Clean hands

Hello fellow Permies,

How do you get your hands clean?

I'm playing outside most days and get my hands dirty.
If I then have to get all neat and tidy for an occasion involving peoples who don't get 'playing outside', I'm in deep trouble with my hands.
It seems no matter how well I scrub them, there's always some blackness left deep in the grooves of my hands.
How do you do it? How do you get all neat and tidy after all that digging and planting?

I keep my nails very short and use a nail brush if needed. I do wear lightweight formfitting gloves when working with soil.

I should note that I come back inside the house intermittently and clean my hands when I'm taking a break. I also make a nice salve to use at night (cocoa butter, beeswax, jojoba oil, sometimes herbal infusions).

Start with a protective balm, before you even go outside - preferably one with a beeswax base. It will fill those cracks as well as moisturizing them, and both of those actions will make it much easier. When cleaning, a good nail brush will also help.  Some folks will wear gloves to do everything. I'll wear them when it's possible, but I can't wear them, for everything - they get in the way, and often make it more difficult to do small things.

Carla Burke wrote:Start with a protective balm, before you even go outside - preferably one with a beeswax base. It will fill those cracks as well as moisturizing them, and both of those actions will make it much easier. When cleaning, a good nail brush will also help.  Some folks will wear gloves to do everything. I'll wear them when it's possible, but I can't wear them, for everything - they get in the way, and often make it more difficult to do small things.

Thanks Carla, this puts me on the right track!
I was already using a good nail brush, but I prefer to do most of the garden work with my bare hands (and tools obviously), gloves oftentimes do get in the way of things... so my hands are in bit of a rough shape at the moment.
I'll make myself a Garden balm, based on beeswax as you say! I think I'll be adding calendula- and plantain infused jojoba oil - that should do the trick.
Thanks again