Gloves, wraps, sleeves, lotion.. protecting your hands during frequent Yo-Yo play?

General Yo-Yo
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I basically never use lotion… but since I started throwing an hour or more every day, I’ve been moisturizing my hands like crazy, more than I ever have my whole life! I also got some string burns and callus on my index finger.

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So I’ve experimented with all of these.

Lotion

I don’t think there are any downsides to lotion? Keeping your skin lubed and moisturized combats string burn, chapping, all that stuff. I prefer unscented or very low scent “natural” type lotions myself.

(I’ve also heard people in humid climates might prefer talc?)

If there are downsides, let me know in the replies!

Gloves

There’s a good video here with pros and cons of yo-yo gloves:

It turns out yoyo gloves are … essentially rebranded snooker gloves? I’ve experimented with gloves a bit, but I dislike the way the glove makes it so hard to get out the inevitable tangle or knot. And you kinda lose a bit of the native “feel”.

Sleeves

Apparently yoyo sleeves are “sport sleeves” as seen in other… er… sports? I’ve tried the thin stretchy type and the fat padded type. I like these because they prevent string pressure from the finger loop and they don’t interfere with the feel too much? The wrap is easy to put on and take off, and it helps my wrap finger not get as abused…

That said it’s yet another thing to carry around and lose, put on, take off, etc.

Wrap

Basically sleeves, but … flexible bandage tape instead? I kinda like that you can get the flesh colored wrap and just leave it on for a while and nobody notices. It’s also disposable so if it gets janky you can toss it and wrap a new one. It’s quite comfortable, enough that I can (almost) forget that it’s there.

Downside is you carry a roll of wrap tape that you have to dispense and tear.

Krazy Glue

Once you have a callus, I’ve heard people recommend krazy glue to reinforce the skin as it starts cracking? I’ve tried this and it seems to work?

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I use arid xx deodorant spray on my hands. I have sweaty hands so after throwing for a bit they get can get moist and this makes the sting burn my finger more often. I don’t think there are any downsides to this either.

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You could use baby powder. I’ve seen pro yoyoers use it.

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I’ve been using gloves since I started, but I’m trying to not use them now.

I like how they protect my hands against string chafing and minor impacts from the yoyo itself, and adjusting the position of a string on my fingers is easier when I can sorta slide it around a bit on the slippery-ish surface of the spandex material. Gloves also keep the string from accumulating sweat and skin particles, making them playable for longer. But putting gloves on and taking them off constantly gets old after a while, and the difficulty of treating axle knots with them on gets frustrating after a while too.

However, I don’t know if I’d want to use lotion since that would just muck up the string that much faster.

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Wash your hands before play. the less oils and grime the better. If anything if your in a high humidity envirnment, rubbing a dryer sheet over the strings can help as it has a fabric softener, but for the most part, other than gloves, the more stuff on your hands, the worse it becomes… More friction, faster string burn, faster string burn out, and less grippy binds (oils build up in the string and get slippy)

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Huh interesting so this implies lotion on the hands is bad for strings, too? That’s a bummer since it is good for hands…

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You just gave someone the idea to market a hand cream just for yoyoers. NEW from Yoyo Factory… The container will be imperial-shaped…

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Thats the thought. I dont have proof but could be an easy test. Take one string and put lotion on it. Not alot, but enough for the string to get mildly damp from the lotions. Over kill yes, but could drive the point home OR disprove me entirely! After you put some lotion on the string let it sit a day or two to soak in and try it out. This would simulate a lot of use from lotion’d hands buildup for a while.

That extra friction is both harming you faster due to increased thermal buildup, and its also slowly but surely scraping off and absorbing the oils/moisturizers/fragrances etc.

Its just a theory, but it seems like it would have a poor performance / feel after it gets gooped. I like to lotion my hands up after my throw sessions. Just like with me and my dreads, the less stuff in them, the better.

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I’ve tried this after seeing in some videos people saying you should use lotion before you play, but I quickly found I didn’t like it. I felt like there was a film over my hands, gunking up my string or something. I’m more likely to end up washing my hands with soap and hot water before i pick up a throw. (I also have fairly rough, calloused hands, so getting string burn isn’t as big an issue for me).

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Talcum powder and glue were what I heard are popular for people who don’t like gloves.

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Glue? Please elaborate.

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People at Illinois states (It was cold) said that they used spray adhesive on their hands to keep cuts closed and keep their hands from sweating.

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I’m liking finger wrap and lotion. I particularly like that I can adjust the finger wrap as tight or loose as I like, it’s comfortable, and it’s disposable if it gets janky.

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I can’t get into gloves and finger sleeves, though I have tried!

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What yoyo is that?

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I wear that yoyo loop in centre of my finger but in pic I can see your wearing it at last of your hand.

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I yoyo everyday and I don’t use anything. I only use a glove when my hands can’t take it

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Yeah I have been a question for a while now and I just saw jeff doing it. Are you supposed to have the loop in the center of your finger or at the bottom? And if you put it at the bottom of your finger will it affect the control you have over the yoyo? I used to wear it a the bottom of my finger. When I was learning cheese whip and plastic whip it made it much easier to wear the loop in the center of my finger so I switched to wearing it at the center.

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You can wear the Slipknot wherever you want to. There is no right or wrong way. Most people, myself included put the slip knot on the knuckle joint closest to the tip of the middle finger.

Some people wrap the slip knot around two fingers, like the middle and ring finger. Whatever feels right, just do that

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And to contribute to the topic at hand (pun), I do not currently use anything on my hands for yoyo. When I was a kid, I had a roll of that yoyo tape, and used it but eventually I just stopped. Now I have manly man hands and yo-yos don’t affect me at all. I like the feel of all natural. I mean, as natural as a yoyo is…

I tried using a glove just to see what it was like, but I couldn’t get into it.

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