Jan,
My sister with far too much money buys me Crabtree & Evelyn 'Gardeners after work scrub grains' each Christmas. Every member of my family are keen gardners and none of us garden with gloves, and alledgedly they all use this product My tropical garden in Cairns produces dirty hands that I have had trouble cleaning in the past before I tried this product. It really does work well for me and I have leathery hands that garden for more than 20 hours a week. And you only need a small amount to get results. Not sure how much it would cost, but give it a go.
Regards, Darren

g'day jan,

we make our own washing detergent and that acts as liquid hand cleaner, surface cleaner, baked on grime remover you name it. give it a try you will find it is heaps cheaper and enviro' friendly than most things you buy. the recipe is on our remedies page.

len who is swapping isp's so look for new webb address anytime soon now. just in case the new addy will be www.users.bigpond.com/gardenlen1, give me a couple of days for the change to take effect but the current page is still in vogue.

mail len

lens garden page

Hi Jan, I find just cleaning doesn't really do much for getting rid of the roughness, so I have a 'tin'. The tin is a nice looking one and sits on the coffee table. It contains emery boards, nail clippers, a scalpel blade (for digging out splinters, thorns etc, works better than a needle or pin) nail scissors and hand cream. I then can do a bit of repair work while watching my favourite gardening show on TV. Hand cream massaged in and under nails usually gets rid of the green stains and the brown stains and the bits that don't seem to want to leave around the edges of nails. Doesn't need to be an expensive hand cream either.

Robyn

Thanks everyone for posts. might give Lens soap a try too.
Jan

Hi Len
So does this soap recipe end up like a soft soap solution?
that is it can't be formed into blocks like ordinary soap.
Jan

I used to have a recipe for an oatmeal and marmalade scrub. But have been known to resort to plunging in a bucket of bleach with a nail brush. Dear oh dear, will never be chosen for a hand model.

Alison I do the same thing.
And a tub of Rosken Skin Repair brings the hands up good again as smooth as a BB.
Cheers...MM

The trick for me is rubbing in a good dollop of handcream as I go outside BEFORE getting down and dirty!! The grit and grot comes off easily when I wash paws with liquid soap. There are tubes of hand cream in the bathroom, laundry and the posh looking box on the coffee table!! No more stains or rough hands--are there any suggestions for ultra glam nails???
Cheers, Sandra

Jan, olive oil and sugar is said to be a good hand cleaner.

Alison,

Instead of using bleach, a lemon does the trick. It can sting, but then bleach would as well.

thanks everyone
Jan

thought I might add just one more suggestion! I always use oatmeal soap from the supermarket ( we use at work as well - nursery).Also, apply your sunscreen rain hail or shine - this helps! Handcream afterwards is good too if you remember. Glam nails - no such thing in my world no more :)

Sorry for popping in but sugar and olive oil is very good and a natural exfoliant.

Carla

Okay, how much sugar in the olive oil?

Raymondo,
Just put in as much sugar as it takes to make it feel like it's doing something. It doesn't really matter, it is just the texture of the sugar that does the work. You can use salt instead. It also doesn't have to be olive oil, it can be the cheapest vegetable oil you can find.
Cheers,
Dee.

I hate gloves too and after a wash I use an antibacterial gel in a pump pack from the chemist. It dries in the air and does not make the hands rough. I, too, have a pair of scissors handy to keep nails short and to remove broken bits.

Hi everyone
The feedback has been terrific so I am going to try the remedies and see how I go. Thanks everyone.
Jan

Hi everyone
Some time ago I asked about handcleaners. Well I have tried a few and the neutrogena one my daughter gave mne seems to work. Len suggested I try some soap from his page. It didn't seem to work on my hands but I am impressed at the way it does the clothes. I made the one with the water soda crystals, it was cheap, quick and easy to make and the only problem I had was finding enough containers so I elected to only make the 10 litre batch. Works better I find in warm water and for really stubborn stains I use preen oxyaction. Thanks Len.
Jan

Just thought I'd mention quickly that the best thing I've found for nails is the flat setting on the hose nozzle (the $3.98 one from Bunnings). It provides a sharp blast of water that gets out all the dirt from under my nails far better than any scrubbing brush or nail file. They actually end up looking clean, neat and presentable for work within a mintue! Worth a try.

Hi darren
I priced the grains from Crabtree and Evelyn anout $28 very nice though. I am making do with a product called inecto Moisture miracle with pure coconut oil smells lovely. It;s actually a leg and body scrub but has grainy/gritty bits in. I'll be interested to see how it works but thanks everyone for all your posts. Jan

I use simple green to clean my hands
and after I rub some nz gardeners cream called scullys
you can buy it at david jones for about $15
feels lovely smells divine

I think the key is to really rub in a barrier cream before you start and wash your hands with TOOTHPASTE when you've finished.