“Gardening can be both challenging and satisfying – digging in the dirt, cultivating your garden, harvesting its harvest of fresh fruits and vegetables is exhilarating and rewarding in equal measures – yet gardening may cause physical injuries to your hands as you attempt to plough through all those knots of dirt! However, gardening may also wreak havoc on them!
Follow these tips to avoid chapped and cracked hands: moisturize regularly and wear gloves whenever possible.
1. Exfoliate Your Hands Regularly
Though exfoliation is typically associated with facial skin, its benefits also extend to your hands. By using chemical or mechanical exfoliators several times each week, exfoliation can soften and brighten them considerably.
Try SheaMoisture Coconut & Hibiscus Hand Scrub for an all-natural mechanical exfoliant that utilizes shea butter, coconut oil, and vitamin E to moisturize after every scrub session. Plus, it boasts the delightful scent of hibiscus to turn hand washing into an indulgent experience!
Doing it yourself with natural exfoliants such as almond powder mixed with honey will also work, making a paste you can rub on your hands several times every week. After doing this, use shea or argan oil to nourish and moisturize cuticles so they feel smooth.
2. Moisturize Your Hands Regularly
Hand cream may seem like an easy solution to dry hands, and while keeping a container handy can provide instantaneous moisture relief, the best way to combat dry hands is through regular moisturizer application.
Winter is an especially crucial time of year to hydrate your hands with hand cream, as cold weather and frequent handwashing can strip the natural oils from your skin, leading to dry and flaky hands. Therefore, make sure that you apply a thick layer of hand lotion before bed each night before going to sleep.
Moisturizing before and after washing your hands is also recommended to help seal in moisture from soap while preventing dryness caused by frequent handwashing.
Moisturize your hands at least twice daily (in the morning and the evening). If you live in an environment with extreme cold or have an occupation requiring frequent handwashing, additional moisturizer applications may be required more frequently.
No matter who you are or your gardener’s level of expertise, everyone can appreciate having soft and healthy hands. So put these tips into action today to keep them happy and healthy—or go the extra mile and indulge them with a spa manicure; they’ll thank you later!
3. Wear Gloves
Gloves protect against cuts and abrasions and help prevent germs from spreading from broken skin to others or the environment. When selecting gloves, consider fit, touch sensitivity, dexterity loss reduction, and cost. Furthermore, gloves should cover any breaks or cracks in your hands comfortably for best results.
As part of their defense against the coronavirus pandemic, many have worn gloves to avoid contracting or spreading the virus by touching their faces or hands, but this doesn’t guarantee full protection: “Whether or not you wear gloves, if something with germs touches you before your bare hand goes to your mouth, nose or eyes then this could transmit,” according to family medicine physician Dr. David Cutler.
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), wearing gloves only offers extra protection in specific instances, such as cleaning or caring for someone who is sick. Otherwise, daily prevention practices like washing your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds or using hand sanitizer containing at least 60% alcohol are suggested as additional safeguards against potential infection. Furthermore, be careful when touching yourself or personal items while wearing gloves – touching either could contaminate them further, and invert your glove when taking it off to avoid accidental contamination of bare hands.
4. Apply Sunscreen Before Going Outside
Nothing beats spending a day gardening and getting your hands dirty while digging up weeds! Unfortunately, gardening also comes at the price of dry and itchy skin, cracked fingers, and brittle nails; even when wearing gloves, dirt can penetrate cracks under fingernails and around cuticles, causing pesky hangnails that seem impossible to eliminate!
While wearing gloves is undoubtedly one of the best ways to safeguard your hands, there are other things you can do to help maintain soft and healthy hands. A natural hand scrub can do wonders at gently exfoliating any remaining dirt and help prevent dry skin – mix two teaspoons of any cooking oil (sweet almond, olive, or sunflower are ideal) with some sugar before massaging into your hands before rinsing with warm water and applying your preferred hand cream afterward!
Please avoid using your hands for tasks that a tool could do more efficiently; this will lessen the pressure you put on them and may help prevent conditions such as osteoarthritis (OA) and tendonitis (tendonitis).
If you plan to be gardening for any significant length of time, investing in high-quality hand cream is essential. Consider purchasing Neal’s Yard Gardeners Hand Trio with Shea Butter (3 handbag-sized tubes, PS5), which contains shea butter and vitamin E while being fragranced with red tomato, basil, and mint for an unforgettable garden scent with notes of cedarwood and musk for an easy pump dispenser dispenser.
5. Wash Your Hands After Every Gardening Session
Working the soil to grow plants, flowers, fruit, and vegetables is immensely satisfying, yet gardening can have negative repercussions for your hands, leaving them with dry skin, itchy fingernails, and cracked and brittle cuticles – so if your green thumb is to thrive this summer then ensure its success by taking proper care in tending it!
Regular handwashing is vital for maintaining soft, supple skin. Doing so prevents the buildup of germs that could otherwise lead to itchy, irritated, and cracked hands – so always wash after every gardening session – always wear gloves when handling fertilizers or weed killers as a measure against infection!
As part of your garden work, it’s advisable to set up a dedicated handwashing station near where you work with soap, hand cream, and an appropriate container for collecting greywater. In addition, investing in gardening gloves that fit securely over your hands to shield against thorns, bugs and slugs would also be wise.
Crabtree & Evelyn Gardeners Hand Scrub with Pumice(195g, PS14) provides gentle exfoliation while lifting dirt away with soothing comfrey extract. Its fragrance offers a bit of garden inspiration with notes of red tomato and redcurrant combined with basil and mint – genuinely inspired by organic gardening practices! Neal’s Yard Citrus Hand Cream Trio with Shea Butter(3 handbag-sized tubes, PS5) comes in an appealing blue jar and exudes fresh herb and vegetable garden aroma; it contains shea butter, vitamin E, and citrus essential oils for maximum hand hydration. For an intensive hand treatment, try Shea Hand Repair Balm (40g, PS10), which is free from sulfates, parabens, and SLS and contains rich hydrating agents like shea nut butter, blackcurrant seed oil, and avocado oils for maximum hand hydration.
