As mentioned by "trplem", the 38 Long Colt is a low-recoil round that works in the 38 or 357 cylinders. The brass is readily available from Starline or Midway, etc. and there are some published loads (Hodgdon) that are good for plinking, short range egg-stealers and such. I load my wife's 642 with 105 gr or 125 gr lead truncated cone bullets, usually from Colorado Cast (125) or Missouri Bullet Co. (105) for her practice shooting. The +P duty rounds live in the gun the remainder of the time.
Otherwise, the 38 Special is my go-to round in double or single action revolvers. It can be mild or wild, depending on your particular loading preference and can be very economical to load. Good factory ammunition is available for CCW and the +P versions are substantial but still controllable by smaller hands. 357 capability is a nice alternative, since it shoots the 38 Long Colt, regular 38 Special, 38 +P and 357 without fuss.
