Which Is Your Fastest Growing Fingernail: Facts About Your Nails

Fingernails contribute to hand and leg characteristics but we need to know more about them to improve our hygiene.

A person's fingernail says a lot about their health. The irregular pattern of fingernails can be indicative of some underlying diseases.

Ancient people knew of the fingernail's existence and that it grows. As far back as 3000 BC, ancient Egyptians were already painting their fingernails with red polish.

Details about fingernails have been in existence for a long time but how long do they grow? Studies show that fingernails grow at a rate of around 0.002 in (0.08 mm) per day and 10 in (25 cm) per year.

Fingernails grow faster when you start eating healthy foods and make some changes in your lifestyle. Research clearly states that the dominant hand (the hand that we use the most to do daily activities) has nails that grow faster than others.

Researchers have also found out that fingernails grow fastest in the daylight or summer seasons than in the winters. Vitamin D and keratin substances are highly essential for fast-growing fingernails. Hormones also play a major role in the growth of the fingernails.

Why do fingernails grow?

Nail growth can be affected by healthy lifestyle changes, facts like age, or health conditions like thyroid conditions and rapid weight loss can be reasons. There are many reasons why nails grow; the most important thing is that it helps and acts as defense for the fingertip.

The middle finger grows faster than the rest, growing much faster, whereas the thumb grows slower on the other side. Many researchers have also found that the reason for this is that the growth of a person’s nails depends on the bones in the fingertips.

The nail in the hand grows faster than the toenails and the middle nail grows faster in the hand. Here, the thumb nails grow slower due to the terminal phalanges.

How to measure fingernails growing?

The rate at which nail is grown at 0.1 in (3.5 mm) per month and if the person calculates on the basis of per day growth then it is 0.003 in (0.1 mm). In the dominant hand, the growth of the nail is faster than the rest.

Nails grow faster, at least about a tenth, in your dominant side compared to your non-dominant hand. Now, this difference might be influenced by some hereditary factors, too.

The middle fingernail grows the fastest because of the length of the bone in the fingertip. And the growth of thumb nails is slower than others. The longer the bone, the faster there is an increase in growth.

Factors that can shorten the life of a nail, include the following.

Iron deficiency: Because this is usually caused by a lack of blood in the body, it can affect nails.

Bad circulation: If you're not exercising regularly, your blood will not circulate enough and will not be able to support your nail growth. This can lead to decay as well.

Nail injury: This is any trauma that affects nail growth.

Early growth: This happens when you cut your nails too early. If you cut them too early, then they will not grow.

Skin conditions: The skin can affect nail development. Some skin conditions like psoriasis can make nails brittle and thin, which can lead to faster breakage and damage.

Fungus: This causes yellowish nails that are due to fungal infection. The infection leads to tough nails and a higher chance of breaking them.

Which is your fastest growing fingernail?

Fingernails don't grow at the same rate. The fastest growing nail is the middle finger because the length of the bone is longer in comparison to others.

While the middle finger grows comparatively faster, the average rate of nail growth in a month is 0.1 in (3.5 mm). There are many factors that influence the growth rate of a fingernail like age, health, hormones, and many more. So, the nails on the dominant hand grow faster than normal because of the usage.

The middle nail is the fastest growing finger after that ring finger after that index finger then Pinky finger and thumb finger. The index finger grows faster than the pinky finger (little finger), to be precise.

The growth of fingernails is 0.003 in (0.1 mm) in a day.

There's a higher growth rate for this smallest finger compared to the others because it is closer to the pinky toe and has more blood circulation available to feed the nail. The nail growing at the fastest rate is not shorter but up near the base of their fingers.

Fingernails grow faster than toenails. The dominant hand grows faster than others and the long bone in the fingertip will grow fast than usual.

The growth of the nail in a week is about 0.03 in (0.7 mm) per week. And the average rate of toenails is 0.02 in (0.4 mm) per week. The nail growth depends on their health.

Blood circulation slows due to the poor overall health of the nails. During illness, the body uses most of the nutrients to fight that diseases. Poor diet is one of the main factors that affects nail growth. Changes in weather condition also affects nails.

You should also know that men's nails tend to grow faster than women's. Speaking of finger tips for nails, the polish that is used for nails may cause harm to the nails, then affect your overall healthy nails. The polish contains toxins and chemicals that can harm the growth rebate of nails.

Did You Know...

Fingernails are made up of the same types of cells that make up older fingernails. They're called 'proper nails' as opposed to 'growth nails' or 'old nails'.

The nail is attached to the finger by the cuticle. This is a thin layer of dead skin that separates the nail from the finger's surface. Any new nail that grows from the nail bed is known as a 'growth' nail.

Growth nails are small at first but quickly begin to outgrow their parent's nails and grow rapidly until they are close to the tip. These growth nails may stay attached for a few weeks or months - this varies, though.

The color of your nails is determined by melanin which comes from melanocytes that are contained in the outermost layer of the skin. Melanocytes are often called pigmented cells and they make up the pigment that differentiates between genders and ethnicities.

Eating healthy food leads to an increase in nutrients and vitamins; this helps to nourish the nails. While doing work like washing, cleaning wearing gloves is best at that time to avoid the toxic polishes and chemicals from nails.

Apart from that, you have to check the nail polish for women and other items you use.

Your nails may be harmed by a particular trio of nail polish content and slowly, it may irritate your nail area. You might as well protect your nail bed and avoid glue on nails or use nail hardeners.

Similarly, some fingertips for better nail health would be to stop nail biting and let the nail completely grow to a smaller extent, and shape it as you please.

Shape and size are determined by genetics and are unrelated to fingernails. Nail polish is not generally good for your nails, so make sure that you don't wear it too often or too much (makeup can also be damaging to nails).

On the other hand, much care should be provided to the toenails as well. Contrary to popular belief, nails are not just about the color.

You need to provide equal attention to toenails, their shape, and looks, the outermost finger bones, nail bed as a whole. Toenails grow but the fingernail grows the fastest.

The nail growth is so much faster than toenails that if you lose a nail in the toe, you may have to wait for a year and a half for a full regrowth. The nail regrows three times faster than this.

There are many keratin treatments going for fingers and nails which effectively helps the fingernails to grow. The nail shining and polishing are also carefully performed under treatment. If you find any skin irritation after any new product usage, have a high fever, or so on, consult a doctor immediately.