Nail Care products

Nail Care Information

Nails do not breathe in the same way as skin, taking in oxygen and emitting carbon dioxide; however, they do need to respire. This means that the nail bed receives its oxygen from the blood supply. Oils and toxins are emitted through the nail plate, thus keeping nails healthy and allowing them to function normally. Nails begin to grow at the germination of the epidermis. Fingernails are generally known as appendages of the skin. The main component of nails contains no nerves. Nails are impervious to feeling, and can be cut without pain. Nails serves to protect the nail plate and their condition will always reflect the general health of an individual.

As nails grow, they move on the channel called the nail groove. The plate, which is colourless, gets its healthy pink tone from the blood vessels in the nail bed, which lie beneath the plate. The technical name for nails is Onyx, and the study of nails is called Onychology.

a) Composition of Nails

Nails contain a protein called keratin. The Keratohyalin granules in the matrix are composed of:

Amino Acids - 48%
Sulphur - 5%
Lipids (fats) - 14%
Water - 14%
The balance is made up of calcium phosphates and carbohydrates

b) Nail Growth

Nails grow forward, starting at the matrix and extending over the tips of the fingers.

The average rate of growth in an adult nail is 3mm per month, depending on a person's age and health. It takes three to six months for nails to grow out from the matrix to the free edge
The nails of the dominant hand tend to grow more quickly due to the increase in blood supply to the matrix
Nails grow faster in children and during pregnancy. As a general rule, the growth rate will be faster in summer than in winter
Typists, finger 'tappers', and nail biters will often have nails which grow faster due to the increase in circulation to the matrix

c) Factors Which Retard Normal Growth

Poor diets, malnutrition, crash dieting
Drugs
Anaemia
Endocrine disorders
Damage to the matrix

d) The Structure of the Nail

The free edge is the extension of the nail plate that grows beyond the edge of the finger or toe
The stress line is the dividing line between the pink colour of the nail bed and the white colour of the free edge
The nail plate or body is the visible part of the nail, consisting of three layers of dead cells, all of which arise from different portions of the nail matrix
The lunula (half moon) is the white, crescent shape that can sometimes be seen on the nail. It is white in colour because it is composed of the new cells from the matrix. As the nail grows, the cells migrate to the free edge and become clear
The cuticle is the epidermis or skin which overlaps and surrounds the nail. It seals the nail bed and matrix from air and water. Without this protection these hvo areas could create a warm, moist pocket for germs to grow
The matrix is composed of cells containing keratohyalin granules; the material responsible for the nail cells hardening. Damage to the matrix can cause permanent deformity and can even cause the nail to stop growing completely
The nail root is at the base of the nail beneath the skin. It originates from the matrix which is the living part of the nail. It is here that new cells are formed which push the old cells forward to form the nail plate. The quality and health of the cells being produced will determine the quality, strength and general condition of the nail
The nail bed is composed of arteries, veins, capillaries, lymphatic system and nerve tissue. It is part of the dermis of the skin and gives the nail plate, which it supports, its healthy pink tone. The nail plate adheres to the nail bed by small ridges on both the underside of the nail plate and on the nail bed, which unite perfectly. The nail is held to the finger in this way up to the free edge
Nail grooves are furrowed tracks on either side of the nail plate
The hyponychium is the epidermis (skin) under the free edge
The eponychium is an extension of the cuticle which overlaps the lunula at the base of the nail
The nail wall seals the nail groove
The stratum corneum is the skin layer which forms the cuticle, including the eponychium