I've never liked wearing gloves. They are simply too hot in the summer time and cause me to lose dexterity with my fingers. This fall and early winter, I've done a lot of heavy manual work in my garden which has resulted in heavily calloused hands. I wouldn't mind so much except the callouses crack near my finger nails and finger joints. The cracks penetrate into the flesh and are sometimes painful. I used to fill the cracks with my wifes fingernail polish, but started using super glue a few years ago. It seems to work better and last longer than fingernail polish. The callouses sometimes get so thick, I have to sand them down to relieve the cracking.
I've always wondered how ladies, who like to garden and have manicured fingernails on soft hands; manage to do both. Do you have a secret skin cream or do you wear gloves? How do you care for your hands?
Ted
I'm like you as far as wearing gloves. I dislike using them and my hands, like yours, suffer the same ill effects. I get deep cracks in my finger joints and along the sides of my nails that can be quite painful at times.
My wife bought me some hand lotion made by Avon. It is called Silicone Glove and helps with the cracking and aids in healing them a lot faster. I generally don't like oily stuff on my hands unless I'm working on a motor and such, but this stuff absorbs pretty fast and is not all that oily once absorbed.
As far as the ladies, I have no idea how they do it and not have hands like a longshoreman.
My wife bought me some hand lotion made by Avon. It is called Silicone Glove and helps with the cracking and aids in healing them a lot faster. I generally don't like oily stuff on my hands unless I'm working on a motor and such, but this stuff absorbs pretty fast and is not all that oily once absorbed.
As far as the ladies, I have no idea how they do it and not have hands like a longshoreman.
I wear lightweight gardening gloves. They're like t-shirt fabric, with the palm area and fingers coated with some kind of soft plasticky-rubbery stuff to provide a better grip. I think I got them at Home Depot. They were just a couple of dollars a pair, so I bought several pair in different colors. I think I have a lifetime supply of gardening gloves! 
They had some sized for men, too, in dark blue or dark green, as I recall. It's been awhile since I bought them.
I often go poking around in my indoor plant containers without bothering to put on gloves, but I have my nails done regularly, and working outside without gloves will wreck them in a hurry.
Years ago, when I was rehabbing wildlife and working at the Humane Society, I developed very deep and painful cracks in the palms of both hands from having them in strong disinfectants so often, and washing them so much. My doctor was horrified when I showed them to him. He told me to put Eucerin cream on the area, lay a piece of clear plastic wrap over the cream, and then bandage my hands with gauze. It worked like a charm, and the cracks were healed within a couple of weeks.
They had some sized for men, too, in dark blue or dark green, as I recall. It's been awhile since I bought them.
I often go poking around in my indoor plant containers without bothering to put on gloves, but I have my nails done regularly, and working outside without gloves will wreck them in a hurry.
Years ago, when I was rehabbing wildlife and working at the Humane Society, I developed very deep and painful cracks in the palms of both hands from having them in strong disinfectants so often, and washing them so much. My doctor was horrified when I showed them to him. He told me to put Eucerin cream on the area, lay a piece of clear plastic wrap over the cream, and then bandage my hands with gauze. It worked like a charm, and the cracks were healed within a couple of weeks.
I wear gloves when I am using rakes, & shovels and when I am working in areas that I can't see where I am putting my hands such as underneath and around some of my bushes. I like the feel of the dirt and the plants in my bare hands when I am planting, re-potting, weeding and checking moisture level of course. I have had one manicure in my life and I am almost 48. I keep my nails short and use a lot of lotion year round so that my husband still will want to hold my hand. 
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NorthCoastGardener
- Full Member
- Posts: 31
- Joined: Fri Aug 06, 2010 3:34 pm
- Location: Eureka, California
I use gloves when pruning roses and other shrubs. When I can get away with it I don't use gloves. I received a pair of very flexible gloves from my mother-in-law (sounds similar to the t-shirt fabric version mentioned previously) that allows me plenty of movement for planting plants and particularly planting bulbs. I use gloves about half the time in the garden, but I also I like the feel of the dirt when planting.
OK. I haven't seen my particular "system" mentioned yet, so I'll tell y'all why I have (had) so many unused right-hand gloves and so many left-hand gloves with holes in the fingers. 
I use most garden tools with my right hand. In order not to lose fine control, I don't want a leather glove in the way. (I never wear cotton gardening gloves; only working/leather gloves.) But the hand which supports a large % of my upper body weight--because I cannot kneel and must bend over--gets the glove. Occasionally there are garden jobs I can do sitting on a 5-gallon bucket with a bucket seat (courtesy of Duluth Trading https://duluthtrading.com ), and then the left hand gathers branches, weeds, twigs, etc. or simply accepts them from the right and throws them into a bin for removal to the yard-waste container this city uses.
I won't even try to describe weeding by bending over, but it's a left-gloved activity as well.
My right-hand gloves do see some action, though, and much of said action is coming up very soon:
--pruning roses
--pruning blackberries
I bought "rose gloves" a couple of years ago. They were up to the mid-forearm but *not* up to the task, believe me.
Good money down the drain and, given my erratic employment situation, this is painful. But since it's a matter of health and safety due to sporothrix schenckii, a fungus on rose thorns which can invade the bloodstream, I'm trying a different make of "long-armed" gloves this year.
I was driven to use gloves on both hands when we had successful zucchini plants in 2008, but we didn't plant zukes in 2009 and, in 2010, the entirety of northern California had such a cold summer that many gardeners' zucchini plants failed completely, ours among them. But the skin rash that accompanied my tending of our two plants was fierce. The initial pair of rose gloves was useful for this protection. The only on-line info I can find this evening about contact irritant dermatitis pertains to butternut and acorn squash preparation in the kitchen ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irritant_contact_dermatitis ), but my reaction was to the spines on the stems and underside of the leaves on my zucchini plants.
A couple of years ago, another gardener on one of my Freecycle lists posted a swap request. She wanted useable right-hand gloves and would give the swap partner useable left-hand gloves! Perfect! I think we gave each other six or seven gloves.
So I know I'm not absolutely the only gardener who uses the one-glove method, but there don't seem to be too many of us.
Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9
I use most garden tools with my right hand. In order not to lose fine control, I don't want a leather glove in the way. (I never wear cotton gardening gloves; only working/leather gloves.) But the hand which supports a large % of my upper body weight--because I cannot kneel and must bend over--gets the glove. Occasionally there are garden jobs I can do sitting on a 5-gallon bucket with a bucket seat (courtesy of Duluth Trading https://duluthtrading.com ), and then the left hand gathers branches, weeds, twigs, etc. or simply accepts them from the right and throws them into a bin for removal to the yard-waste container this city uses.
I won't even try to describe weeding by bending over, but it's a left-gloved activity as well.
My right-hand gloves do see some action, though, and much of said action is coming up very soon:
--pruning roses
--pruning blackberries
I bought "rose gloves" a couple of years ago. They were up to the mid-forearm but *not* up to the task, believe me.
Good money down the drain and, given my erratic employment situation, this is painful. But since it's a matter of health and safety due to sporothrix schenckii, a fungus on rose thorns which can invade the bloodstream, I'm trying a different make of "long-armed" gloves this year.I was driven to use gloves on both hands when we had successful zucchini plants in 2008, but we didn't plant zukes in 2009 and, in 2010, the entirety of northern California had such a cold summer that many gardeners' zucchini plants failed completely, ours among them. But the skin rash that accompanied my tending of our two plants was fierce. The initial pair of rose gloves was useful for this protection. The only on-line info I can find this evening about contact irritant dermatitis pertains to butternut and acorn squash preparation in the kitchen ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irritant_contact_dermatitis ), but my reaction was to the spines on the stems and underside of the leaves on my zucchini plants.
A couple of years ago, another gardener on one of my Freecycle lists posted a swap request. She wanted useable right-hand gloves and would give the swap partner useable left-hand gloves! Perfect! I think we gave each other six or seven gloves.
So I know I'm not absolutely the only gardener who uses the one-glove method, but there don't seem to be too many of us.
Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9
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rainbowgardener
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 25279
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
- Location: TN/GA 7b
Don't wear gloves. I always think I should, and often start out that way and then they get irritating or get in the way of dexterity and come off. I'm not a getting my nails done type, so don't worry about damage to the (non-existent) manicure. I have a small yard and though I certainly do heavy work at times (carrying cement blocks down my steep hillside to build retaining walls etc), I guess I don't do it often enough to really tear up my hands. I do get some calluses, but no cracking etc.
Every time I come in I scrub dirt off my hands and out from under my fingernails with a nail brush, then wash and apply hand lotion while my hands are still damp. Putting lotion on damp hands helps seal moisture in.
Every time I come in I scrub dirt off my hands and out from under my fingernails with a nail brush, then wash and apply hand lotion while my hands are still damp. Putting lotion on damp hands helps seal moisture in.
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thanrose
- Greener Thumb
- Posts: 716
- Joined: Fri Oct 16, 2009 10:01 am
- Location: Jacksonville, FLZone 9A
Have gardening or utility gloves of many types, use them all at different times, hate them universally.
There is no perfect answer for anyone. I have a tendency to the cracked fingertips, so I literally grease my hands every night before bed, and use many different moisturizers or lotions or body butters at other times.
Use Bag Balm, have for years, and have actually used it on the parts where I'd use it if I were a cow... Hiking chafes, what can I say. Usually use it on my hands or heels now, but after gardening it's good on the scrapes or prickliness, and it's antiseptic.
Eucerin, Aquaphor, Crisco, Vaseline, body butters with shea or jojoba or lanolin are good. Silicone containing lotions are often good. A lot of people swear by Vitamin E oil, squirted from a capsule, but a dermatology study in Miami maybe ten years ago showed about a third of people will have an adverse reaction to the Vit E oil, including delayed healing time.
I was wearing split leather gauntlets yesterday because I was lugging pavers. Lifting them from where they'd settled and moving them out some, bare forearms save where covered by the gauntlets.
If I wear gloves and work, my hands and wrists will sweat. We have a few stinging things here that are more likely to sting if your skin is damp, and things that are more likely to bite if they smell sweat.
I wear disposables a lot at work, and usually have a couple or three in my pockets when I plan to putter in the yard. Rarely use them, but there are some poisonous things here, most intentional.
I do not have pretty hands, but I don't have any calluses at present. With all the alcohol gel and hand washing I have to do at work, I would amend anything I do that cracks or cuts my hands pretty darn fast.
It's rare to meet a man who will conscientiously apply an emollient or salve every freaking night. I fixed both of my brothers hands before their weddings years ago by forcing them to clean and grease their hands for a few nights before the wedding pictures. I'm no manicurist, never had one done myself, but I hated the thought of those gnarly hands snagging the wedding veils or scratching their brides.
One more thing: as a nurse who has a relatively huge number of diabetics to treat, I have never met a geriatric woman whose hands were actually tough or rough no matter what she did as a career. Maybe they'd have diabetic neuropathy, but the fingertips were still relatively soft. Men, probably at least half of them, continue to have tough skin on their fingertips, especially forefingers. Whatever career they'd had seems irrelevant, save that male construction workers will always have tough fingers.
There is no perfect answer for anyone. I have a tendency to the cracked fingertips, so I literally grease my hands every night before bed, and use many different moisturizers or lotions or body butters at other times.
Use Bag Balm, have for years, and have actually used it on the parts where I'd use it if I were a cow... Hiking chafes, what can I say. Usually use it on my hands or heels now, but after gardening it's good on the scrapes or prickliness, and it's antiseptic.
Eucerin, Aquaphor, Crisco, Vaseline, body butters with shea or jojoba or lanolin are good. Silicone containing lotions are often good. A lot of people swear by Vitamin E oil, squirted from a capsule, but a dermatology study in Miami maybe ten years ago showed about a third of people will have an adverse reaction to the Vit E oil, including delayed healing time.
I was wearing split leather gauntlets yesterday because I was lugging pavers. Lifting them from where they'd settled and moving them out some, bare forearms save where covered by the gauntlets.
If I wear gloves and work, my hands and wrists will sweat. We have a few stinging things here that are more likely to sting if your skin is damp, and things that are more likely to bite if they smell sweat.
I wear disposables a lot at work, and usually have a couple or three in my pockets when I plan to putter in the yard. Rarely use them, but there are some poisonous things here, most intentional.
I do not have pretty hands, but I don't have any calluses at present. With all the alcohol gel and hand washing I have to do at work, I would amend anything I do that cracks or cuts my hands pretty darn fast.
It's rare to meet a man who will conscientiously apply an emollient or salve every freaking night. I fixed both of my brothers hands before their weddings years ago by forcing them to clean and grease their hands for a few nights before the wedding pictures. I'm no manicurist, never had one done myself, but I hated the thought of those gnarly hands snagging the wedding veils or scratching their brides.
One more thing: as a nurse who has a relatively huge number of diabetics to treat, I have never met a geriatric woman whose hands were actually tough or rough no matter what she did as a career. Maybe they'd have diabetic neuropathy, but the fingertips were still relatively soft. Men, probably at least half of them, continue to have tough skin on their fingertips, especially forefingers. Whatever career they'd had seems irrelevant, save that male construction workers will always have tough fingers.
I liked saku's reply about keeping her hands soft enough that her hubby would still want to hold them. I've thought of how it must feel when my wife holds my hand. I can imagine the experience is similar to holding a worn out stirrup on a saddle. The strength is still inside, but the surface is worn and craggy.
When I was a youngster with smooth and supple hands, I looked at my fathers hands. They were brown from the sun, rugged from work, and scarred from past injuries. I thought I would never let my hands look like that. I was relaxing a few years ago and glanced at my hands. I was shocked to see my fathers hands. They no longer have that kid glove softness and suppleness of youth but rather the appearance of old parchment. I don't care how they look. For me, they are simply evidence of a life well lived.
Ted
When I was a youngster with smooth and supple hands, I looked at my fathers hands. They were brown from the sun, rugged from work, and scarred from past injuries. I thought I would never let my hands look like that. I was relaxing a few years ago and glanced at my hands. I was shocked to see my fathers hands. They no longer have that kid glove softness and suppleness of youth but rather the appearance of old parchment. I don't care how they look. For me, they are simply evidence of a life well lived.
Ted
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lorax
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- Joined: Mon Jul 12, 2010 5:48 pm
- Location: Ecuador, USDA Zone 13, at 10,000' of altitude
Here's another chime-in from a "lady" (although I'd never use that term to describe myself...) I am also most definitely not a manicured nails kind of gal, and although my hands are more scarred than those of many guys I know, they are fairly smooth textured, at least most of the time.
I hate, thoroughly and with a loathe that knows no bounds, garden gloves. First of all, they never come in a small enough size to feel comfortable on my hands, and second of all, a lot of gardening for me is feeling the texture of the dirt and the plants themselves under my fingertips. In gloves, I simply can't do that. I will, grudgingly, wear rubber gloves in the garden to deal with nettles, but that's about it.
My secret? If I'm in the garden, I'll only wash my hands in moments of extreme necessity (ie lunchtime if it's something other than a sandwich, bathroom breaks) - the dirt seems to form a lovely protective coating. When I do finally wash them, I'll generally wait for the dirt to dry, then dust them off first, giving a final polish with a chunk of burlap to get the stubborn bits - then I'm not dealing with as much soap or water, and thus less drying out happens. I've also grown fond of a beeswax and calendula salve after washing.
I hate, thoroughly and with a loathe that knows no bounds, garden gloves. First of all, they never come in a small enough size to feel comfortable on my hands, and second of all, a lot of gardening for me is feeling the texture of the dirt and the plants themselves under my fingertips. In gloves, I simply can't do that. I will, grudgingly, wear rubber gloves in the garden to deal with nettles, but that's about it.
My secret? If I'm in the garden, I'll only wash my hands in moments of extreme necessity (ie lunchtime if it's something other than a sandwich, bathroom breaks) - the dirt seems to form a lovely protective coating. When I do finally wash them, I'll generally wait for the dirt to dry, then dust them off first, giving a final polish with a chunk of burlap to get the stubborn bits - then I'm not dealing with as much soap or water, and thus less drying out happens. I've also grown fond of a beeswax and calendula salve after washing.
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WinglessAngel
- Green Thumb
- Posts: 381
- Joined: Thu Apr 14, 2011 11:51 pm
- Location: NE Ohio
well in my experience, I found this out on my own as I have problems with cracking skin as well....if you get a crack in your skin at night before you go to bed slather on carmex over it and slap a squared piece of clean paper towel over it, tape it down with medical tape and go to sleep....in some cases it heals the cracks overnight, deff in two. Having dry skin myself....I use as a "lotion" of sorts once a week, baby oil, or mineral oil also works...softens your skin and keeps the moisture in and the bad stuff out....when your skin is still wet from shower bath etc. rub the oil over the area you want, in my case my whole body gets dry skin, then just towel dry the oil and remaining water off, you don't even have to let it sit and soak in, how easy is that?
As far as soft hands and manicured nails, lol, I keep mine somewhat short for a woman, but an easy trick to getting the dirt and grime off your hands is clean your sink with a bleach cleaner....sounds strange but it works, its what I do. I use a toothpick to get the large bits of dirt out from under my nails and then I go clean my kitchen sink with softscrub cleanser. works everytime, it whitens your nails and sanitzes your hands from the dirt, I then go use a good lotion afterwards and then file my nails or clip them then file.
but as far as working outside with or without gloves....I actually have to basically go out in full body armor....yes I said full body. I am severly allergic to poison sumac and when I go out to work in the dirt (which I love to do) I have to wear good gloves that the oils wont penetrate through plus over sized shirts and pants, the long sleeves I have to tuck into my gloves and the longer pants I can tuck into long tall socks....I'm sure I look strange to my neighbors when I go out like this, but hey, I hate being covered in painful itchy rash for months at a time. but when I work indoors repotting etc or places where I know there is no sumac, I dig right in the dirt lol, my fiance says he's never met a woman who liked to get dirty as much as I do....I never claimed to be a lady all the time, only when I want to be, is what I tell him
As far as soft hands and manicured nails, lol, I keep mine somewhat short for a woman, but an easy trick to getting the dirt and grime off your hands is clean your sink with a bleach cleaner....sounds strange but it works, its what I do. I use a toothpick to get the large bits of dirt out from under my nails and then I go clean my kitchen sink with softscrub cleanser. works everytime, it whitens your nails and sanitzes your hands from the dirt, I then go use a good lotion afterwards and then file my nails or clip them then file.
but as far as working outside with or without gloves....I actually have to basically go out in full body armor....yes I said full body. I am severly allergic to poison sumac and when I go out to work in the dirt (which I love to do) I have to wear good gloves that the oils wont penetrate through plus over sized shirts and pants, the long sleeves I have to tuck into my gloves and the longer pants I can tuck into long tall socks....I'm sure I look strange to my neighbors when I go out like this, but hey, I hate being covered in painful itchy rash for months at a time. but when I work indoors repotting etc or places where I know there is no sumac, I dig right in the dirt lol, my fiance says he's never met a woman who liked to get dirty as much as I do....I never claimed to be a lady all the time, only when I want to be, is what I tell him
I guess a person gets used to wearing gloves, if they offer protection from potential harm from whatever one is working with. I got used to wearing welders gloves when working with pottery kilns before they completely cooled down.
From that, it was an easy step to wear heavy leather work gloves ... sometimes with metal mesh filleting gloves under them ... while handling various wild animals.
Wearing lightweight gloves while I garden is no more onerous to me than wearing a comfy old t-shirt.
From that, it was an easy step to wear heavy leather work gloves ... sometimes with metal mesh filleting gloves under them ... while handling various wild animals.
Wearing lightweight gloves while I garden is no more onerous to me than wearing a comfy old t-shirt.
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shadowsmom
- Senior Member
- Posts: 212
- Joined: Fri Apr 30, 2010 3:40 pm
- Location: NJ
I start out with every intention of wearing gloves and always end up ripping them off quickly. I've tried every kind imaginable, some are more tolerable than others, but none are like my own hands.
I found something that really cleans my hands and nails at the end of the day. It's called Bubble White nail cleaner. I mix it in a dishpan and stick both my whole hands in. I was skeptical but it does clean well.
I found something that really cleans my hands and nails at the end of the day. It's called Bubble White nail cleaner. I mix it in a dishpan and stick both my whole hands in. I was skeptical but it does clean well.
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hendi_alex
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 3604
- Joined: Sun Jul 06, 2008 7:58 am
- Location: Central Sand Hills South Carolina
I love getting my hands in the soil, BUT the hands can only stand so much. I also hate having crud under my fingernails. More and more often the gloved option is winning out. Also, we have so many black widows in the yard, the extra protection from them is an added bonus.
My gloves of choice are spit cowhide, somewhat thin and reasonably pliable for most non gardening chores. For gardening I use thin gardening gloves which are made of quick drying material with the palms coated in latex or rubber.
Very often I opt to work with only one hand gloved. The gloved hand deals with the dirty or rough part of the job and the non gloved hand handles to tactile or more sensitive part of the job.
My gloves of choice are spit cowhide, somewhat thin and reasonably pliable for most non gardening chores. For gardening I use thin gardening gloves which are made of quick drying material with the palms coated in latex or rubber.
Very often I opt to work with only one hand gloved. The gloved hand deals with the dirty or rough part of the job and the non gloved hand handles to tactile or more sensitive part of the job.
I finally surrendered this year and started wearing gloves when my hands cracked so bad they were bleeding. It seemed to be the worst when I was planting in the soil and my hands would get covered with moist soil and the soil would dry on my hands. The past few weeks, I used some good hand lotion before putting the gloves on and removed the gloves as soon as possible. My hands don't hurt now.
Since I usually wear flip flops or sandals when working in the garden, my hand problems have transferred to my feet. For the first time ever, my heels started cracking and that hurts worse than my hands cracking. My wife has a little pink thing called a Pedo Egg. The inside is like a vegetable grater and the outside has sandpaper that never wears out. It scrapes and sands the callouses away quickly and I then fill the cracks with super glue. The super glue filler lasts about a week before I have to fill the new cracks.
Ted
Since I usually wear flip flops or sandals when working in the garden, my hand problems have transferred to my feet. For the first time ever, my heels started cracking and that hurts worse than my hands cracking. My wife has a little pink thing called a Pedo Egg. The inside is like a vegetable grater and the outside has sandpaper that never wears out. It scrapes and sands the callouses away quickly and I then fill the cracks with super glue. The super glue filler lasts about a week before I have to fill the new cracks.
Ted
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hendi_alex
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 3604
- Joined: Sun Jul 06, 2008 7:58 am
- Location: Central Sand Hills South Carolina
Several years ago I had problems with thick cracking heels. Until then I almost exclusively wore flip flops. About that time I switched to Muck gardening shoes which I wear with 1/4 high socks. The shoes are as easy to slip on as flip flops. They keep my feet dry and they are very comfortable as well. The only problem is retaining moisture under the rubber shoes, but that is only a problem if they are worn for several hours at a time. During the summer I'm generally in and out all day, so the shoes go off and on all through the day. I'm now on at least my fifth pair of the shoes and have yet to find anything better. The heels have been soft and smooth now for several years.
I bought a jar of "Heel Rescue" superior moisturizing foot cream at Walmart in the pharmacy area. I was skeptical about it being any better than other creams to keep my callouses soft, but it really does work. I use it for a couple of days and the callouses seem to rub away with my finger tips.
It's interesting because within five minutes of application, my skin feels as dry as before the application, but it seems to penetrate the tough, dry skin and disappear.
Ted
It's interesting because within five minutes of application, my skin feels as dry as before the application, but it seems to penetrate the tough, dry skin and disappear.
Ted
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lorax
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- Joined: Mon Jul 12, 2010 5:48 pm
- Location: Ecuador, USDA Zone 13, at 10,000' of altitude
Not down here! I've been judged on the appearance of my hands by countless guys - some of whom went on to be friends, and who let me in on the thing their mothers taught them. Basically it goes like this: look at the hands of the woman you're interested in, and look at her shoes. The hands will tell you whether she's willing to get dirty and work hard in the pursuit of her goals, and the shoes will tell you whether she's practical or just decorative.tomf wrote:Lorax men never look at womans nails, only other woman do.
The long and short of it is that if you want a practical, working gal, you pick one with flat shoes and dirty fingernails, and if you want a trophy wife, you pick the one with a manicure and spike heels. Guess which category I fall into (plus, at 6' tall in a Latino country, do you think I can find heels? Not bl**dy likely!)
So far I have removed a 5 gallon bucket full of broken glass from my garden so like it or not leather goves are a must when working with the dirt. Gloves are also needed for any manual labor but it's hard to find good quality work gloves at a good price. Everything is either $10 a pair or $1 a pair (or $1 quality for $5). I used to get good $5 gloves at Lowes, but they stopped carrying that model. What's with the $15 work gloves that look like baseball batting gloves...seems like a guy would get laughed off the construction site for wearing something like that.
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KennyCouch
- Senior Member
- Posts: 103
- Joined: Thu Mar 31, 2011 9:56 am
- Location: Houston, TX
I hate gloves, of any kind really. I don't even wear gloves snowmobiling 80% of the time. (handwarmers 
) They NEVER fit me right. I have tiny hands and very thin fingers (too bad the rest of me doesn't match ) so I don't wear them....ever. Hand cream with shea butter rocks. I do still have callouses but they're pretty soft. The problem with soft hands? When you rake or shovel a lot you get blisters. Again.
I couldn't care less about dirty nails and stuff though, my hands are scarred and I have a few crooked fingers from horse related breaks.
Seems to me though I might have to start liking gloves if we go south.....there aren't any poisonous critters in my yard here. Just nettle that you would THINK I'd have learned not to touch by now
) They NEVER fit me right. I have tiny hands and very thin fingers (too bad the rest of me doesn't match ) so I don't wear them....ever. Hand cream with shea butter rocks. I do still have callouses but they're pretty soft. The problem with soft hands? When you rake or shovel a lot you get blisters. Again. I couldn't care less about dirty nails and stuff though, my hands are scarred and I have a few crooked fingers from horse related breaks.
Seems to me though I might have to start liking gloves if we go south.....there aren't any poisonous critters in my yard here. Just nettle that you would THINK I'd have learned not to touch by now
Last year I was cutting back my dead mums and grabbed a wasp. I was not wearing gloves. It was my first (and hopefully last) wasp sting and it was awful! I can certainly understand the desire for gloves if you're facing scorpions!!!!
That said, even after that sting, I still don't wear them. I hate them. The weather here in TN is soooooo hot and muggy that gloves are miserable. I have tried, a few times, and always end up ripping them off and when I do it's amazing how much cooler my whole body feels!
I have horrendously sensitive skin and Eucerin even breaks me out. I bathe ever night in Skin So Soft by Avon. It's a bug repellant and skin softener and it seems to keep my hands and feet in check. Dry, winter air is harder on my hands than gardening.
What about hats? Do you all wear sun hats? Do they help you feel cooler? I have the thickest hair of anyone I have ever met and can't imagine a hat but so many people tell me if I wore a sunhat I would feel cooler.
That said, even after that sting, I still don't wear them. I hate them. The weather here in TN is soooooo hot and muggy that gloves are miserable. I have tried, a few times, and always end up ripping them off and when I do it's amazing how much cooler my whole body feels!
I have horrendously sensitive skin and Eucerin even breaks me out. I bathe ever night in Skin So Soft by Avon. It's a bug repellant and skin softener and it seems to keep my hands and feet in check. Dry, winter air is harder on my hands than gardening.
What about hats? Do you all wear sun hats? Do they help you feel cooler? I have the thickest hair of anyone I have ever met and can't imagine a hat but so many people tell me if I wore a sunhat I would feel cooler.
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WinglessAngel
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Runningtrails
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rainbowgardener
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We have a whole separate thread going on right now about hats:trinoc wrote:
What about hats? Do you all wear sun hats? Do they help you feel cooler? I have the thickest hair of anyone I have ever met and can't imagine a hat but so many people tell me if I wore a sunhat I would feel cooler.
https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=34747
I should go through them and compare and see if there's a correlation: I am a no hats, no gloves, wear as little as possible kind of gardener. If I had the nerve, I'd be like Ruth Stout working naked in my garden. When I lived on 5 acres with a very private backyard, I did sometimes ride the riding mower topless.... So maybe the hat people and the glove people are the same people?
Sheryl,
I love your art. Great hair effects on "Lobo". Did you lay the paint down and draw something through it to create the hair? I can't imagine trying to draw each individual hair. Acrylic or oil?
I really admire creative people because I feel challenged to write my name. I've never been able to draw a good circle. They always look like eggs with squiggly edges.
Very nice work!
Ted
I love your art. Great hair effects on "Lobo". Did you lay the paint down and draw something through it to create the hair? I can't imagine trying to draw each individual hair. Acrylic or oil?
I really admire creative people because I feel challenged to write my name. I've never been able to draw a good circle. They always look like eggs with squiggly edges.
Very nice work!
Ted
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WinglessAngel
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Lmao Rainbow! That would be me too as well (given enough privacy and large enough property LOL...although I did go boating one time in a bra and panties one time as it was a spur of the moment trip and I had forgotten a bathing suit (I do have to mention it was like 100 degrees out and I was unbearably hot) LOL no one on the lake knew the difference!
I keep my clothes on in the garden. If someone happened to enter our driveway and saw me in the garden in the buff, they would soon be in the emergency room complaining of uncontrollable vomiting. Newton was right, given sufficient time; gravity always wins. That would be a sight though, me in the buff with a protective glove on my right hand only.
Ted
Ted