Do you wear gloves when gardening? That will help. Also, I get manicures every two weeks, which keeps my cuticles neat and clean. I don't often have colors, preferring pale pink or clear polish. I use Nivea hand cream after washing my hands every single time.

I do wear gloves when I plan on using my hands in the soil, but there are many times I'm not planning to, and my hands get dirty anyway.

In the summer I generally don't do my nails very often because I'm hard on my hands with gardening.

I use garden gloves and cuticle cream religiously. I always get one containing vitamin e. I also use Vaseline and wear gloves for sleeping. Not attractive, can be warm in summer but it's the only way I can keep cuticles soft enough to resist the need to cut them or bite them.

Dry winter weather is tough on my cuticles. Doing dishes w/o gloves is tough too. Regular manicures help but I don't get them regularly anymore.

Once a manicurist removed my cuticles with a stone tool of sorts. My nails became dull and got ridges on them. A new manicurist then would rub this cream into my cuticles once a week for months, and eventually, my nails went back to normal.

Christian Dior Creme Apricot fortifying cream for nails.

ETA The healing could have been helped by the fact that I was 25 at the time. My nails have become ridged agin for no apparent reason other than I am 49 now, so I'll see if the apricot cream works.

cuticle oil. I'm not where I can get to mine, so I'll have to update with the brand.

The only thing that has ever worked for me for cracked "gardening" skin and cuticles is Kerasal Exfoliating Moisturizer. Works on calluses and cracks on feet, too.

I've been using a fantastic nail care kit I first tried at Canyon Ranch some years ago. It did wonders, but for the life of me I can't remember if I have the name right. I'll add it after I check.

Edited to note the name is : www.nailbuffs.com The main page says Nail Buffs by Taras

I also find rubbing my nails and cuticles with vitamin E has been helpful.

Slather on lotion, then pull on a pair of rubber gloves and wash the dishes in hot water!

Slather on the Norwegian Formula that is like Vaseline at night, slip on those little cotton gloves made for this purpose, and in the morning they should look much better.

Then, go for a manicure with polish. It forces me to leave my nails alone.

Bag Balm. I hate the smell of that stuff but it works wonders. DH's hands are so nasty and he uses it on them and it makes them soft and the cracks heal up fast.

I've put it on my cuticles before bed, after my shower slathered it on really well. The next morning I wake up and they're much softer and then I trim them with a special cuticle trimmer. I keep these everywhere, at my office, in my purse. Whenever my cuticles get cracked I trim them with this trimmerRevlon Trimmer

Drink a lot of water, too!

Soak your cuticles several minutes until soft and wet and then gently push them back with an orange stick or other similar tool. Then let them dry completely so they are hard. Once hard, use acuticle trimmer to cut off all the ragged edges...if the cuticles are soft, they won't cut so much as tear, so be patient. Once trimmed, you'll be less likely to pick at them.

After that, use a good cuticle cream like burt's bees and a hand cream. Put it on at night then slip on gloves that will help moisturize your hands over night.

Be very religious about wearing gloves when gardening. I love the rubber coated gloves as they really keep your nails protected, yet provide excellent grip for pulling weeds or handling garden tools and such, and they are comfortable and inexpensive.

Another thing to do is when you wash your hands, as you are drying them, gently use the towel to push back your cuticles. My MIL who was blind and couldn't even trim her own nails did this regularly and her cuticles were always lovely.

The Bag Balm reviews were quite impressive so I ordered a tin. I like that it was made for animals, and it seems humans are using it also, not just for dry skin, but for scratches and rough paws. Woof!

I'd love to wear gloves at night but there's no way considering all the times I have to blow my nose, & my kitty insists on having her cheeks rubbed a couple of times during the night. If not, she'll dive bomb my hands. lol

Annie, that's a great idea about pushing back the cuticles with the dish towel.

I think it is not so much gardening without gloves (I do it all the time), but rather the care after you come in and wash your hands. My cuticles are perfect, but I do apply vaseline and push them back when I think of it. I have never cut them (my grandmother was adamant about never doing that! Ha.). Have also heard good things about Bag Balm. Good luck. Oh, and if you wear simple old-fashioned white cotton gloves to bed after applying moisturizer, they fit close enough that blowing and rubbing should not be a problem really.

Cyn, you're right. I mostly use lotion in the winter but in summer my hands usually aren't dry, so I skip the process after they're in water.

I haven't had a pair of white gloves since I was a little girl. I'll see if I can find some.

I haven't had a pair of white gloves since I was a little girl. I'll see if I can find some.

They aren't white and they're probably more expensive than the white ones, but around here most grocery/drug stores have thin cotton gloves near the hand and foot creams.

When I was looking at cuticle creams on Amazon they had a pair of white gloves off to the side and I thought they were rubber. I use those in the kitchen when I'm handling meat. So I bet Amazon does carry special gloves. Thanks!

Yep, we used to wear those gloves to church and when we went into Philadelphia-always had to dress for that.

Please Oakley, this is the only product you'll need. CND Solar Oil...

https://cnd.com/products/nail-essentials/treatment-essentials/solaroil

Yes Begonia! That is what I use. It smells good too. I agree with Cyn, it's how you treat your hands/skin not the gloves. The only time I wear garden gloves is if I'm dealing with something with thorns. I hate gloves. I don't wear them when cleaning either. I do use body butter (cream with lots of good oils, etc.) year round (hands and feet too). I try to use hand cream during the day too, but don't always remember. And Cyn, I have never, ever cut my cuticles.

I can honestly say that I have no cuticles. I started using Dove bar soap when it first came out and my mother started buying it. She coached me, as a little girl, to push my cuticles back with the soapy washcloth while still in the bath or shower. I still use Dove.

After I'm done with kitchen duty in the evening, I rub a dab of coconut oil into my hands and nails, again pushing back the cuticles. I've never needed a manicure, cuticle cream or trimming.

I have had the best results from using Revlon cuticle cream every night. It is waxy so stays put.

I use aquaphor before bed then don gloves for at least 30 minutes. If I need it during the day I use less followed by hand cream which seems to lessen the oilyness of aquaphor. I also use it on my feet at night with golf/tennis socks.

I was wrong, the brand I am using now is Sally Hansen cuticle massage cream. Put it on before bed, it stays on all night. Scrub it off in the am along with all the dry skin. I also like Burts Bees, it smells fab.

I keep Solar Oil at my desk at work and recently picked up the Burt Bees cuticle balm. I have pretty ragged cuticles so I'm always rubbing them with some type of cream, lotion or oil on them. I also picked up Formula 10 cuticle remover and I was quite impressed. I have a metal tool for pushing back your cuticles and use it with the Formula 10 right after getting out of the shower. I think for dry cuticles you just have to keep them moisturized as much as you can. I also have the cuticles clippers but find when I actually trim my cuticles they end up shredding.

Rhizo, you do have cuticles even though they're pushed back?

I'm going to give Bag Balm a shot and if it doesn't work, I'll try something else. I also have another problem and it will be interesting to see if the balm works since it's supposed to help with many skin ailments.

My elbows aren't dry at all, soft as a baby's tush. But every couple of months, one or both of them will start peeling with no warning. You know how you peel after you get a sunburn? Just like that. I have no choice but to buff the skin off, or pull it off like I used to as a kid, lol, and then it sometimes scabs up! WTH?

Oakley, I meant that I have no visible cuticles.

That cuticle cream really helps remove the dead drying skin. When you have healthy cuticles they blend right in with your nails. I have been neglecting mine due to SO needing his snuggle time at night and that cuts into my evening beauty routine, lol! It really makes a huge difference to stay on them with the cream though.