This is a silly question for most I'm sure, but... I have been trying to learn card sleights and flourishes for a very long time with little luck. My hands are stiff and dry and I can't seem to keep ahold of the cards. I drop them a lot, and when I try to slide a card my fingers slip on it... I just can't seem to get a grip on them. I try to use lotion, but then they are greasy and the cards still slip. Could anyone here please tell me if there is anything I can do to help prepare my hands to handle the cards better? I'd like to know how I could almost make my hands "tacky" so I can get a grip? Just so you know, I am 42 years old and have been playing with magic for about 30 years. I have very large hands that tend to be very dry. Any help would be much appreciated!

I have started using skinner's edge card cream an it works great. It is actually made from the same company that makes SortKwik (the stuff that bank tellers use) but is a slightly different formula. It provides a good grip without being to tacky.

I can attest to the effectiveness of this product. It has solved the problem of dry skin in my case and I highly recommend this to anyone that suffers from the same problem. BTW, I am 54 years old and I suffer from arthritis (my left index and right middle finger cannot flex at all). I keep my hands limber by practicing the pass (classic and Herrmann turnover) incessantly. My hands only hurt in the morning, so after about 20 to 30 minutes of pass practice they no longer bother me.
Cardamagically,
<<<KRaZy4KaRdZ>>> DOM
:)

Honestly, I just use soap and water. Dove, white.

Rosewater. Works great, and makes you smell pretty, too!

I thought the same thing when I first started manipulating cards. That was about a year ago. I posted the same questions, but a year later, I can do the stuff wether my hands are dry and stiff or not. I tend to keep my hands clean and constanly apply my favorite hand cream, but wait a couple of minutes before handling the cards.

Over time you will see.

I have started trying different hand creams. I'm probably going to try to make my own since I think I have all I need in my old alchymist arsenal. Glycerine and Bees Wax. The commercial ones I have tried are all perfumed which is bad for my sensitive skin.

Lots of threads listing hand cream brand names here. I like Neutrogena Hand Cream "Norwegian Formulae" except for it's (mild) perfume which smells like toilet freshner. (There supposedly is one which is fragrance free but when I Google that I get the one I have which is perfumed).

The tiniest little speck of this cream is enough and after a short period of stickiness, it stays perfect for a looong time. I hate having sticky hands and this cream is the first one which doesn't make me feel yucky. In fact, because I hate feeling unclean I wash my hands way too often and soap and water is what makes my hands too dry.

Someone in another thread suggested eliminating the problem permanently by improving your diet and drinking more water. Which I think was a pretty sensible solution. Eliminate the cause instead of the symptom.

Click here to view attached image.

Chamberlain's "Golden Touch" lotion. But then I was raised on a steady diet of Marlo.

FWIW

Cheers!

Besides the ones in this topic, there have been a few suggestion for dry hands here at the Café before.

I'm 55 and the problem is with me too.

I use 'Corn Huskers Lotion" for cards and coins when necessary.

I've read that 'Vagisil' works but haven't tried it.

For a quick fix, 'Sortquik' will work for a time.
The nice thing about this is that is in cake form.

Actually, most lotions with work for a while.
As mentioned, drink lots of water and use a moisturizer regulary, not only before practice. Get your hands in good condition and strive to keep them that way.

This was my first question I've ever posted on this forum and you have all been awesome. Thanks for the great answers, I appreciate them all... but, Vagisil? Ha!