I've found the only thing that works almost perfectly is spraying my nails with the 'Center' setting from my multiple setting hose nozzle.

Or rake your nails across a bar of soap before gardening which will keep the majority of the dirt from getting under the nails as it is already full of soap that washes out a whole lot easier than dirts. (Doesn't work as well with "intensive" digging though.)

Yes, I do the soap raking thing too. Although tbf, I don't care too much about being a filthoid.

So does the OP. They say they have 'almost non-existent nails.'

I wear gloves for most things but not seed sowing or firming in plants. In that case I find a nail brush adequate or just wait until I wash my hair. I'm surprised the latter doesn't wourk. This must be very tenacious soil.

Eta my first two sentences now make no sense since the post before it has been deleted.

Perhaps I should have said I do wear gloves while gardening……but even my leather gloves don’t keep the dirt from getting under my nails. I will try these suggestions……nitrile gloves under my garden gloves is something I was thinking about…..

Anyone else, keep the suggestions coming……and yes, I do have very short nails. I also have eczema just on my fingertips, but that’s another issue!

debra

but even my leather gloves don’t keep the dirt from getting under my nails.

Hey debra, I think it was @gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9) that recommended these gloves awhile back

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B007VR8X2W/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_image?ie=UTF8&psc=1

They are superb for keeping my hands (including nails) clean...maybe not perfect but for sure better than cloth/leather gloves.

These gloves fit tight enough that I am able to weed while wearing them.

Another vote for nitrile gloves, which I find indispensable. I use these - the medium size fits my hands really well: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005MSY76S/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

There are heaps of nitrile gloves with knitted backs and rubbery palms - I wear some green ones and even some thermal ones when freezy. They are fine enough for most basic garden work apart from seed sowing. If I didn't wear garden gloves,my hands would truly be beyond the pale...but even so, my nails still manage to get pretty filthy. I am looking at them now in some shame (but only a little bit).

Like stretchmarks,(childbirth) scabby arms (roses) and rufty-tufty knees(grovelling in the dirt), I do feel a certain amount of pride in carrying the marks of experience and toil.

mikgag, while possibly not being entirely serious, you do have a point. I was a ferocious and helplessly uncontrolled nailbiter for years and years...until my teeth finally paid the price for a lifetime of sweet-toothery. While I still had nice teeth, I had cleanish, if savagely chewed nails. Now, I have beautiful shapely fingernails (albeit skanky) as dentures just don't cut the mustard when it comes to nail chomping.

Gloves

hey be gentle on those fingertips

the ezema is telling you something

I’m more concerned anout that than dirt.

if you get those horrible cracked painful fingertips those can be an entry points for infection.

if youve been using different products in your hands these may be drying out your hands and contributing the ezema.

soap and hot water dry out skin too

i find dirt itself drying

some of what you call dirt may be stains or traces of dirt in the cuticles.

if you arent being followed by a dermatologist i’d encourage you to see one.

just an idea which is a variation on the emollient and gloves at bedtime for ezema or very dry hand skin:

grease up your hands real good then put on the nitral goves ( or latex- those blue very thin ones) then the gardening gloves

DH keeps me awake with his scratching his ezemetious legs ( is this a word?) i go to his derm visits and have received a vicarious education.

His derm recommends Ceravae healing ointment. it is occlusive and greasy.

when evelyn and crabtree existed they made a wonderful product called Gardener’S Handsoap. Alas , no more.Just stay away from harsh products and treatments

thise gloves are 64$ for a dozen not a pair!

Crabtree and Evelyn still exist. Both gardeners’ soap and gardeners’ handcream are available on line.

A product I have sworn by for several decades is called Gloves in a Bottle. It does not take care of soil under the nails completely, but if your soil is at all like mine -- it stains untreated skin rather badly. This stuff is a thin lotion, non-scented and keeps my skin hydrated well. Washing dirty hands is made easy and no staining from the soil. I DO use an ancient paring knife to clean under my nails as needed... I simply cannot garden with gloves, lol.

I love it so much that I finally bought it in the gallon size! The Big A** carries it in many offerings. It isn't cheap but IMHO absolutely worth it!! Oh, and it is supposed to be good for eczema as well!

@roxanna - Hadn't heard of that product. Since I wear gloves and change them often during a gardening day, but STILL get dirty nails, I ordered a small bottle to try. I filtered the reviews on "dirt" and it got good recommendations from others for helping dirt wash off. I'm going to try it on my toes too! Thanks for the recommendation.

Marie, I do see a dermatologist and I have a cream as well. Unfortunately, that does not do much even when worn with gloves at night. The fingertips crack and bleed. I almost always have at least one bandage on. When the cracks are really bad I superglue the together!

I am using some products by Ezcema Honey including a gentle soap. Water and cold weather are the worst enemies.

Thanks for all the suggestions! I will try and see what works.

debra

Debra, I hope you find something that works. DH really suffers from the cracked hands.

I'm sure you know that cream is different than an occlusive product. One's absorbed the

other keeps moisture and reduces moisture loss. He tried the glue, too! and those fingertip things which roll off in minutes.

Floral It looks to me like the products are not sold by C & E. the original retail purveyer. There are other sellers, such as Walmart, Amazon and some dubious outfits . Some of the products are marked up expotentially. I was mistaken about the product I remembered. It was a bar handsoap with pumice.

Gloves. I don't get how you guys are still getting dirt under your nails if you're wearing the right glove for the job and they're not too worn. Maybe a small bit of dirt or debris gets in though the cuff and down toward the hands, but if you're getting a lot of dirt in the gloves, you need to re-examine the gloves you're using. Are they worn and need replacement? Are they the right gloves for the job? For example, if you plant wearing knit or cloth gloves, yea you're probably going to get dirty and damp hands -- working in the dirt calls for a glove with little permeability (I like Mud Gloves)

Luxury Bath, Body & Hair Care | Crabtree & Evelyn (crabtree-evelyn.co.uk) They still have stores over here and even if bought from another source they make the stuff.

Surgical style gloves and sometimes garden light gloves on top when foing something that can tear up gloves easily.

I have loads of it and just go thru like in OR 😆

Otherwise I can never clean them enough.

I agree on using soap before getting hands dirty. I also have tons of hand lotions and barely use doap.

The problem with the disposable surgical-style gloves is they're contributing to the trash problem. It would be better to invest in non-disposable nitrile gloves or something similar.

Simply Mud Gloves - nitrile gloves - soft yet durable | Garden Artisans, LLC

There's all sorts of options in various price ranges at the local garden store or supercenter, really is no good reason to use disposables for gardening chores.

If you can, perhaps try day treating your hands. Use your cream or an ointment with the thin cotton treatment gloves- under your gardening gloves. The cream/ointment fills the nails, treats the skin, and protects it under the cotton glove. The gardening glove protects that. It can feel a bit off, so not the greatest if you are planning a fine hand day like seeding. But no problem for a lot of other things. And you can wash the cotton gloves unlike disposables. I used to have some fingertip issues in the past and the day treat helped the skin and protection a lot more than just gardening gloves. Cotton gloves can also be great for better fit with looser overgloves or for sweat issues in some overgloves.

Gloves, I use them a lot. If you are getting dirt up in your leathers either you have holes/need new ones or you are getting it up your wrists. If you are using open cuff, try ruched/elastic cuff. If you are using short cuff, try finding a longer cuff glove. Or consider getting long cuff cotton gloves to wear inside your leathers. If your gloves are great and just got messy, take time to turn them inside out and fully brush them. If you got an air gun and can blow them out, that's great too. If you have gloves that can be wet like the rubber hand with mesh back types- wash them. Rinse them well with the hose, take time once in a while to turn inside out and use a squirt of dish soap if they get really muddy or gunky.

Don't be afraid or unwilling to get rid of your used up gloves and get new ones. Yes, a hole in the finger sucks, yes cracks, tears, ect is a bummer. And yes, you could still get a little more use or just use them light duty or... stop. While sometimes leather can get repaired, most of the time it's OK and even necessary to get new ones. Gloves can be one of the most used and worn out tools in the gardeners shed.

Take time to find and get gloves that actually fit. A sloppy glove can make work more difficult and cause you more fingertip friction than necessary. A lot of box stores have a variety of sizes and styles. If you have little hands, look at kids gloves, especially at farm work kinds of stores. Farm work stores often carry sturdier gloves for kids than a lot of big box stores.

i find that it’s nail staining from the dirt that’s the hardest to remove. Gloves. Discard any with holes/rips. I buy multiple pairs to leave by the doors. I try to remember to stick a pair in my pocket whenever I step outside as invariably my hands end up in the soil pulling an errant weed or checking soil moisture.

Wow! Lots of terrific recommendations! I did try surgical gloves under the garden gloves and that worked, but as mxk3 says, it does contribute to plastic waste which I don’t really want to do. I buy new gloves quite a bit. The suggestion to use a scrunchie around the wrist opening is a good idea. I want to try the soap idea. And mkx3, I just ordered a pair of mud gloves as you recommended. Many of you recommend nitrile gloves, but I have not had luck with those either. The Mud Gloves seem to be entirely nitrile and not just on the fingers and Palm so I am thinking those will work.

AlsoDesign Fan, great idea to leave gloves at doorways because as you said, I am always picking at those errant weeds.

debra

I consider the dirt in my nails a badge of honor, for being one with the earth and the soil. I grow the nails on my right hand long for fingerstyle guitar and they get quite dirty. A regular hard brush with lots of soap gets rid of all but a tiny amount of dirt.👋🤚🖐✋️🖖

Hi Jay, don't know your mileage but after 60 my skin just dried up, particularly on my hands.

I could find posts here where I said "no gloves, bring on the dirt" If one's hands get so dry they hurt,gloves feel good. But I used to revel in my dirty nails and even dirty feet.

Hi Marie, I'm 64. I lose myself in the garden, and I get too involved to run and get gloves. I do wear gloves when handling my prickly pear cacti and thistles, or poison ivy. I use a trowel or hori hori knife for digging holes. Sometimes I use my hand to dig holes if the soil is soft. My skin is a lot dryer than it was when I was younger, not so much on my hands but other places. I have to where the thick rubber gloves with the cactus, because the thorns go right through fabric and leather gloves. I love thorny plants.

I tried the soap under my nails yesterday and that also worked well……still waiting for my Mudd Gloves.

debra

I used to be a goldsmith and our entire hands and nails would get embedded with black polishing compound.

There were two theories. One, using a stiff scrub brush at the end of the day, did not work and they went home with dirtyish hands that never got completely clean. The other, using the stiff scrub brush after each time polishing to completely remove the compound, was the only way to always have clean hands and nails.

And if your hands get all dry and cracked, especially from scrubbing a lot, Bag Balm was always the fastest way to relieve the pain and heal the cracking.

ah, bag balm great stuff

really all the petroleum based skin products are si good on skin….many come in nice tins too…..

Oh, yea -- Bag Balm! Great on feet, too (overnight with socks on)

but not that different from "Working Hands" and "Burt's Bees" and Cera Vae's thickest greasiest stuff;

My mother always dragged her nails across a bar of Ivory soap before gardening, so the soap would keep the dirt from getting under her nails. I have tried that a few times. Sometimes it seems to help, other times it doesn't.

Hummingbird Farm, whose primary business is ”Clematis For The Frozen North” sells handmade soap

the Gardeners Handsoap csught my eye.because it looks soothing and has pumice in it ,

it looks like there about 20 other ”flavors”

BTW their clems get good reviews

My Mudd arrived and using soap under my nails and the gloves have kept my nails clean. I will try cream, cotton gloves and the Mudd gloves as well. I can not use a wire brush when my fingertips are cracked, the wire is painful.

debra

irIn the last 2 years dirt makes me itch and break out. I use kitchen gloves. The orange pair is for playing in the dirt and the yellow pair is for pulling up poison Ivy. My birds like to sit in the trees and deposit the seeds with personalized liquid fertilizer amoung the shade plants.. My hands sweat and the gloves do get stinky so I have to wash out the inside and outside with bathroom and tile cleaner mixed with Dawn. I hope you find something that works for you.

If my task involves getting wet, I have used kitchen gloves…..but I am finding that either soap under my nails and/or cotton gloves underneath garden gloves does the trick!!

debra