Sun, soil, fuel, string trimmer vibration, and wet grass in the morning that dries on your hands by ten. Landscaping hands are dry in a different way from factory hands: less solvent, far more abrasion and exposure.
What is doing it
- Soil and sand. Both are drying and abrasive, and they sit in the creases of your palms all day.
- Sun and wind. Continuous, on the backs of the hands, for the whole season.
- Two-stroke fuel and oil. Solvent exposure every time you mix or fill.
- Vibration. Trimmers and blowers over a full day thicken and stiffen the skin of the palms.
- Wet to dry. Morning dew, then dry heat, then a hose.
Callus is fine, dry callus is not
Thick skin on a working hand is useful. The problem is thick skin with no moisture in it, because callus with no flex splits at its edges and at the base of the fingers, and those splits are deep and slow. The aim is not to soften it away, it is to keep it pliable enough to bend without tearing.
Why tallow rather than a lotion
Beef tallow is built from largely the same fatty acids your own skin produces, so it absorbs and becomes part of the barrier instead of sitting on top of it as a film. Beeswax keeps it there through a hand wash. Most pump lotion is mostly water, which is why it feels good for twenty minutes and is gone by the next break.
How to use it on a working hand
- Heavy before bed. The application that actually repairs. Eight uninterrupted hours beats six rushed ones. Cotton gloves over the top if the splits are bad.
- On damp hands after washing, so there is water in the skin to hold onto.
- Knuckles and finger webs first. That is where splits start.
- Not right before gloves. Give it ten minutes to absorb.
Unscented, if you would rather
Plenty of people do not want a fragrance on their hands at work. Raw is the same seven-ingredient base with none in it.
Why a tin
A screw-top tin lives in a toolbox, a bag or a door pocket without leaking, which a tube will not. A 2oz tin lasts most people six to ten weeks at nightly use.
Made by hand in small batches in Wakarusa, Indiana. Seven ingredients, and 5% of every sale goes to FreedomSystem, which connects veterans through authentic camaraderie and meaningful programs.
