
Fingernails grow slowly, averaging one-tenth of an inch (2.5mm) each month. The nail bed, which sits on top of tiny blood vessels, is where the nail slides along and grows. The nail root, which extends several millimeters into the finger, produces most of the volume of the nail and the nail bed.
Characteristics | Values |
---|---|
Average rate of growth | 3.47 millimeters (mm) per month |
Average daily growth | 0.1 mm |
Average monthly growth | 2.5 mm |
Time to regrow completely | 3 to 6 months |
Time to regrow toenails completely | 12 to 18 months |
What You'll Learn
How fast nails grow: 10th of a millimeter per day
Nails grow at a rate of 10th of a millimeter per day, which is about 3 to 3.5 millimeters per month. This means that it would take two-and-a-half years to grow your fingernails to one full inch beyond the tip of your finger. However, there are a number of factors that can affect this rate of growth, including which hand it is, your age, hormone levels, and overall health.
The nail root determines the length of the fingernail, while the nail bed determines the thickness. The nail bed sits on top of tiny blood vessels that feed it and give your nails their pink color. Fingernails serve a number of helpful functions, whether helping people to grip an item, used for scratching or grooming, or as a part of self-defense.
The average grain of short rice is about 5.5 mm long. If you happen to lose a fingernail, it may take up to six months for that nail to completely grow back. The nails on your dominant hand grow faster than the rest, as do the nails on your longer fingers.
Nails are made of keratin. Keratin is the same protein that makes up your hair and the upper layer of your skin. On average, fingernails only grow about one-tenth of an inch every month. For example, if you lost most of a fingernail, it could take six months or more for it to grow back completely.
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Factors affecting nail growth: hand, age, hormones, health
The average person's fingernail grows about three millimeters a month, which is about one-tenth of an inch. It would take two-and-a-half years to grow your fingernails to one full inch beyond the tip of your finger — if you could manage not to break them, that is. There are a few people who have made a name for themselves by growing ultra-long fingernails; our friends at the Guinness Book of World Records have identified a number of world record holders for "longest fingernails".
The nail root determines the length of your fingernail, while the nail bed determines the thickness. The nail bed sits on top of tiny blood vessels that feed it and give your nails their pink color. Nails are made of keratin, the same protein that makes up your hair and the upper layer of your skin.
The rate of growth also varies between its fingers and toes, and even between your different fingers. The nails on your dominant hand grow faster than the rest, as do the nails on your longer fingers. On average, fingernails only grow about one-tenth of an inch every month. For example, if you lost most of a fingernail, it could take six months or more for it to grow back completely.
There are a number of factors that can affect the rate of nail growth, including which hand it is, your age, hormone levels, and overall health. Nails are constantly growing, but their growth rate slows down due to poor circulation and aging. The average rate of nail growth is 3.47 millimeters (mm) per month, or about a tenth of a millimeter per day. To put this in perspective, the average grain of short rice is about 5.5 mm long.
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Average nail growth per month: 3.47mm, 2.5mm
The average nail growth rate is 3.47mm per month, or 2.5mm per month. This means that fingernails grow about one-tenth of an inch every month. The nail root determines the length of the fingernail, while the nail bed determines the thickness.
The nail bed sits on top of tiny blood vessels that feed it and give your nails their pink color. The nail grows slowly and the growth rate slows down due to poor circulation and aging. The rate of growth also varies between its fingers and toes, and even between your different fingers.
The nails on your dominant hand grow faster than the rest, as do the nails on your longer fingers. If you happen to lose a fingernail, it may take up to six months for that nail to completely grow back.
The average grain of short rice is about 5.5 mm long. It would take two-and-a-half years to grow your fingernails to one full inch beyond the tip of your finger — if you could manage not to break them, that is. There are a few people who have made a name for themselves by growing ultra-long fingernails; our friends at the Guinness Book of World Records have identified a number of world record holders for "longest fingernails".
Fingernails serve a number of helpful functions, whether helping people to grip an item, used for scratching or grooming, or as a part of self-defense. For example, the DNA collected from fingernails when used to fight off an attack can be presented as evidence within the criminal justice system.
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Time to grow back a fingernail: up to six months
Fingernails grow very slowly. On average, fingernails only grow about one-tenth of an inch every month. For example, if you lost most of a fingernail, it could take six months or more for it to grow back completely.
The nail root determines the length of the fingernail, while the nail bed determines the thickness. The nail bed sits on top of tiny blood vessels that feed it and give your nails their pink color.
Nails are made of keratin. Keratin is the same protein that makes up your hair and the upper layer of your skin.
The rate of growth also varies between its fingers and toes, and even between your different fingers. Nails on your dominant hand grow faster than the rest, as do the nails on your longer fingers.
Fingernails serve a number of helpful functions, whether helping people to grip an item, used for scratching or grooming, or as a part of self-defense. For example, the DNA collected from fingernails when used to fight off an attack can be presented as evidence within the criminal justice system.
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Longest fingernail on record: 6.5 feet
The longest fingernail on record was more than 6.5 feet (2 meters) in length. This record was set by Shree Chilla, who hasn't cut her nails since 1990.
The nail bed is the flat surface under your nails. It sits on top of tiny blood vessels that feed it and give your nails their pink color. The nail root is the root portion at the base of your nail, which lies below the skin and extends several millimeters into the finger. It produces most of the volume of the nail and the nail bed.
The nail matrix is the nail matrix and the nail root are related. The matrix lies beneath the skin, at the inner edge of the nail plate, and is responsible for most of a nail's growth. It's where new cells grow and then advance forward to form the nail, until it reaches the outer edge and ultimately is removed. Without it, no nail plate growth is possible.
The nail grows slowly, in fact, they grow about one-tenth of an inch (2.5 millimeters) each month. The average grain of short rice is about 5.5 mm long. If you happen to lose a fingernail, it may take up to six months for that nail to completely grow back. The nails on your dominant hand grow faster than the rest, as do the nails on your longer fingers.
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Frequently asked questions
Nails grow into the finger and the nail bed, which is the flat surface under your nails. The nail bed sits on top of tiny blood vessels that feed it and give your nails their pink color.
Nails grow about one-tenth of an inch (2.5 millimeters) each month. They grow at an average rate of 3.47 millimeters (mm) per month, or about a tenth of a millimeter per day.
Human fingernails can grow to at least 6.5 feet long, and perhaps more. One woman's thumbnail was more than 6.5 feet (2 meters) in length.
The nails on your dominant hand grow faster than the rest, as do the nails on your longer fingers.