Getting your hands clean after gardening

[OctaviaPole]

I know I should wear gloves but I find some jobs tricky with gloves on. But my skin is really dry and I'm finding after gardening the mud is ingrained and doesn't wash off easily. I think I need a scrub of some kind. What does everyone else use?

A nail brush. And bright nail varnish for when I can't get them properly clean, it literally covers a multitude of sins.

Teaspoon of olive oil and some sugar- makes a fabulous scrub

Making pastry…….. 😴Hands come out beautifully soft and clean.

This! But a nail brush will get most mud out, and off the cracks in your hands too. Then a really thick moisturiser.

Scrub hands. Wash my hair. Moisturizer hands

Moisturiser first- really rub it in, especially under nails. Then scrub with soap. This works like magic.

Washing your hair really does help clean your nails. I've got an exfoliating soap too and I usually dig my nails into the soap and then use nail brush. Also keep nails short...

O'keefe's hand cream is very good or norwegian hand cream https://www.boots.com/neutrogena-norwegian-formula-concentrated-hand-cream-50ml-10005610

I use cuticle oil too and that helps as there's fewer cracks for the dirt to get in.

For cleaner nails, before you start gardening, wet a bar of soap and scrape nails along, so they fill with soap instead and soil can't get in. Keeps fingernails quite clean. Or after the event, scrub with nail brush and dig nails into flesh of half lemon which also whitens and brightens nails. For dry, dusty gardening skin I use olive oil and salt scrub then rinse off with warm water.

Butter and sugar together ‘massaged’ into hands will get dirt and grease off your hands and not leave them dried out. Wash the resultant dirty/oiliness off with soap, and use a nail brush. Then apply hand cream.

Pumice stone

Making pastry…….. 😴Hands come out beautifully soft and clean.

Yes, this does work! And hairwashing.

I always slather on plenty of hand lotion before starting work in the garden. It helps to stop the grime getting ingrained, and also moisturises.

Swarfega. It's what builders use.

Use barrier cream before you start gardening. And make sure you get in fine your nails too. Marvellous stuff.

Gardeners soap. Works fantastically atgetting the really ingrained soil out of dry skin.

Belt sander.

Washing my hair usually does it.

Otherwise I scrub with a nail brush

I hate gardening gloves, but I don't mind basic disposable ones. They are much thinner and therefore easier to use. I buy them in boxes of 200, and they last ages.

That made me cackle @IcakethereforeIam 😁

A good swim. Not quite as good as pastry, to be fair, but pretty good.

Nail brush and soap.

Thin cotton gloves under thin latex gloves.
Failing that a good barrier cream then softened soap under your nails before you start.
Cheap cooking oil mixed with caster sugar or salt as a scrub - will usually shift paint.

Thank goodness i don't like pastry.

The only thing the suggestions above won’t shift is slug slime. Washing is hopeless because the slime simply absorbs water. Probably putting your finger in the deep freeze,then scraping the freeze dried slime off with a knife would work, but it has undesirable side effects.

I discovered, by accident, many years ago that bath oil (Avon's Skin So Soft) shifted emulsion paint. Was supposed to be painting a wooden fence with my sister (actually with a brush), we decided to put on war paint 😁 Then tried everything in the bathroom to get the stuff off. I think our mum might have preferred bright blue kids to losing her bath oil.

I salt scrub and deep moisturise with a barrier cream before gardening and scrape my nails over a bar of soft soap I also take an antihistamine and wear long sleeves I find gardening a bit challenging!