My hands are so rough and dry at the moment that I put runs in my own sheer silk stockings. That is a joke! When was the last time you saw me in black stockings and heels! But my working hands are pretty rough. One way to have soft hands is to work with raw wool. The lanolin in the wool is the best thing for your hands. However I do have an alternative as well! More of that in a minute.
Mama’s fleece has been washed. Sara the Crazy Sheep Lady over at Punkins Patch has done all the dirty work. Her hands will be very soft. You will remember the fleece laid out before I shipped it. All filthy. Well pop over to Punkins Patch and look at the difference. It is fantastic. Mama is hiding a snow white fleece under all that.
Don’t tell Sara what I used to do with the wool! She is going to blog each step for us right through to the spinning so that we can learn the process too. I will link it in each time.
Now because most of you do not have access to this lanolin laden wool, how about this! I was reading Heidi’s post over at Lightly Crunchy and came across her lemon oil hand wash.
It reminded me of the sugar scrub I used to make. Thank you Heidi.
I was at the old folks home the other day telling an old dairy farmer that I was going to milk a cow soon. He looked at my little black jacket and my skinny jeans tucked into my long boots and my slightly too bright red lipstick and all that blonde hair tied up in a pony tail and dubiously said, “Well, show me your hands then”
Surprised, I did. He visibly relaxed when he held and inspected my worn and battered hands, with the scars and the healing burns , the skinned bit where Daisy leaned on me as she walked past not realising she was dragging the top of my hand along the fence post, the uneven nails that I can never quite get clean. He nodded as he handed me back my hands. “You’ll do good.” Hmm.
So yesterday I made a batch of my lemon honey hand scrub, incorporating Heidi’s recipe, and it will sit on the windowsill above the sink so I can be a clean girl again and my working hands will be soft.
Sugar Scrub for farmers and gardeners hands. (And your legs!)
- 1/3 cup grapeseed or olive oil for the moisturising (I use grapeseed)
- just over 1/2 cup of granulated sugar for the scrub
- juice of half a lemon
- 1 teaspoon of honey to help heal all those nicks and scratches
- 2 Vitamin E capsules (these are optional)
- Take your time scrubbing with this. Then rinse thoroughly.
I was rummaging about amongst the oils, looking for the grapeseed oil, and saw that the coconut oil had melted in its jar. It was that hot yesterday. So I poured some of it on my head and massaged it through my hair. Well, you would, wouldn’t you? It is great for blonde hair. An excellent natural hair conditioner. My blonde headed friend in NZ used to say that “it was blondes like me who give the real blondes like her a bad name!” I have told you that before. But it always makes me laugh! Mean!! Anyway for shiny healthy hair (do I sound like a commercial?) leave the coconut oil in your hair, on a hot day, for an hour -then wash out. Not a cold day. The oil will go solid in your hair on a cold day and look really funny!
Anyway, while the wind blew, and the bendy trees bent, I sat on my sheltered verandah with my scrub, my moisturising hair and a big bowl of water and I had a solitary spa moment! The wind was terrible yesterday. Hot and howling. 
Important to note, do not go out and work with bees after using the sugar scrub!! Worse, do not go out and hose down the pig sty, having your newly scrubbed legs nibbled at by a snuffling pig is most unsettling! Yes I know. Scrubbing the skin then scrubbing the pig sty is the wrong was around. But I can’t stay clean more than five minutes anyway!!
Good morning. How does Friday come so fast? Friday morning is my rest morning. The chores are done at double time thenTon and I drive to the retirement home to see The Old Codger and his friends and lay about chatting for a few hours while TonTon gets his cuddles. Which reminds me- that dog needs a shower before we go! I had better get a wriggle on!
Have a lovely day.
celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
64 responses to “How to have Soft Working Hands”
Thank you for the recipe…I’m making some today! Very bendy tree here today….50 m.p.h. winds and hot. It was 70* at 5:30 this morning…dust so thick the sky is brown.
What a spring.
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
http://deltacountyhistoricalsociety.wordpress.com
Mama’s wool is beautiful. Kigelia, coconut oil,aloe vera and lavendar oil sorts out my excema and is a natural sunblock too. Laura
Wow, that sounds good, tho I need to look up kigelia.. thank you laura! c
It is available in US = here’s more info http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kigelia It works for me.
I have stopped using cosmetic creams and potions and only use above now. Laura
I am going to whip up some of that scrub right now! So funny, I saw a picture of myself with my hands up near my face; I was shocked! I said, “Who put their hands in my picture?” Well, in all honesty my hands are huge…now that they are rough, used and older…holy! I need this scrub.
Enjoy your visit.
J
Morning jess, I know what you mean about rough used hands, however like me I bet you are secretly a little proud of those useful working hands! c
I will be making some of the scrub for sure. I wonder what coconut oil will do to red hair?
Make it shine, shine, shine!!! c
Coconut oil melted and mixed with Bay Rum (sp) good for Brunettes. I haven’t seen Bayrum for ages – but my late Mum used to condition our hair with this when we were kids.
Laura
I really enjoy your blog! I cn hardly wait to make the sugar scrub. Is grapeseed oil found in the same area as I would find olive oil? I have never used it.
Lovely recipe for the hand scrub. I hope you will have a wonderful weekend!
As usual, I love tuning into your blog, but I don’t think tapping the keyboard, pressing the shutter and whisking meringues has given me the proper outdoor hands that would demand your softener’s attention:)
ah well, how about your legs, do they need a good scrub?,, c
Have a Superb Memorial Day Weekend:)
When I saw the title of the post it reminded me of a very old ad for Fairy Liquid (did you have those in NZ?) and have been humming the tune all day. Then I expected something about lanolin, and you go and surprise me with a lovely hand scrub and little spa moment…perfect!
^ “Now hands that do dishes can feel soft as your face…”
Apparently working with raw meat gives you soft hands – I do know a female butcher in New York, I’ll have to check.
I used to share a flat with a girl who spun and knitted – she got a dreadful wool allergy and her skin went scabby (even her face poor thing). Lanolin has always been good for my skin though and I like the smell of it.
How unfortunate for the spinning girl.. c
I know – she was about 12 months into her new life and career! However, it’s more than 30 years ago and she was very resourceful 😉
Bookmarked!!! This is fantastic 😀
My mum does all the housework and constantly claims her hands are no longer beautiful – not content with herself, ever since I started cooking at high rates, she has gone on about my ‘baby’ hands roughening 😉
This is perfect!! Thank you my friend 🙂
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
I love the bit about the old man examining your hands before declaring you a milker! Coconut oil is great for the skin, and I like the sound of the lemon scrub.
celi, you are a star, I’m going to try this recipe as soon as I get my mits on some lemons. My hands take a battering, and what with being prone to excema I can’t use normal soaps and moisturisers so this sounds like it’s worth a try. besides if it goes wrong I could cook with it. Right?… laughs…..
Hehehe…sounds like you were good enough to eat, Celi! Have a great weekend! Do chores stop on the weekend? (ok, so that was a rhetorical question..) 🙂
Great post, C! The link, the wool, the scrub… perfect 🙂 Good night Celi!