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Advice for really sweaty hands

J

JohnLovesRush

Oct 4, 2007
195
0
Dublin Ireland
#1
particularly when I play bass I pour sweat out of my hands.. and it's a real pain in the ...hands,
does anyone else have this problem and are there any remedies for it?

In fact I have sweaty hands all the time anyway:(..it really really sucks!.. those akward hand shakes where you know the person whos shaking your hand is thinking "claaaaaammmy":(
 
#2
JohnLovesRush said:
particularly when I play bass I pour sweat out of my hands.. and it's a real pain in the ...hands,
does anyone else have this problem and are there any remedies for it?

In fact I have sweaty hands all the time anyway:(..it really really sucks!.. those akward hand shakes where you know the person whos shaking your hand is thinking "claaaaaammmy":(
Click to expand...

i suffer as well..... i cant offer a fix though... as far as playing ill suggest some sort of terry cloth.... the maxi pad of dish rags!!!!
 
#5
You could try using something like "Dehydral". Google it (or Google "palmar hyperhidrosis"), you'll find information on it and many other products that you can try. Might be a good idea to check with your doctor or a skin doctor too. There are many options, including some natural remedies, but I would avoid anything permanent like surgically cutting nerves (lots of dangers involved and really should only be used in extreme cases I think).

Adam.
 
#6
This the the only thing I like about having chronically dry skin. Oils or sweat *never* get on my strings, which seems to make my strings last a really long time.

Otherwise, of course, dry skin is annoying as all get out, having to apply prescribed lotion every time you wash your hands, and having dry skin and shaking hands I'm sure gets a similar "eww" reaction from the receiver. Of course, if I stay on top of my lotion applying, especially in winter, it's never a big deal.
 
#7
You could take the Etienne Mbappe route....
(check him out if you haven't heard him play!!)

Thin silk gloves held tight with rubber bands around the wrists.

I, personally, like slick fingers when I play. I usually rub my fingers on my forehead or bridge of my nose to oil them up while I'm playing (as opposed to trying to dry them out)
 
#10
this is gonna sound weird- but i'd say relish in your sweaty hands.

your biochemistry will shorten your instrument's string life- but I have this superstition that I personally play better and sound better when my hands are greasy, oily, or just plain dirty. (funky looking strings = funky sounding grooves!)

like another poster- I like to rub my fingers on my nose and forehead to absorb as much oil to rub on the strings - it adds a degree of lubrication and like i said before- i love the sound of oiled up strings
 
#12
I had this problem recently in the studio, where I would kill/alter/destroy a set of strings in the time it took to track and dub a song. By the end of a particular track, my producer/engineer was accusing me of changing settings.

My solution so far has been a few vigorous rubs with "Isopropyl Alcohol" about an hour before playing. It KINDA works, but the long term effects are not known yet.
 
#13
My hands used to be sweaty all the time too. Keep your palms open at all times (don't have them in a fist or a fist-like position) and make sure they stay out of your pockets. That helped me, although you may have it worse.

And here' something ridiculous that I just though of. A suggestion to deal with oily/moist hands: get some acne medication and rub it all over your hands. That stuff works by eliminating oiliness, and when I used to use it on my face it would get really dry for an hour or two afterwards. Beware, this was NOT recommended to me by a doctor ;P
 
#15
My daughter just asked me to give her bass lessons... At the end of the first lesson, when I went to put the bass away, the neck of my 4 stringer felt like it had been coated with some type of glue. She has her mothers sweaty hands and feet. I gave her a T-Shirt to use, and she started wiping it down regularly, as we practice....

I have the opposite... dry skin, so I'll have to take some of these suggestions to her.
 
#16
ah! something i can contribute to!

I'm new to bass (sort of) but have a drummer for 20+ years. I had sweaty hand problems for a long time, and i know other musicians dont like flying drumsticks....

but i figured out that if you give your hands a good scrub before you play or go on stage, sweating is reduced 75% in not totally. Try it out, works for me every time.
I always use hot water also...
 

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