Tips & Tricks For Hard Working Hands

Working outside in various weather conditions can play havoc with your hands & nails, but you can achieve hands that are smooth, soft and manicured just like your garden.

Digging about in gritty soil can really be hard on your hands, not to mention nails. Scrubbing off that ingrained dirt after a hard day in the garden is tough on your skin.

Wearing gloves is undoubtedly the best way to keep your hands clean. A good tip is to apply hand cream before you put your gloves on, for a barrier protection and simultaneous skin-conditioning treatment.

An old-fashioned tip for nails

Scrape your nails along a bar of soap before you start gardening or doing dirty work, this means there is no room underneath your nails for dirt. Use the nailbrush after your session and nails should be back to normal.

If those black-rimmed nails stubbornly remain, another tip is to make a paste of lemon juice and baking soda and apply with the paste with a nailbrush or an old toothbrush, for sparkling-clean nails. Then apply Plunkett’s NS Cuticle & Nail Repair to naturally nourish and restore and damage.

Prepare and protect

Apply a protective hand cream before you start work to protect your hands and make cleaning them easier. This will act as a barrier to lock-out dirt and external irritants.

A natural hand wash for gardening hands

For extra cleaning power, sprinkle a teaspoon of sugar onto wet hands, and massage in while you wash them as normal. This will act as an exfoliant to get rid of stubborn grime.

Alternatively, mix a couple of handfuls of oats with warm water, then massage the mix into your hands. The oats will gently remove dirt while being kind to your skin.

Or make an exfoliating scrub, to remove dirt and slough off dead skin cells, so your hands will look better than before. Mix two teaspoons of vegetable oil (sweet almond, olive or sunflower are all great) with a teaspoon of sugar or salt. Work into your hands as if lathering soap and wash off as normal. Result? Soft, smooth, clean and moisturised. Finish off the process with an application of Plunkett’s NS Working Hands an intensive treatment for long-lasting results.