How to Garden AND Have Soft Hands and Great Nails

“Whether you’re working in your perennial beds or pruning your tomatoes, gardening can be really tough on your hands. Chipped or torn nails, hands stained black from tomato leaves, knuckles that crack and bleed, and the never-ending dirt under your nails – it can be a badge of honor. But sometimes, you want your hands not to tell the world you spent all weekend weeding.   Yes, you can have it both ways. No, you don’t need to spend hundreds at the nail salon. Let me show you how I keep my hands and nails looking great after a day in the garden. I’ve got a small handful of products that I always keep on hand for just this purpose. It’s Not Just Vanity My hands and nails after digging up dandelion buds to make dandelion capers . I know some of you might be rolling your eyes and thinking, “Good grief. You’re a gardener, not a beauty queen. You don’t need perfect nails.” But it goes beyond wanting to look nice. (And yes, sometimes we do want to look nice, and there’s nothing wrong with that.) For many gardeners, especially ladies over a certain age, keeping our hands in good shape is also about keeping them pain-free. I have suffered from terribly dry skin for as long as I can remember. Working in the garden often leads to painful cracks in my skin, across my knuckles that would take weeks to heal. And in the wintertime, forget it. I was constantly gluing my skin back together and wincing every time I washed my hands. I come by this honestly; I’ve inherited my mother’s and grandmother’s hands. However, those days are behind me. I finally got smart and started taking care of my hands the way I would any other important body part. They get daily attention so that not only will they look nice, but they will be pain-free and continue to serve me well. Hydration, Hydration, Hydration One of the first and most important things you can do for your skin and nails is to make sure you are drinking enough water. This is especially important on those hot summer days when we’re sweating in the garden. Your body needs to stay hydrated to function well. Use Lotion, the Good Stuff I use only one brand of lotion on my hands. Not because I’m a brand snob, but because I have spent decades trying different lotions, trying to find something that actually made my hands soft, but didn’t leave my skin feeling like an oil slick. Trust me, I’ve tried them all, and this is the one that works day in and day out, even in the winter when my hands are at their driest. I found this stuff two years ago, and I have spent the past two winters with zero cracked knuckles. Avalon Organics. I prefer the lavender scent , but I also keep a large bottle of the unscented aloe on hand, too. I bought some of those little squeezy travel bottles, and I keep this lotion in my purse, my toiletries bag when I travel, and one in the center console of my car as well. (Every single gas station bathroom has soap that is bent on sucking all the moisture out of your body through your hands!) I have tried hundreds of lotions over the years. This stuff is incredible. I keep a full-size bottle on my nightstand, my desk, and one at my kitchen sink year-round. They are on subscription so that I never run out. Look, when I say this stuff is life-changing, I mean it. That statement about no cracked knuckles for two years, that’s huge! But it only works if you use it. I put it on every single night, every time I wash my hands, and before I go out to garden. The lavender smell is light and soothing, without being overpowering. The formula is thick and creamy and absorbs well, but doesn’t leave my hands greasy afterward. They feel soft and protected. Cuticle Oil I love this stuff! Don’t leave home without it. I know this might seem fussy, but it takes seconds and makes all the difference in the world. I put it on every single night at bedtime (I’ll get to that in a minute), and usually once or twice during the day when I have a spare moment. Waiting is the perfect time to apply cuticle oil. Waiting at the doctor’s office? Cuticle oil. Waiting at the restaurant for your friend to arrive? Cuticle oil. You get the idea. It takes about a minute to apply and rub in, and it really does make a difference. It keeps your nails from peeling and splitting. And nobody likes torn cuticles. Ouch! I use the Bliss Kiss cuticle oil pens. I’ve bought both their prefilled pens and their empty pens and the refill . I use both. I’ve never had any issues with them leaking. I always have about four of them floating around. One in my purse, one on my nightstand, one on the little table in the living room next to the chair I read in. If they’re easy to hand, they will get used. My Nighttime Hand Routine My evening nail trifecta. This only takes a few moments to do, and it’s a big part of why my hands look so nice after a day of playing in the dirt and other activities that strip moisture from your hands. I start with clean hands and apply the Avalon Organics lotion, rubbing it well into my hands and cuticles. This is important. This is the moisturizing part. This is what’s putting moisture and emollients back into your hands and nail beds. Then I follow up with cuticle oil, another emollient, but because it’s an oil, it’s also sealing in the lotion I just put on. After rubbing it into my cuticles, I rub the excess into my hands. Finally, I follow up with a small dab of Bag Balm Skin Moisturizer over top of it all. Let me tell you a dirty little secret about Bag Balm Skin Moisturizer and other salves with a petroleum jelly base. Despite the name, they are not moisturizers; they are occlusives. They cannot impart moisture to your skin; they can only seal moisture in that’s already there, and prevent it from evaporating back out. It is essentially a barrier. Think of it like mulch, but for your skin. My mother used to slather this stuff on her heels every night before bed and get so frustrated because her heels would still crack. Petroleum-based products like this work great at sealing moisture in, but only if you put moisture into your skin first. I finish my bedtime routine with a tiny dab of this stuff over top of my lotion and cuticle oil, and rub it in well. It makes my hands feel wonderful after a hard day of work, and I wake up to beautiful, soft hands. (Oh, and I do the same routine to my feet, too.) Shaping Your Nails Ditch the emery boards, they’re not good for your nails. Get yourself a set of Czech glass nail files. They do a much better job at filing and shaping, and because the grain is so small, you can actually file back and forth instead of only in one direction. The tiny grain seals the end of your nails instead of leaving a ragged mess, making them less susceptible to peeling and splitting. The crescent-shaped nail file has a groove on the inner edge of the curve that’s great for shaping. I bought this set for myself last year, and I love them both. The curved one is great for shaping my nails, and the straight one is great for taking down the length. (I always know when my nails are too long because suddenly there are a lot of typos in my writing.) I loved this set so much that it ended up in my daughter’s stocking and was my go-to gift for my gal pals last Christmas. Protecting Hands in the Garden An ounce of protection goes a long way to nice nails in the garden. I always put lotion on before I go to work in the garden. It creates a barrier between my hands and the soil. Soil is like a big sponge. It will pull moisture out of your hands if you work in it without gloves. You’re more likely to tear a nail this way, too, which, aside from being annoying, can really smart. (I’ve got a nifty trick to fix a torn nail.) Invest in some PU-covered garden gloves , several pairs. It’s so easy to pitch gloves to the side when they get wet or too muddy. I always bring two pairs out to the garden with me. (I’m getting smart in my old age.) I know this sounds kind of gross, but after putting lotion on, if I know I’m going to be digging in the dirt a lot, I will scrape my (clean) nails over the top of my Bag Balm tin. This shoves the salve up under my nails. Hoo boy, it makes cleaning under my nails a breeze when I’m done in the garden—no embedded dirt. When you’re done for the day, always wash your hands and put lotion on. If your hands are stained from tomato leaves or digging in the dirt, pour a bit of olive oil into your hand, rub it well into your hands and then wash them. Repeat until clean. The oil will help lift stains from your hands and moisturize. Don’t forget to finish with lotion. Fixing a Torn Nail You can see the tear at the edge of the nail under the repair. It looks rough, but once I buff it, it will be fine. Inevitably, I will tear a nail, and I’m always loath to trim it completely off, especially if it’s low enough where it will hurt to do so. Luckily, I rarely have to. I learned this nifty trick back when I used to be a bank teller and got my nails done weekly. My nail technician taught it to me. You’ll need a toothpick, a piece of coffee filter or tea bag, super glue or nail glue, a tissue and a glass nail file or nail buffer. Make sure your nails are clean and completely dry. Skip the lotion until after you have repaired the nail. Snip a small piece of coffee filter or tea bag so that it forms a patch that will lie over the tear and most of the nail. Carefully apply a small dot of superglue to the tear in the nail. Use a toothpick, don’t dab directly with the superglue, or you will end up with too much! I use the toothpick to gently lift the tear a bit so the glue can get into the crack. Now, using the toothpick, place the piece of filter paper over the tear. The superglue will start to soak into it, creating a patch to hold the nail together. Use the toothpick to readjust the filter paper so it covers the entire tear and goes over the edge of the nail a bit. This gives strength to the tear while the nail grows out. Finally, wad your clean tissue up and press it down on top of the whole thing, being careful not to move the filter. Don’t press so hard that you’re smooshing glue onto your skin. You’re just using the tissue to soak up extra glue and add more strength to the repair. Fuzz = strong repair. After about twenty seconds, pull the tissue away. You’ll be left with a fuzzy mess. Wait for the glue to finish drying, then carefully pull away as much of the tissue as you can. File or buff down the glued tissue until it’s smooth. (The fuzz in the glue keeps the repair strong.) It won’t be pretty, but the tear will be good and strong as it grows out, and you can put nail polish over it, and you won’t even notice it. And that’s that. You work hard in the garden, and so do your hands. You both deserve a little TLC at the end of the day.”