Six hours in nitrile, then wash, then the next client. Artists' hands get the double hit of occlusion sweat and constant washing, and the result is dry, tight skin across the backs of the hands and splits in the finger webs.
What is actually doing it
- Gloves. Hands sweat inside them, then the moisture flashes off the second they come off, leaving skin drier than if it had been bare. Long sessions make this worse.
- Washing between every client. Necessary, and every pass takes some of the fat that holds your outer skin layer together.
- Soaps and disinfectants. Built to cut through things, not selective about your lipids.
- Sanitizer. Alcohol strips fast, and it finds every split.
Fitting it into a day
- Heavy before bed. The one that repairs. Nothing during a shift competes with eight uninterrupted hours.
- Between clients, on damp hands, a small amount, and let it absorb fully before you glove up. Ten minutes if you have it.
- Never under gloves while it is still slick. It defeats the glove and your grip.
- Finger webs and around the nails first. Where the splits start.
Why tallow rather than a lotion
Tallow is built from largely the same fatty acids your skin makes on its own, so it absorbs and rebuilds the barrier rather than sitting on the surface. Beeswax keeps it there through more than one wash. Water-heavy lotion is gone after the first hand wash.
Unscented, and a word on the chair
Raw has no fragrance, which matters when you are working six inches from someone's skin for four hours.
Separately: people ask me about tallow balm on healed tattoos, and I have a page on that at tallow balm on new tattoos. The short version is that aftercare is the artist's call, not mine, and I am not going to write instructions that contradict what you tell your own clients.
What this is not
A balm for dry, stripped skin. Latex or nitrile allergy, and occupational dermatitis, are real and common in this trade and belong with a clinician. Persistent redness, blistering, or anything not closing needs looking at properly.
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.
