Put the lotion on heavy about an hour before you shower. It will loosen up the dirt. I also use a fine grained sanding block from the hardware store to rub off the callouses.

Vaseline them and then white cotton gloves over night. The gloves will really help prevent a lot of the damage, and you might think about getting a manicure too. :o) No, gloves, use some old white socks.

Corn Huskers Lotion

Someone gave me Evelyn&Crabtree gardener's hand therapy that I love to use at night with gloves. It's magic.I hope they still make it.
I also found at my Marshall's,something called liquid glove barrier cream. It says right on the label,"it's like having a glove in a bottle." It's silicone, lanolin and aloe vera. When I remember to use it, it works wonders and cleanup is a breeze.

Burt's Bees (sold @ Target & some Publix stores, in addition to health food stores) makes a skin salve that's made of beeswax & olive oil - after I used up a tin, I started making my own - much better for skin than petroleum. I never do manicures, yet my cuticles & nails look pretty good.

& a pumice stone is great for callouses & stubborn, ground in stains.

& yes gloves! It is possible to teach ourselves new habits if we set our minds to it. Find some that are comfortable & allow fine motor jobs like pulling small weeds. I like the nitrile ones (which I get @ Publix for a few bucks) - they are so comfortable & lightweight & tough.& it's not only appearances that I'm concerned about, even tho I wear gloves as much as possible, I constantly get annoying cuts & scrapes on my hands which can be easily infected when working w/ dirt, compost & fertilisers.
HTH

Here is a link that might be useful: Some gloves

Thanks guys - some great things to try here and an excuse for a manicure (too right Kathy - I bet I won't forget the gloves after paying $15 to have my nails cleaned up! LOL!)

Burt's is great, but gloves are important, especially in Florida! We have all kinds of nasty bacteria that live in our soil; because of the mild winters it never dies out completely. One of the biggest problems is tetanus. It doesn't take a rusty nail in Florida, just a little time gardening. Don't take a chance... wear gloves!

Kate

I constantly wear out the LEFT glove, I have tons of right-hand gloves !! sally

OK, Ladies, what about feet? I'm a "warm" person, and don't like closed shoes. I wear socks and Crocs and, oh my, I've never had such dirty feet! I bring a green kitchen scrubbie into the shower with me. Right now it's not a problem, because I've had a sprained ankle and have not been in the garden much, having to stay off my feet. At least no heavy work.

I've considered going to sneakers, boots would be way too hot for me. I do wear Nitrile gardening gloves on my hands, and I'm pretty careful to do so. Hands are not as much of a problem for me.

Carol B. in Sarasota

I put 1/4 cup of bleach in my dishwater each time and a capful of bleach in my bath water - hopefully doing this will prevent any soil-borne illness.

It doesn't seem to matter what kind of shoes I wear, my feet always get filthy. Well, not with boots - but boots in the summer???

When I spent a long vacation in the trauma unit then the rehab unit, the rehab doctor was worried silly about my feet. I had these, to his mind, dangerous signs of skin break down from being bed ridden and immobile. I kept trying to tell him that it was just garden dirt embedded callous. Sort of like a mom telling her young child 'wear clean underwear - how would you feel if you were in an accident and the doctor saw your filthy underwear'

he-he

Now, I keep a long handled industrial strength scrub brush hanging in the shower. And some scrubby soap for those really bad times. It does help a lot. That, and lotion, and socks while lotioning.

~dianne

Love it, Dianne!

Ha Ha! I have that exact same problem Dianne! I've ruined all my athletic shoes and all my socks too, Carol, so I can't recommend those and they let in water. My toenails are nothing to be proud of either, though I really try. Maybe the lotion trick...slather them up before you garden...will work for the feet.

The bleach in the bath trick is supposed to combat acne on your body too - so that sounds like a good idea.

Dianne you were in trama and rehab? You are awesome so I am very glad you are still with us.

I keep a pair of Crocs by the back door - the kind w/ no holes. So easy to slip in & out of...

{{gwi:854695}}

I have a pair of flip flops by the back door that I always wear. And in the morning, when taking the dogs out back, I usally end up picking out some weeds, after talking to my garden.

I keep a real cheap bar of soap for gouging my fingernails clean. If you dig your nails into the soap, the dirt will come right out, even on the sides. For dirt in the cracks of skin & cuticles, I use a toothbrush. I never wear gloves and can have my hands clean enough to make dinnner in about 3 minutes, even though I use my hands to claw up chunks of dirt trying to get grass roots and other weed roots out. I also use just my hands to dig smaller holes. Too impatient to go looking for the trowel.

kayjones mentioned bleach, I've often used Comet on my hands to get them clean.

CB in Sarasota

CB -
never thought anyone else used Comet!
Actually, I find the state of my hands and feet are sometimes the source of new gardening friends! To see one, is to know one....
I long ago stopped worrying but don't wear sandals out in public anymore and sometimes use an old toothbrush with bleach under the nails when the occasion calls for it.
One day I stopped at the door to my husband's studio, looking like I usually do when in the yard..covered with dirt, blood running down my legs, plumbago flowers stuck everywhere, smelling less than fragrant,dressed in saggy tank top and torn shorts, and said to him...
"Is this the woman who stole your heart?" His response was something like.."How come when I see photos of other gardeners, they are dressed in long skirts, wearing hats, carrying straw baskets full of flowers?"
So I said, "you're just lucky, I guess."
So no more vanity in my life!
Hester

That is so funny! I work in a corporate environment and have to look at least clean so i appreciate all the tips.

What kind of studio does your husband have? Is he an artist or writer of some type?

Castor oil heals my cuticles and dry feet better than anything else. Just a tiny bit around them when I go to bed at night keep them in good shape. Use cold-pressed organic because the processed kind doesn't have any of the good stuff left in it.