Twenty shampoos a day, color, developer, clipper spray, and constant hand washing. Salon and barbershop hands get wet and dry so many times per shift that the skin never gets a chance to rebuild, and the backs of the hands and the finger webs go first.
Why wet work is worse than staying wet
It is the cycling that does the damage. Every time skin gets soaked and then dries, it swells and shrinks, and each pass takes a little of the fat that holds the outer layer together. Surfactants in shampoo speed that up, because their whole job is lifting oil.
Add color and developer, disinfectant for tools and stations, and washing between every client, and you have one of the hardest jobs there is on a pair of hands.
What helps in a working day
- Heavy before bed. The only stretch long enough to genuinely repair. Cotton gloves if the finger webs are splitting.
- A small amount on damp hands between clients when there is a gap. Damp, not dry, so there is water to hold in.
- Gloves for color and chemical services. Non-negotiable, and it is also the biggest single reduction in exposure available to you.
- Finger webs and the backs of the hands first. Where wet work starts breaking down.
- Around the nails. Easy to skip and quick to split. See cuticles and dry nails.
Why a tallow balm rather than a lotion
Salon lotion tends to be water-heavy so it absorbs fast and does not interfere with your grip, and that is exactly why it is gone after one shampoo. Tallow is composed largely of the same fatty acids your skin produces, so it absorbs and rebuilds rather than sitting on the surface, and the beeswax means it survives more than one hand wash.
Use less than you would use of a lotion. It should disappear in a couple of minutes, and if your hands feel slick when you pick up shears, that was too much.
Fragrance-free, because you already work in a scented room
A salon has plenty of smell in it already, and irritated skin is a poor candidate for more fragrance. Raw is unscented, seven ingredients, nothing added.
What this is not
This is a balm for dry, stripped skin. Occupational dermatitis and contact allergy to color or developer are real, common in this trade, and a matter for a clinician rather than a tin. Persistent redness, blistering, or anything that is not closing needs looking at.
Unscented, if you would rather
Plenty of people do not want a fragrance on their hands at work. Raw is the same seven-ingredient base with none in it.
Why a tin
A screw-top tin lives in a bag, a drawer, or a door pocket without leaking, which a tube will not. A 2oz tin lasts most people six to ten weeks at nightly use.
Made by hand in small batches in Wakarusa, Indiana. Seven ingredients, and 5% of every sale goes to FreedomSystem, which connects veterans through authentic camaraderie and meaningful programs.
