Why are your hands slippery when dry, get “grippy” when they get a little bit wet, then slippery again if very wet?

Question

Why are your hands slippery when dry, get “grippy” when they get a little bit wet, then slippery again if very wet?

In: Physics

Answer 1

A little bit of water (like licking your fingers to open a plastic produce bag) can help with grip in some circumstances but not all–this is why, for example, athletes sometimes use chalk bags.

If you’re talking about circumstances like opening a produce bag, then it’s more to do with surface tension than with any potential softening of the skin layer, I believe.