Many people are sure that beautiful nails are necessarily complex and artsy manicure, bright varnish and multi-colored sparkles. All this, no doubt, looks impressive, but beautiful nails are he althy 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 what nails are for, how they work and why they grow?
Why do people need nails?
In the early stages of human evolution, his nails were much denser. They were something between the claws of an animal and the 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 up edible roots, 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 the fingertips from mechanical damage.
How does a nail work?
Let's tryunderstand how the nail grows and what it consists of. This knowledge can be useful not only for specialists in beauty salons, but also for every person who wants to keep their hands he althy and beautiful.
The structure of the nail is somewhat more complex than you might imagine. It consists of elements such as:
- Nail root. This is the germ part, consisting 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 on 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 fuses tightly with the nail bed, it is slightly lighter than the main plate. How the nail grows also largely depends on this part, since the shape of the hole determines the future configuration of the entire nail.
- Nail plate. This is the most visible element, because it is what is described when talking 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 the area under the nail plate, penetrated by a dense network of capillaries. Needs protectionbecause it has a large number of nerve endings.
- Cuticle. A thin strip of dead skin that protects the nail fold from bacteria and dirt. Expands rapidly, pushing new cells forward.
- Nail roller. Covers the nail bed and the invisible part of the stratum corneum, protects against dirt and microbes. Sometimes this element is called a side roller.
- The nail ingrowth is 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 about how the nail grows (we examined the structure of its elements) will help you avoid serious mistakes when caring for your hands. So, for example, many people refuse trimmed manicure, because it injures the cuticle and deprives the nail fold of natural protection. The outdated type of manicure is gradually being replaced by cosmetic cuticle care and hardware manicure.
How long nails grow
In fact, a he althy person's nail could grow indefinitely if not filed, trimmed or broken during any action. The growth rate depends only on the state of he alth. If a person has a normal metabolism, no chronic diseases and circulatory disorders, then his nails grow by about 1 cm per week.
Today, Las Vegas resident Chris W alton is considered the owner of the longest nails. Her nails have different lengths, on the left hand one of them has grown to 91 cm. The total length is more than 6 m.to say how aesthetic it is, but W alton 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. The way 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 the increase in nails accelerates, and in winter - growth becomes slower. It is also believed that during the day they grow stronger than at night. In men, the rate of nail growth is faster than in women, and they have to trim the free edge of the plate more often. Although there are some nuances here. Until the age of 30, nail growth still occurs faster in women, but after forty - in men. But the highest rate of nail growth is observed in children.
Oddly enough, this figure is also affected by the climate. In cold regions, nail growth is significantly lower than in regions with warm climates.
What slows down nail growth
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 a lack of fats, proteins, amino acids and vitamins in the diet.
Often nail growth is slowed down due to chronic stress. 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 an overgrown cuticle. It stops passing nutrients to the matrix in the requiredvolume.
Another common cause of growth retardation is circulatory and metabolic disorders. These conditions can be symptoms of many illnesses.
The question that torments many
It turns out that the nail plate is dead keratin cells, but can a dead one 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) ones are simply pushed up.
What the doctor will see
For doctors, the condition of a patient's nails speaks volumes. 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, not associated with mechanical trauma, may be a symptom of endocarditis.
A very light nail bed is a symptom of anemia, while a dark nail bed indicates an excess of red blood cells.
The well-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.
