How does the nail grow and what does it consist of?

Many are sure that beautiful nails are necessarily complex and fanciful manicures, bright varnish and colorful sequins. All this, no doubt, looks impressive, but beautiful nails in the first place - healthy. Their morbid appearance (stratification, fragility, discoloration) indicates serious problems with the body, which must be urgently addressed.

Have you ever wondered what nails are for, how they are arranged and why they grow?

Why do people need nails?

At the first stages of human evolution, his nails were much denser. They were something middle between the claws of an animal and horny plates of modern people. At that time, nails were an additional means of protection. In addition, in ancient times they were a natural "tool of labor": they were used to tear raw meat, to dig in edible rootlets, to search for insect larvae.

Time passed, and the functions of the nails changed somewhat. Today they help to manipulate small objects, but their main purpose is to protect them from mechanical damage to their fingertips.

How is the nail?

We will try to understand how the nail grows and what it consists of. This knowledge can be useful not only to specialists of beauty salons, but also to every person who wants to keep a healthy and beautiful look of their hands.

The structure of the nail is somewhat more complicated than one can imagine. It consists of such elements as:

• Nail root. It is the germ of living cells. It is she who is responsible for how the nail grows. The root produces new cells, which slowly advance forward, provide growth. It is located slightly below the visible part of the nail, under the skin. Sometimes this element is called a matrix (or matrix). If, for some reason, the root is injured, the nail loses its aesthetic appeal, taking on an unnatural shape.
• Nail hole (or lunula). This is a small area in front of the root. It is located on the visible part and has the shape of a crescent. In the nail hole there is a keratinization of living cells produced by the root. The hole itself fuses with the nail bed, it is slightly lighter than the base plate. From this part, too, largely depends on how the nail grows, because the shape of the hole determines the future configuration of the entire nail.

• Nail plate. This is the most noticeable element, as it is described when they talk about their nails. The plate is formed by a special type of cells - keratinocytes. Growing and compacting, they form a protective layer.
• Nail bed. This is a site under the nail plate, permeated with a dense network of capillaries. Needs protection, because it has a large number of nerve endings.
• Cuticle. A thin strip of dead skin, which protects the nail roller from getting bacteria and dirt. Rapidly expanding, pushing forward new cells.
• Nail roller. It covers the nail bed and the invisible part of the horny plate, protects against dirt and microbes. Sometimes this element is called a side roller.
• Nail growth is a moving part connected with the nail to the very edge.
• Free edge. This is part of the nail plate that grows over the edge of the bed.

Information on how the nail grows (the structure of its elements we have considered), will help to avoid serious errors in the care of hands. For example, many people refuse to cut a manicure, as it traumatises the cuticle and deprives the nail roller of natural protection. In place of the outdated type of manicure, cosmetic care for the cuticle and hardware manicure gradually come.

How many nails grow

In fact, the nail of a healthy person could grow to infinity, if not subjected to sawing, pruning or breaking during the execution of any action. The rate of growth depends only on the state of health. If a person has a normal metabolism, there are no chronic diseases and circulatory disorders, then his nails grow about 1 cm per week.

Today, the owner of the longest nails is a resident of Las Vegas, Chris Volton. Its nails are of different lengths, on the left hand, one of them has grown to 91 cm. The total length is more than 6 m. It is difficult to say how much this is aesthetically pleasing, but Volton is not the only person in the world who grows his nails in the hope of getting into the Guinness Book of Records .

Do nails always grow in the same way?

There is no uniform rule for nail growth. The way a nail grows depends on a variety of causes, the main one of which is the physical state of a person. But it has long been noticed that in the summer the increase in nails accelerates, and in winter - the growth becomes slower. And it is believed that during the day they grow stronger than at night. In men, the speed of nail growth is higher than that of women, and they often have to cut the free edge of the plate. Although there are some nuances. Up to 30 years, the growth of nails is faster all the same in women, but after forty - in men. But the highest growth rate of marigolds is observed in children.

Strangely enough, but this indicator is also influenced by the climate. In cold regions, nail growth is significantly lower than in regions with warm climates.

What slows the growth of nails

Sometimes the process slows down unconsciously. This is due to the fact that a person sits on an unbalanced diet. The process slows down due to lack of fat, protein, amino acids and vitamins in the diet.

Often the growth of nails is slowed due to stresses that have passed into a chronic form. If a person is nervous and worried, then the whole body suffers, and nails are no exception.

For some, the cause of slow growth is a much overgrown cuticle. It stops passing nutrients to the matrix in the required volume.

Another common cause of growth retardation is a violation of blood circulation and metabolism. These conditions can be symptoms of many diseases.

The question that tortures many

It turns out that the nail plate is dead keratin cells, but can the dead grow? So why do nails grow? There are no contradictions here. Remember, the structure of the nail was described above? So, under the skin the nail is alive, it's these cells that grow, and the dead (keratinized) are just pushed up.

What the doctor will see

For doctors, the condition of the patient's nails speaks volumes. So, for example, if the color of the plate changed from pink to pale blue, then the person has a cardiovascular disease. Dark spots on the surface of the nail, not associated with mechanical trauma, may be a symptom of endocarditis.

A very light nail bed is a symptom of anemia, and a dark one indicates an overabundance of red blood cells.

All known white spots and stripes on the nails can be evidence of metabolic disorders, anorexia, hepatitis, heart failure, kidney failure, fungal infection and other problems.