Quick Facts About Nails

• The skin on fingertips are protected by nails.
• Nails are dead cells and made of protein called keratin.
• Feeding nutrients to the nails go beyond the surface.
• The surface of a nail is called the nail plate.
• The cuticle is the skin that grows from the finger onto the base of the nail (nail root).
• Nail moons are found at the base of the nails. They are also known as lunule.
• Small or no moons may indicate low metabolism while large moons may indicate an active metalbolism.
• Nail moons disappear with age.
• The average growth rate a day is 0.1 mm.
• Nails grow fastest on the more active hand.
• Nails grow faster during summer and pregnancy.
• Young people grow nails at a faster rate.
• Fingernails grow at least 2 times faster than toenails.
• Weather, activity, hormonal changes and age all have an effect on the rate of nail growth.
• With age nails tend to thicken, harden, grow slower and ridges appear.
• When a nail is detached from the skin (nail bed), it could take up to 6 months for a fingernail and almost 18 months for a toenail to grow right back.
• Though the appearance of nails could often point to any diet imbalance or certain health problems, they are most often not sole indicaters but will be heralded by other more prominent signs and symptoms.

  Subscribe to my RSS feed for regular updates.