In summer and autumn, gardeners often and for a long time work on the site and one way or another get dirty with land. And if washing your hands and feet is usually not difficult, then removing dirt from under the nails after the garden is not so simple. There are several tricks you need to know. Marigolds need to be steamed, and if nothing helps, bleach and make up. We present you a selection of effective ways.
How to deal with garden dirt under the nails?
You need to start with the fact that it is better to avoid marigold pollution than to then eliminate the consequences of working in the garden. To do this, you need to accustom yourself to gloves. Yes, at first it’s unusual to wear them, but soon an understanding will come of how many advantages this gives - the skin on the hands does not crack, remains smooth, corns do not appear, nails do not break. In the warmer months, it is recommended to use cotton gloves. It is important to choose a suitable size, then it will be convenient to work in them.
The dirt accumulated under the nails is removed only after washing the hands and steaming the nail plates. Otherwise, there is a high risk of skin injury and infection.
If you work in a garden without gloves, soak a piece of soap in the morning and gently scratch it with your nails. The space will fill up and dirt will not get under the nails.
Cleansers
Few people take a professional manicure set to the site. Most often you have to do with a minimum of cleaning.
List of required materials:
- Soap. To remove garden dirt, any soap is suitable: toilet, household, solid, liquid, antibacterial. And if it was not at hand, you can use a detergent for dishes or shampoo. Before cleaning your nails, it is recommended to soap your hands and wait 3-5 minutes. So all the dirt will get wet and move away easier.
- Orange stick Uncomplicated manicure tools made of soft and durable orange wood allow you to gently and effectively clean the space under your nails. This area is particularly sensitive to damage, so you should not use various hairpins, sticks, toothpicks or other improvised means.
- Nail brush. A special cosmetic brush helps clean up inaccessible places from dirt. For greater efficiency, it is recommended that you first steam out the nails.
- Bath with warm water. When steamed, the skin of the hands and nails become malleable and easy to clean. In water, you can make soap or use folk recipes. A five-minute procedure is enough for easy and quick cleaning of nails.
- Moisturizing cream. After work in the garden, the condition of the skin and nails leaves much to be desired. They become rough, tightened, covered with cracks. Therefore, at the final stage of cleaning, it is useful to apply a greasy cream on your hands (you can use it for children).
If a suitable tool for cleaning nails is not at hand, arm yourself with an old toothbrush.
How to remove dirt from under the nails?
It is no secret that the bulk of the work in the garden falls on May and September. Many in these months do not even try to do a manicure. And only when the period of relative calm begins, they are interested in how to clean the dirt from under the nails and put their hands in order. However, by this time the black plaque eats up so much that it is almost impossible to remove it. It is better to carry out cleaning procedures regularly, then there will not be any difficulties.
How to clean garden dirt from under the nails?
- Fill a small basin or bowl with warm water.
- Dilute the soap in it and lower your hands there for 5 minutes.
- Clean the dirt with an orange stick and a nail brush.
- Spread your hands with moisturizer.
If the skin under the nails has stained, a colored varnish coating will help to hide the defect.
Folk ways
There are many recipes that help to achieve perfect clean nails after the garden. Most importantly, all products are readily available and are prepared from simple products.
- Rhubarb and sorrel juice. If there are these plants in the garden, at the end of work, you need to break off the stem and rub the contaminated places with juice. Whitens instantly!
- Bath with milk. It is necessary to dissolve in 1 liter of water 1 tbsp. spoon of soap, add 100 ml of milk and 1 tbsp. a spoonful of sugar. Hold your hands for 10 minutes, and then brush your nails.
- Sour berries: currants, raspberries and others. The acids that they contain also have a whitening effect. It is necessary to crush the berries into the pulp and mash it with nails for 2-3 minutes.
- Starch. To clean the stubborn dirt, you need to brew 1 tbsp. a spoonful of starch a liter of boiling water. When the liquid cools down a little, you should hold your hands in it for 5-7 minutes.
- Lemon juice makes your nails snow-white. You need to squeeze the juice out of a quarter of a lemon and apply it on washed nails. For greater effectiveness, wearing gloves is recommended. After 10 minutes, the juice can be washed off with warm water.
- Hydrogen peroxide helps cleanse dirt. You need to mix 1 tbsp. a spoonful of detergent, 300 ml of water and 100 ml of peroxide and lower the nails into the solution for 7 minutes.
- A bath with herbs not only cleans, but also strengthens the nails. Take 1 tbsp. spoon of chamomile, nettle, linden, burdock, sage. Pour 1 liter of boiling water. After 20 minutes, strain the broth and use undiluted for the bath. The treatment time is 15 minutes.
Also popular is the rustic method of combating garden dirt under the nails - hand wash. After work, wash your socks with your hands, preferably using laundry soap. Hands will be cleansed and brighten - checked!
Each of these recipes and methods is effective for cleaning nails from dirt from the garden. But some of them are contraindicated in wounds and abrasions on the skin. In case of damage, do not use lemon, sorrel, rhubarb, sour berries.
Now that you know how to quickly wash your hands off the ground, you can safely combine gardening with others.