Gardeners aren’t supposed to care about having nice hands. They care about the well being of their plants more. Plus, getting your hands dirty in the garden can increase your serotonin levels, which is good for your brain and emotional health. For me, getting my hands dirty is normal because I hate wearing gloves.
Garden Hands
I don’t wear gloves because it’s hard for me to feel weeds when I am wearing them and I just don’t find them comfortable. Occasionally I do wear them if I am dealing with large or prickly weeds. Over the course of the year my hands take a beating. It’s not that I care all that much about having “pretty” hands, but I also don’t want to walk around with dirt filled crack skin and yucky fingernails. I usually use a small nail brush and hand soap to get the garden dirt off my hands. The hand soap is gentle but leaves my hands on the dry side, so I must follow up with a lotion bar to seal in the moisture. When I was asked to give Lava® soap a try, I was a bit skeptical.
Lava® Soap
Mark has always used Lava® soap to clean his hands after working on our vehicles and lawn equipment. Lava® is known to get extremely dirty hands clean. It cuts through grease, ink, paint, glue and more. I always thought of it as a mechanic’s soap so it must be harsh on the skin, right? I mean Mark doesn’t care about having nice soft hands so he never really said much about the soap. Upon opening the package, I was impressed with the scent—it’s very soft and refreshing. After weeding my herb garden, I gave it a try.
It lathers very well with a bit of water.
There’s pumice in the soap, which is why it’s called Lava®. The pumice helps to lightly exfoliate the dirt and dry skin from your hands. It’s very gentle—you can feel the pumice but it’s not overly abrasive.
The soap rinses off clean with no reside. The pumice helped get all the imbedded dirt off my skin. Lava® soap also has moisturizers in it. My hands felt soft, as well as, clean. A bonus, if you live in flip flops all summer like I do, Lava® soap is AWESOME on your feet. I used it to clean the dirt off my feet (especially my heels) after working in garden. It not only got rid of any dirt stuck in my skin, my feet felt silky smooth afterwards.
A Bit of Lava® Soap History
- In 1893, a bar soap formulated with volcanic pumice particles for extra scrubbing power was created in St. Louis, Missouri. Lava®was chosen as the name to remind consumers of the pumice it contains.
- In 1927, advertising helped build the Lava®Brand as the brand that gets extra dirty hands really clean.
- In 1967, reformulation makes Lava® more appealing with better scent and its signature green color.
- In 1999, Lava® became part of the WD-40 Company.
Lava® Soap is available at retailers across the country, including Ace, Walmart, Dollar General and Family Dollar. To find a store near you, visit LavaSoap.com and click on the Where to Buy button.
Warnings
The natural pumice in Lava® may be abrasive to sensitive skin. If irritation develops, discontinue use. Avoid any contact with eyes – if this happens, rinse thoroughly with water.