Gardener's Tools for Skin Care

-
By July, gardener's hands and nails are showing signs of doing "just one more thing" without gloves. Fingers and wrists are a little grumpy in the morning from repetitive weed-pulling action. Arms and calves are spotted with poison ivy and bug bites.

What are your favorite products for combating gardener wear?
I confess to using Deep Woods or Backwoods strength bug bite protection. I know I'm supposed to use something more health-food-store-ish but haven't found anything effective enough. Do you know a product that works as well?
sent me a sample of their deep-cleansing hand scrub and replenishing hand cream and they are wonderful.

Their site calls the scent "clipped grass, aromatic parsley, cool watercress, dewy moss and a pinch of pink peppercorn."
That sounds like the wine descriptions of a hint of this and that which I can never taste - but the cream has a pleasing, soft, clean scent.

The hand scrub is refined enough to make my hands look renewed without being torn, if you know what I mean. Some of the scrubs on the market seem to remove a little too much.

The hand cream soaked in immediately and left no watery or greasy residue - I could use my hands right away without sort of waiting for them to dry. The skin softening effect lasted most of the day.
The other product I use religiously now is Burt's Bees Poison Ivy Soap. The trick for me was learning that I have to use it every time I come in to shower, not just when I think I have contacted poison ivy.

Even if I still get a few bumps, I continue to wash arms and legs with the soap and it dries up any small rash that I get. So far, it has replaced the prescription medication I have had to use in the past.


So what works for you?

Comments

Anonymous said…
I like Tecnu to prevent poison ivy and Crabtree and Evelyn's Gardeners Hand Therapy Cream for trying to keep my hands soft. I had some French soap that was made just for gardeners and loved it -- it really got your hands clean -- but it got lost the last time we moved and I didn't have a brand name. Really miss it.
July 22, 2008 at 9:36 AM
Molly said…
Hi Judy - Thanks a bunch for the Tecnu tip. I checked out their site and it is sold at Walgreens's so I might be able to find it here.

Boy, doesn't that Evelyns Gardeners Hand Therapy work well? I haven't found it locally and forget to buy it online.

I'll be looking for Tecnu this week.
Martha
July 22, 2008 at 8:31 PM
Anonymous said…
I use Burt's Bees insect oil. Can't remember the exact name right now. Love it. You do have to reapply. I'm headed out to the garden before it gets too hot.~~Dee
July 23, 2008 at 6:28 AM
Anonymous said…
Judy - I found the Tecnu today and while, I can't say I'm eager to contact the stuff again, at least I'm armed now. Thanks.

Dee, The Burt's Bees product is new to me and I'm going to look for that one next.
July 25, 2008 at 11:33 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Moldy Tulip Bulbs

-
Image
Moldy tulip bulbs are a big disappointment when you are hoping to fill a bed or some pots. It is not that unusual for their skins to have a bit of penicillin mold but these are beyond that tad bit stage. Mold penetrating tulip bulb  Mold on emerging tulip bulb growth  So, what to do? The plant references say to throw them out and buy new ones but I already spent $22 for 50 of these white tulip beauties. First, they got a soak in 1% bleach solution in the kitchen sink in the hope that the bleach would stop the mold from continuing to grow without killing the life force in the bulb itself. After a good slosh around, I wiped them off to see how much damage was beneath the blue and black.  This tulip bulb is soft to the touch and there is little chance it will thrive in the soil. This basal root on these have been ruined by mold. The final step I took to try to salvage part of them  was to spray them thoroughly with fungicide.  They are all planted in the
Read more

Propagate Begonia Stem Cuttings in water - Cane-like Angel Wing Begonia

-
Image
Propagating by stem cuttings is just about the easiest way to make more begonias for next summer's garden. During the fall, I regularly trim off 3-node long cuttings and put them into the growing pots where they take root. Now that cold weather has arrived, I root the stem cuttings in a vase of water. It's a great way to produce more pots of Begonias for next summer's garden. Water the plant well the day before. Take a cutting about 4-inches long, with 3 nodes, from a healthy stem. Use a perfectly clean container. Rinse the container with a drop of bleach if you are uncertain about its spotlessness. Remove all but the top leaf or two. There should be no leaves in the water. The cutting should  have a healthy leaf node at the bottom. Don't leave a stub below the node. Place the cutting into the water, and place the container out of the sun. In a couple of weeks, you will see new roots beginning to form. Check the water periodically to make sure it is still f
Read more

Create Nesting Areas for Birds and Wildlife

-
Image
From the website, Choose Natives , this lovely and instructive article helped remind me to continue to increase the amount of habitat and nesting that we provide in our garden. Many, though not all, are native or considered to be native in Oklahoma. So, I did a little research on each recommended plant and provided a link to more information. You'll see the plant name in italics - those are my links for your edification. Here's the post Derek Stoner, Project Coordinator for the Delaware Nature Society, helped restore the 860-acre Middle Run Natural Area by “intensive habitat management”, including planting 12,000 trees and shrubs.  His lecture, ‘ Native Plants for Nesting Birds: Connecting Flora and Fauna’,  given to a group of enthusiasts at the Millersville Native Plant Conference   in Pennsylvania, focused on his observations. Here are Derek’s landscaping recommendations for attracting birds: Plant shrubs in clusters (“habitat circles”) that will create the dense
Read more