Many are sure that beautiful nails are necessarily complex and artsy manicure, bright varnish and multi-colored sparkles. All this, no doubt, looks spectacular, but beautiful nails are healthy in the first place. Their painful appearance (stratification, brittleness, discoloration) indicates serious problems with the body that need to be urgently addressed.
Have you ever wondered why nails are needed, how they are arranged and why they grow?
Why does a man need nails?
At the first stages of human evolution, his nails were much denser. They were a cross between the claws of an animal and the horn plates of modern humans. At that time, nails were an additional means of protection. In addition, in ancient times they were a natural “tool”: they were used to tear raw meat, to dig up edible roots, and to search for insect larvae.
Time passed, and the function of the nails changed somewhat. Today they help to manipulate small objects, but their main purpose is to protect against mechanical damage to the fingertips.
How does the nail work?
Let's try to figure out how the nail grows and what it consists of. This knowledge can be useful not only to specialists in beauty salons, but also to every person who wants to maintain a healthy and beautiful appearance of their hands.
The structure of the nail is somewhat more complicated than you might imagine. It consists of elements such as:
- Nail root. This is the germ part of living cells. It is she who is responsible for how the nail grows. The root produces new cells, which slowly move 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, then the nail loses its aesthetic appeal, acquiring an unnatural shape.
- Nail hole (or lunula). This is a small area in front of the root. It is located in the visible part and has the shape of a crescent. In the nail hole, keratinization of living cells produced by the root occurs. The hole itself is tightly fused with the nail bed, it is slightly lighter than the main plate. How the nail grows depends on this part, too, since the shape of the hole determines the future configuration of the entire nail.
- Nail plate. This is the most noticeable element, because it is she who is described when they talk about their nails. The plate is formed by a special type of cell - keratinocytes. Growing and compacting, they form a protective layer.
- The nail bed. This is the area under the nail plate, pierced by a dense network of capillaries. It needs protection because it has a large number of nerve endings.
- Cuticle. A thin strip of dead skin that protects the nail roller from bacteria and dirt. It grows rapidly, pushing forward new cells.
- Nail roller. It covers the nail bed and the invisible part of the stratum corneum, protects against dirt and germs. Sometimes this element is called a side roller.
- Nail growth - the movable part connected to the nail to the very edge.
- Free edge. This is part of the nail plate that has grown over the edge of the bed.
Information on how the nail grows (we examined the structure of its elements) will help to avoid serious mistakes when caring for hands. So, for example, many refuse to cut manicure, because it injures the cuticle and deprives the nail roller of natural protection. The outdated look of manicure is gradually being replaced by cosmetic cuticle care and hardware manicure.
How many nails grow
In fact, the nail of a healthy person could grow indefinitely if it had not been filed, trimmed, or broken during any action. The growth rate 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 considered a resident of Las Vegas Chris Walton. Her nails have different lengths, on her left hand one of them has grown to 91 cm. The total length is more than 6 m. It is difficult to say how aesthetically pleasing, but Walton 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 the same
There is no single rule for nail growth. How a nail grows depends on many reasons, the main one being the physical condition of a person. But it has long been noticed that in summer, nail growth accelerates, and in winter, growth becomes slower. And it is also believed that during the day they grow stronger than at night. In men, the growth rate of nails is higher than in women, and they often have to cut the free edge of the plate. Although there are some nuances. Until 30 years, nail growth faster still occurs in women, but after forty - in men. But the highest growth rate of marigolds is observed in children.
Oddly enough, but this indicator also affects the climate. In cold regions, nail growth is significantly lower than in regions with a warm climate.
What slows down nail growth
Sometimes the process slows down unknowingly. This is due to the fact that a person sits on an unbalanced diet. The process slows down due to a lack of fats, proteins, amino acids and vitamins in the diet.
Often, nail growth is slowed down due to stresses that have become chronic. If a person is nervous and worried, then the whole body suffers, and nails are no exception.
In some, the cause of stunted growth is a greatly expanded cuticle. It ceases to pass nutrients to the matrix in the required volume.
Another common cause of stunted growth is impaired circulation and metabolism. These conditions can be symptoms of many diseases.
A question that plagues 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 is these cells that grow, and the dead (keratinized) are simply pushed up.
What the doctor will see
For doctors, the condition of the patient's nails says a lot. So, for example, if the color of the plate has changed from pink to pale blue, then the person has a disease of the cardiovascular system. Dark spots on the surface of the nail that are not associated with mechanical injuries can 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.
Well-known white spots and streaks on the nails can be evidence of metabolic disorders, anorexia, hepatitis, heart failure, renal failure, fungal infection and other problems.