How and with what speed do nails grow?

It would seem that such a familiar to all parts of the body - nails, but there are even entire sections of science devoted to their study. Anatomy of the nail is not as simple as it seems. Our nails perform important functions. The main one is protective. Let's talk about how to properly grow and shape the nails on the hands of a person, let's look at the possible causes of deviations from the norm, reveal the secrets of preventive measures to improve and strengthen.

Nail is not an easy part of the body. However familiar his device may seem, it is not so in reality. A nail is a corneal formation similar to a claw or hoof of an animal. Its location is the nail bed, from where it grows.

The source of the hard end of the fingers is a matrix (matrix). This part is responsible for the formation of new nail tissues, the growth of the plate begins with it. The second basis of the nail - the root. It is located in the nail gap. The part we see is the body of the nail and the free edge (the part that grows over time). The root is quite large: it reaches 25–30% of the visible length of the nail plate. To the nail bed, and, more precisely, to its matrix, fit several blood vessels, which are responsible for its nutrition and healthy natural color. The skin folds located on both sides are called nail rolls.

The familiar word “cuticle” means a thin layer of skin that attaches skin folds to the nail and holds the nail plate in its place in the bed in the area of ​​the free edge. The cuticle protects the nail from ingestion of infections and harmful bacteria. The structure of the nails on the hands and feet is no different, except for the shape. There are differences in the functional set: for example, they are designed to carry out time-consuming, complex small movements on their hands, to improve the fine motor skills of the fingers, and on the legs the main purpose is to protect the fingers from minor injuries. Today, the nails carry an aesthetic load: well-groomed fingers on the hands and feet have become an indispensable attribute of a self-respecting woman. The male population in recent times also does not reject the beauty of the hands.

Human nails grow throughout life. They have the ability to regenerate and grow fully with a serious injury. Exception: substantial damage or complete destruction of the nail matrix will completely stop the growth and development of the stratum corneum. The average thickness of a human nail is 0.3-0.4 millimeters. Note that its thickness in the representatives of the stronger sex is somewhat higher than that of the beautiful half of humanity. But such an indicator as the growth rate is directly opposite: female marigolds grow much faster than male ones. These two basic parameters are also influenced by the age of a person, the peculiarities of his profession, daily actions performed by the hands.

The growth of the nail begins with cell division in the matrix. There are formed the so-called onychoblasts. Onychoblasts are cells that are identical to each other. The adult maternal cell is divided into two: one of them will remain in the matrix and further, and the second moves up. This process is repeated over and over.The newly formed cells displace old cells, which determines the growth of the nail forward with a free edge.

Initially, new cells have a round shape and a whitish tint. Their clusters can be seen: the white semicircles at the base of the nail are lunules (or dimples, as we call them simpler). During the life of new cells inside them, chemical changes take place, under the influence of which their visual shape and color change. The nails are laid back in the period of intrauterine development of the fetus, and then the growth continues during the whole life. The growth rate may vary depending on the season, diet, heredity, the presence of disease.

The average growth rate of the nail in the normal state is 1 millimeter per week. That is, in a month a healthy person grows by about 0.5 cm. On the toes, they grow somewhat slower than on the fingers. If the nail plate is removed completely, then regeneration will take on average about six months. The growth rate of the nail plate is influenced by many factors. The main ones include:

• age;
• the presence of chronic diseases;
• drug use;
• finger injuries;
• heredity.

It is believed that the nails grow in a person throughout life. But it is not so. If you completely stop cutting the regrown part, then after some time the growth will slow down significantly. Reaching a certain length, the nails will stop growing altogether. This is confirmed by those who fell into the Guinness Book of Records. The rate of growth is also influenced by the specific finger in question. There is a pattern revealed by scientists: the longer the fingers of a person are, the greater is the growth rate of the nails. It was also revealed that on the thumb and little finger the growth of the nail plate is slower than on the rest.

Ideally, the nails should have a smooth surface, healthy color, regular geometric shape. For various reasons, sometimes not dependent on the person himself, they can grow incorrectly (bend down or up, have external defects, grow crooked, waves wide, long or not grow at all). The deformation of the nail plate - all sorts of changes on the surface of the nail, which are caused by external and internal causes. More often than others there are such disadvantages as:

• the presence of grooves (longitudinal or transverse in nature);
• excessive bulge of the nail;
• spoon-shaped nail plate with hollows;
• flat nails.

Children of different ages often have spoon-shaped nails. This defect is called koilonikhia. This deviation in childhood does not require special treatment. For children, this is a normal phenomenon that will pass with age: as the body grows, the nail plates will take on a natural, healthy look and color. Frequent occurrence in babies of infancy is the so-called Bo lines, brittle and brittle marigolds, pigment spots on the nail plates. Children's immunity, which is not fully formed, may not protect the child from fungal bacteria. Many factors can contribute to this, including domestic, or diseases of internal organs.

The child should not be allowed to walk barefoot in places where large crowds of people stay. You should not wear someone else's shoes, you should wash your hosiery more often, because sweating feet creates favorable conditions for the reproduction of harmful bacteria and fungi.Tight or uncomfortable shoes of the child, accidental injuries, contact with the carrier of a fungal disease can also contribute to the deformation of the nails. The health of children's fingers is also affected by a lack of vitamins and minerals in the body. Calcium and iron are especially important in this respect: it is their lack that causes changes in the structure of the nails of the child.

The representatives of the fair sex problems with the nails worry more than anyone. Ladies of all ages today tend to keep pens in order. One of the causes of problems with nails can be improper care or lack of it. Contamination, or, conversely, excessive effort, resulting in injury to the nail and the skin around it, can cause the occurrence of pathogens. These bacteria can eventually cause damage to the nails and cause them to deform. Women may suffer from the unsightly appearance of nails and because their hands are often influenced by household cleaning products. It is inconvenient for many to do household chores with gloves, which is why delicate hands suffer.

The desire to always be fashionable and heels sometimes leads to unpleasant consequences in the form of curvature of the toenails. Inconvenient, stiff shoes, high heels - all these factors for the development of unpleasant symptoms and diseases. Most often suffers a nail on the thumb. The beauty industry contributes to the fact that sometimes due to the frequent extension procedures, excessive decoration, nails become thin, weakened, uneven. Therefore, women should carefully choose salons and masters for such procedures, as well as be careful when choosing cosmetics for the care of hands and nails.

You can often hear the phrase that our nails reflect the internal state of the body. Therefore, it is important to monitor the health, to properly care for them. Not everyone scrupulously treat their hands and follow the simple recommendations of doctors for care and hygiene, which ultimately leads to the most dire consequences. There are absolutely simple preventive measures that will prevent nail problems: better to prevent trouble than to engage in treatment. In humid environments, fungi and bacteria spread much faster. Hence the conclusion: keep your hands and nails dry.

In the modern world, stresses and experiences persecute at every step, and many people get into the habit of nail biting. First, it is unpleasant for others, and secondly, it is harmful and dangerous to health! The aesthetic appearance of the hands will be clearly spoiled, and you also risk bringing harmful bacteria not only into the nail bed area, but also swallowing them, causing an upset of the gastrointestinal tract. Note that this habit belongs to the category of nervous diseases - visit the appropriate doctor.

If you daily moisturize the area of ​​growth of the cuticle on the fingers, then your nails will clearly tell you thank you. Vitamin E is especially important: it is a source of nutrition for the nail plate and a natural antioxidant. When removing the decorative lacquer from the surface of the nail plate, try to use products that do not contain acetone - it is very dry. Watch your diet. The balance, variety, consumption of a sufficient amount of fruits and vegetables will obviously benefit not only your pens, but also the whole organism. Lack of vitamins and minerals primarily affects the nails, hair and skin of a person.

Maintain body water balance: drink the daily rate of water (namely, water!) a day. This is about 1.5-2 liters. At the same time, soups, tea and coffee are not included here. If you notice problems with nails on your hands or feet, ingrown plates, then in no case do not self-medicate - immediately contact the right specialist. Cosmetic procedures, manicure and pedicure do only in those salons and studios that are time-tested. This is a list of the simplest recommendations and tips that will help to avoid problems with the health of nails. Following them is not so difficult.

How to grow nails and why they are hard, see the following video.