Not sure if we have talked about this much here in the new forum: Supposedy DF has two forms - the hard in which one avoids all contact with water, and the soft in which one takes baths and showers as one wishes, washes one's teeth, hands, face. My first (32-hr) DF I set out very determinedly to do a hard version, but I accidentally failed when I realized that my kitten's suckling on my finger disqualified me from the hard DF. Later on in that fast, I accidentally got some fluid on my hand when I was sub-cutaneously hydrating my cat. So I did not have a strict DF. The next time and this time I just don't worry about it. If I had no household chores to do and did not care for the cats, I could presumably remember to keep all dampness and moisture away from my skin in all ways; but as it is, its just too much of a worry and it's not something I'm really into because of my personal slant on DF, which is to give my digestive system a total rest. I'm into the digestive rest thing because I get allergic reactions to everything that hits my digestive system, including water and any form of fluid, supplement, or food that passes through the GI tract. I don't see that I am really interfering with giving myself this rest if I get some water (or kitty drool) on my fingers.

Even if you are not DF-ing for digestive-system rest and you are guided by Wheatgrass Yogi's idea that the DF shrinks the body whereas water swells it, I think (and WY may correct me) that topical water probably doesn't significantly interfere with this shrinkage inside, either. At least as long as you refrain from tooth-brushing with liquid and from baths or showers utilizing water. I don't think that if you wash your hands after getting them dirty you are really interfering with either internal shrinkage or digestive rest, but I am open to other views.

My first fast I would wipe off my hands as best I could with paper towels, but I'm not worrying about that now!