This stuff really works! And it makes your hands really soft. Just rub it in the little nooks and crannies that all of the garden dirt got stuck in, and before you know it, you have baby-soft office job type hands all over again.
And bonus hint: I sat on the edge of the tub and massaged it into my legs and feet just before my shower and had great results. My feet and legs are now pedicure-at-the-spa smooth.
Lemon-Olive Oil Gardener’s Hand Scrub
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 2/3 cup sugar
- Juice of 1/2 a lemon
- lemon zest
Mix it all together in a jar and store in the fridge to keep it fresh (it does have real juice in it). Use it anywhere on your body that needs a little scrub, moisturizer or general healthy glow.
Linking to Bringing Beauty, A Pinch of Joy, White Wolf Summit Farmgirl, Like a Mustard Seed, Frugally Sustainable, Cozy Home Scenes, A Delightful Home, Six Sister’s Stuff, Homestead Simple, Simple Lives Thursday
lightlycrunchy 
Your photography is fantastic. This will be good for the feet. I won’t go into detail but you know what I mean.
Thanks! It is nice for the feet – mine get pretty dirty while gardening. The only caveat is to be careful if you put it on before showering – makes things a little slippery in the shower.
Sounds really easy. I think I’ll make a batch this weekend. Thanks.
thanks for the advice–will try it
Oh, I can smell how wonderful it is from here! (and yes, I agree, great photography!)
I’ve got a jar of this sitting by my kitchen sink! I love that it helps get all the garden dirt and grime off without me scrubbing my skin raw! It’s also great at cutting through the garlic stink when mincing it!
I hadn’t thought of it for washing after garlic, good idea. Mine is in the bathroom now – used it to scrub the dirt off my feet again. I should stop gardening with sandals on..
haha I garden in flip flops too. When it’s 80 degrees out with 80+ percent humidity, who wants to wear socks and garden boots???
I think it must smell wonderful. I imagine it helps you realize pretty quick if you picked up any little cuts or abrasions during your gardening session. Great for disinfection as well in that case. And yes, the photo is superb.
So far no stinging – and I am a mess of scratches from the garden. There is more oil than lemon juice, I wonder if that makes a difference. I had worried about the stinging too, but it wasn’t a problem. I even used it again after shaving my legs this morning, and nothing but nice soft smooth legs afterwards.
Wow, if you can use it after shaving it really IS mild! And I think I have everything needed in the house to make this. 🙂
ohhhhhhhhh…. a hand cleaner that tastes as good as it works…. heheh I don’t use gloves so this is a good thing to put on the list of must make and put by the back door spigot 🙂
*anna
Great idea! Sounds refreshing!
This sounds great, Heidi. I was wondering about what shoes you wear while gardening. 😉
I should wear proper shoes – but Im lazy and garden in sandals or flip flops. 🙂
Great idea, can’t wait to try it out. Looking at my hands after today’s gardening session it might be better to do it sooner rather than later 🙂
This will make a perfect gift for my aunts birthday next week! Thanks for the idea!
You’re welcome. I thought so too, I might make some for gifts.
OH!! I Cant wait to try this. My husband lovingly refers to my cracked yucky feet as “Farmin’ Feet”. Maybe this will help!
OOHH this looks really interesting – thanks!
It sounds good..but what is ‘lemon zest’ ? asked me naively…Diane
You just scrape the yellow part of the lemon rind off with the small side of a grater or a rasp. You can skip this part.
Oh man – you should start a home remedies section on your awesome blog – I always adore these little posts of yours and need to start making a list of all the salts, scrubs, and ointments I want to make!! This one sounds reeeeeally nice too….and looks so lovely!! 🙂
I imagine this smells amazing too.
I print every recipe you post. Thanks for sharing! This is perfect with summer on the way. I can’t wait to try it out.
Thanks! I just added a print button to the bottom of each post (or at least I think I did). So cool that someone prints my stuff!
I’ll have to check out the print button. I’ve just been copy/paste-ing into Word.Your way sounds easier. 🙂
This sounds amazing! I will be trying this recipe soon =) I love the smell of lemon. Thanks for sharing
I love this post! I have a tree groaning with lemons, and I’m always having issues with gardening hands (and feet!). We’re coming into winter down here in Australia so this will be heaven sent for dry skin. Thank you 😀 xx
You’re welcome! I would love to have a lemon tree.
Will they grow where you live? I noticed snow in one of your pictures. (I’ve actually never seen snow btw, although we do get frosts!) I love my lemon trees, and have lemons almost all year round.
Nope, they wouldn’t grow here, though maybe on the west coast. We only have 5 good warm months where I live. Usually, the snow starts anywhere around Nov/Dec and stays until Mar/Apr. This year was much milder, but no luck for lemons. Maybe if I had a greenhouse room, someday.
I can’t imagine having only 5 warm months! And I bet those months are still cold compared to what I’m used to.
But then, you have snow… And I’ve always been fascinated by snow. It sounds kind of magical!
Thanks for sharing a great tip for cleaning your hands after gardening. I haven’t had much time for gardening yet this year, but the downside is always scrubbing all the dirt off my hands and arms. Now I’ll have a great cleaner for that. Thanks for sharing this recipe at Your Cozy Home Party!
[…] 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 […]
Congratulations!! You are featured this week on Busy Monday at A Pinch of Joy! I hope you will stop by and grab a Featured Button from the Button Box on the sidebar Sunday afternoon. Can’t wait to see what other projects you’ve been working on — hope you will link again soon!
ps — I added a lemon to my grocery list – can’t wait to try this!
And it’s nice on toast too 🙂
[…] spa for busy hands, lightly crunchy shares a lemon olive oil gardener’s […]
Hi Heidi I’m also a gardener and do a lot of pottery. Not very hand friendly hobbies…. will definitely try this ….
Hope you like it – I do.
I am going to do this tomorrow! I think I will add some orange into as well and see how it works. I am totally addicted to your blog!
Thanks! I bet it’d be nice with the orange. Hope you like it!
[…] Yep, we got that covered. We recycle. I have a small fascination with essential oils lately – see the Homemade Vapo-Rub, Lip Balm and Rosemary – Mint Body Wash and Shampoo. I also made Lemon Olive Oil Hand Gardener’s Hand Scrub. […]
[…] I haven’t started making our own toiletries yet, though we do buy them from smaller, more environmentally aware outlets which sell products without chemical nasties. However, I do now mostly use bicarbonate of soda and vinegar to keep my house clean. Even as far as washing clothes goes, I have cut down on the amount of washing powder that goes into the machine by mixing it with soda crystals, which do a wonderful job of cleaning the clothes. In fact, I need to do an experiment to see if washing with just them and no powder would be as good, if not better. That would save us a lot of money as well! […]
Oh, I love this! My hands are looking pretty scrappy after all of our spring garden work. Can’t wait to give this a try, thank you for a lovely natural addition *substitution* to my body care products.
What a great idea.. will do!
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[…] When Life Gives You Garden Dirt.. Make Lemon-Olive Oil Gardener’s Hand Scrub by Lightly Crunchy. A great looking hand scrub to soften up those gardening hands… and […]
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