• Question: how do nails grow?

    Asked by to Aimee, Chris, Dave, Greig, Laurence on 16 Jun 2014. This question was also asked by .
    • Photo: Aimee Hopper

      Aimee Hopper answered on 16 Jun 2014:

      Finger nails are made by the part of finger just below the base of your existing nails. This part, protected by the cuticle, is called the matrix.
      From here nail cells are made, and these are high in a protein called keretin (the hard stuff your nails are made from). As it is, it pushes the old cells up, above the service, and makes the nails that you see on your hands and feet.

    • Photo: Laurence Perreault Levasseur

      Laurence Perreault Levasseur answered on 17 Jun 2014:

      Aimee said it all!
      Did you know that on average finger nails and toe nails grow of two inches a year? (I thought it was much faster!!)

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