Manicure: How to care for your cuticles/ Manichiura: Cum sa ai grija de cuticulele tale

 First of all, let me brag a little on how much my nails have grown! They almost doubled their length in the course of one month! Of course this is the result of moisturising daily :) See this post for tips on getting long nails fast - Wow how do you grow/keep your nails so long?. Look at how long mine are <3

 Mai intai de toate, lasa-ma sa ma laud putin cu cat de mult mi-au crescut unghiile! Aproape si-au dublat lungimea in cursul unei luni! Bineinteles, acesta este rezultatul hidratarii zilnice :) Vezi aceasta postare pentru sfaturi despre cum sa-ti cresti unghiile lungi rapid - Wow cum iti cresti/mentii unghiile asa lungi?. Uite ce lungi sunt ale mele <3

In this post I will show you exactly how to make your cuticles look absolutely flawless :)
"Cuticle" is an ambiguous term because it is used incorrectly. The thing we usually call "cuticle" is the eponychium, not the true cuticle. The true cuticle only represents the dead skin. See this post for more information - Know your nails!. Also, today I've found an interesting article written by Doug Schoon (scientist, author and educator with a vast experience in the beauty industry) which you can read here - Where’s the Cuticle? by Doug Schoon.
Despite all that, I will refer to the eponychium as "the cuticle" and to the true cuticle as "the dead skin" because we are so used to using these terms it would sound weird to say "moisturise your eponychium" :P

In aceasta postare iti voi arata exact cum sa-ti faci cuticulele sa arate perfect :)
"Cuticula" este un termen ambiguu pentru ca este folosit incorect. Chestia pe care o numim "cuticula" este eponychium, nu cuticula adevarata. Cuticula adevarata reprezinta doar pielea moarta. Vezi aceasta postare pentru mai multe informatii - Cunoaste-ti unghiile!. De asemenea, astazi am descoperit un articol interesant (in engleza) scris de Doug Schoon (cercetator, autor si educator cu o experienta vasta in industria frumusetii), pe care il puteti citi aici -  Where’s the Cuticle? by Doug Schoon.
Cu toate acestea, ma voi referi la eponychium ca fiind "cuticula" si la cuticula adevarata ca fiind "pielea moarta" pentru ca suntem atat de obisnuiti sa folosim acesti termeni incat ar suna ciudat "hidrateaza-ti eponychium" :P

The things you need to know:

Lucrurile pe care trebuie sa le stii:

1.  a) Don't cut your cuticles! Don't cut your cuticles! Don't cut your cuticles! The reasons are explained at the end of the post entitled "Know your nails!" linked above. If those weren't enough to make you give up this bad habit and you think your nails look good after cutting your cuticles, keep on reading :)
     b) Nu iti taia cuticulele! Nu iti taia cuticulele! Nu iti taia cuticulele! Motivele sunt explicate la sfarsitul postarii intitulata "Cunoaste-ti unghiile!" pentru care am pus link mai sus. Daca acestea nu au fost suficiente sa te faca sa renunti la acest obicei urat si crezi ca unghiile tale arata bine dupa ce ti-ai taiat cuticulele, citeste in continuare :)

2. a)  Moisturise your cuticles daily or even more often if you want to. This will keep them in tip-top shape and is also great for your nails (makes them grow faster and healthier). I like using extra virgin olive oil as a cuticle oil - better than any cuticle oil you could buy.
    b)  Hidrateaza-ti cuticulele zilnic sau chiar mai des daca vrei. Aceasta le va mentine intr-o forma maxima si e foarte bine si pentru unghiile tale (le face sa creasca mai repede si mai sanatoase).Mie imi place sa folosesc ulei de masline extra virgin ca ulei de cuticule - mai bun decat orice ulei de cuticule pe care l-ai putea cumpara.

3. a)  Push back your cuticles and remove the dead skin after filing your nails. You may need to soak your nails a little before pushing back your cuticles and I already said here soaking your nails before filing is not ok.
    b)  Impinge-ti cuticulele si indeparteaza pielea moarta dupa ce ai pilit unghiile. Se poate sa fie nevoie sa-ti tii putin unghiile la inmuiat inainte sa impingi cuticulele si am zis deja aici ca inmuierea unghiilor inaintea pilirii nu e ok.

The things you need are mentioned in this post - Products and tools for natural nails manicure.

Lucrurile care iti trebuie sunt mentionate in acesta postare - Produse si instrumente pentru manichiura unghiilor naturale.

 I don't like cuticle removers, I've never used one and I don't want to. On a long term if used frequently, they can soften your nails and cause damage to them and to the surrounding skin. I recommend using them rarely. If you start moisturising your cuticles daily you will see you won't need them anymore.

Nu-mi plac solutiile de indepartat cuticula, nu am folosit niciodata una si nici nu vreau. Pe termen lung si daca sunt folosite des, pot dauna unghiilor (le inmoaie) si pielii din jurul lor. Recomand sa le folosesti mai rar. Daca incepi sa-ti hidratezi cuticulele zilnic vei vedea ca nici nu vei mai avea nevoie de ele.

This is how my cuticles look BEFORE pushing them (sorry for the hairs, they are my tomcat's and I didn't notice them). There is not a lot of dead skin and they look pretty good. Stop cutting and start moisturising and yours will look the same. I've never cut mine.

Asa arata cuticulele mele INAINTE sa le imping (imi cer scuze pentru firele de par, sunt de la motanul meu si nu le-am observat inainte sa fac poza). Nu e multa piele moarta si arata destul de bine. Inceteaza taiatul si incepe hidratatul si ale tale vor arata la fel. Eu nu mi le-am taiat niciodata.

This video shows how I push them and how I remove the dead skin. Don't "dig" under the cuticle, only remove the visible dead skin. After you're done, wipe your nails with a tissue and remove any dead skin residues you may have missed.

Clipul arata cum le imping si cum indepartez pielea moarta. Nu "sapa" sub cuticula, indeparteaza doar pielea moarta vizibila. Dupa ce ai terminat, sterge-ti unghiile cu un servetel si indeparteaza eventuale reziduuri de piele moarta ramase.

The method shown works both for my and my boyfriend's cuticles (photo below) with the difference that in the second case better soak the nails into a bowl of water not more than a few minutes and then allow the moisturiser to soften the skin before proceeding. I highly doubt that a woman's cuticles could look like my boyfriend's but you never know :)

Metoda aratata functioneaza atat pentru cuticulele mele cat si cele ale iubitului meu (poza mai jos) cu diferenta ca in al doilea caz mai bine tine unghiile in apa

nu mai mult de cateva minute si apoi ingaduie hidratantului sa inmoaie pielea inainte de a incepe. Ma indoiesc ca o femeie ar putea avea cuticulele ca ale iubitului meu dar nu se stie niciodata :)

Now you can proceed with any treatments you want. I usually skip this but if you don't usually moisturise your nails I recommend soaking them for 10 minutes in extra virgin olive oil once a week. After this, wash your hands and wipe your nails with a paper tissue. Make sure they are perfectly dry before applying polish. 

Acum poti continua cu ce tratamente vrei. Eu de obicei sar peste ele dar daca nu obisnuiesti sa-ti hidratezi unghiile recomand sa le tii 10 minute in ulei de masline extra virgin o data pe saptamana. Dupa tratament, spala-ti mainile si sterge-ti unghiile cu un servetel de hartie. Asigura-te ca sunt perfect uscate inainte de a aplica oja.

Of course I have written a gigantosaurus post once again. Hope it was worth reading though. Stay tuned for the next ones in this series. I have a feeling "How to improve the wear of your nail polish" will be very interesting for many girls :) See you!

Bineinteles ca am scris o postare gigantozaurica iar. Sper ca a meritat totusi. Fii pe faza pentru urmatoarele din aceasta serie. Am un sentiment ca postarea pe care o s-o numesc "Cum sa faci oja sa tina mai mult" va fi foarte interesanta pentru multe fete :) Pe curand!