob F.]

Might be the gloves. I recall that school kitchen staff here have been banned from wearing rubber gloves when washing-up by hand as they are allegedly a breeding ground for bacteria - make of that what you will. Perhaps switch to disposables?

If you are wearing the gloves, I can't see how it can be contact with the chemicals causing the problem.


Good luck, Bob.

 

[bessa_L_R3a]

I get the problem when I have my fingers in fix. If I spend a day printing and doing some bleaching and holding prints covered in fix, the next day I am likely to have such dry finger tips that especially my thumb will crack. The cure is to put some vitamin E oil on your fingers and then wear surgical gloves all day. The prevention is to put the surgical gloves on before getting your hands in the chems. I get the blue kind that fit very tight and cause very little loss of dexterity.
Dennis
Also I do get that numb feeling as well.

What you are describing is very similar to my symptoms, like the skin cracking.

Where do I find vitamin E oil? Where can I get surgical gloves?

 

[John Koehrer]

vitamin E oil --health food or vitamin store, perhaps even the local pharmacy.
Nitrile gloves -hardware store, auto parts, Kmart, etc.

 

[dpurdy]

Here we have a shop called Sanderson Safety supply. A great store with all kinds of protective wear and ointments and whatever you could think of that comes under the heading of safety, inlucing orange paint and flares and UV blocking glasses. They have several varieties of gloves. In Jersey you have to have the same thing I am sure.
Dennis

 

[Whiteymorange]

Dontheglove.com I use the synthetic, powderless ones. They're strong as hell and don't squeeze my poor, tired little fingers at all. I have super sensitive skin and every winter I have lots of problems with cracking and bleeding digits. A good greasing (plain Vaseline is what my dermatologist suggested) before putting on the gloves for a long developing or darkroom session usually sets me up and I find my problems far less troublesome all winter long. I used to have to sleep with greased hands in gloves all night - not nice. Now, the more darkroom work I do, the better my hands feel.

 

[cotdt]

it's the fixer's fault