Why do some people’s hair and nails grow quicker than mine?

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Throughout recorded history, our hair and nails played an important role in signifying who we are and our social status. You could say, they separate the caveman from businessman.

It was no surprise then that many of us found a new level of appreciation for our hairdressers and nail artists during the COVID lockdowns. Even Taylor Swift reported she cut her own hair during lockdown.

So, what would happen if all this hair and nail grooming got too much for us and we decided to give it all up. Would our hair and nails just keep on growing?

The answer is yes. The hair on our head grows, on average, 1 centimeter per month, while our fingernails grow an average of just over 3 millimetres.

When left unchecked, our hair and nails can grow to impressive lengths. Aliia Nasyrova, known as the Ukrainian Rapunzel, holds the world record for the longest locks on a living woman, which measure an impressive 257.33 cm.

When it comes to record-breaking fingernails, Diana Armstrong from the United States holds that record at 1,306.58 cm.

Most of us, however, get regular haircuts and trim our nails – some with greater frequency than others. So why do some people’s hair and nails grow more quickly?

Jari Lobo/Pexels

Remind me, what are they made out of?

Hair and nails are made mostly from keratin. Both grow from matrix cells below the skin and grow through different patterns of cell division.

Nails grow steadily from the matrix cells, which sit under the skin at the base of the nail. These cells divide, pushing the older cells forward. As they grow, the new cells slide along the nail bed – the flat area under the fingernail which looks pink because of its rich blood supply.

Person plays guitar
Nails, like hair, are made mostly of keratin. Scott Gruber/Unsplash

A hair also starts growing from the matrix cells, eventually forming the visible part of the hair – the shaft. The hair shaft grows from a root that sits under the skin and is wrapped in a sac known as the hair follicle.

This sac has a nerve supply (which is why it hurts to pull out a hair), oil-producing glands that lubricate the hair and a tiny muscle that makes your hair stand up when it’s cold.

At the follicle’s base is the hair bulb, which contains the all-important hair papilla that supplies blood to the follicle.

Matrix cells near the papilla divide to produce new hair cells, which then harden and form the hair shaft. As the new hair cells are made, the hair is pushed up above the skin and the hair grows.

But the papilla also plays an integral part in regulating hair growth cycles, as it sends signals to the stem cells to move to the base of the follicle and form a hair matrix. Matrix cells then get signals to divide and start a new growth phase.

Unlike nails, our hair grows in cycles

Scientists have identified four phases of hair growth, the:

  1. anagen or growth phase, which lasts between two and eight years
  2. catagen or transition phase, when growth slows down, lasting around two weeks
  3. telogen or resting phase, when there is no growth at all. This usually lasts two to three months
  4. exogen or shedding phase, when the hair falls out and is replaced by the new hair growing from the same follicle. This starts the process all over again.
Stages of hair growth graphic
Hair follicles enter these phases at different times so we’re not left bald. Mosterpiece/Shutterstock

Each follicle goes through this cycle 10–30 times in its lifespan.

If all of our hair follicles grew at the same rate and entered the same phases simultaneously, there would be times when we would all be bald. That doesn’t usually happen: at any given time, only one in ten hairs is in the resting phase.

While we lose about 100–150 hairs daily, the average person has 100,000 hairs on their head, so we barely notice this natural shedding.

So what affects the speed of growth?

Genetics is the most significant factor. While hair growth rates vary between individuals, they tend to be consistent among family members.

Nails are also influenced by genetics, as siblings, especially identical twins, tend to have similar nail growth rates.

Girls compare nailpolish
Genetics have the biggest impact on growth speed. Cottonbro Studio/Pexels

But there are also other influences.

Age makes a difference to hair and nail growth, even in healthy people. Younger people generally have faster growth rates because of the slowing metabolism and cell division that comes with ageing.

Hormonal changes can have an impact. Pregnancy often accelerates hair and nail growth rates, while menopause and high levels of the stress hormone cortisol can slow growth rates.

Nutrition also changes hair and nail strength and growth rate. While hair and nails are made mostly of keratin, they also contain water, fats and various minerals. As hair and nails keep growing, these minerals need to be replaced.

That’s why a balanced diet that includes sufficient nutrients to support your hair and nails is essential for maintaining their health.

Two people lay on the end of a bed. One has much longer hair.
Nutrition can impact hair and nail growth. Cottonbro Studio/Pexels

Nutrient deficiencies may contribute to hair loss and nail breakage by disrupting their growth cycle or weakening their structure. Iron and zinc deficiencies, for example, have both been linked to hair loss and brittle nails.

This may explain why thick hair and strong, well-groomed nails have long been associated with perception of good health and high status.

However, not all perceptions are true.

No, hair and nails don’t grow after death

A persistent myth that may relate to the legends of vampires is that hair and nails continue to grow after we die.

In reality, they only appear to do so. As the body dehydrates after death, the skin shrinks, making hair and nails seem longer.

Morticians are well aware of this phenomenon and some inject tissue filler into the deceased’s fingertips to minimise this effect.

So, it seems that living or dead, there is no escape from the never-ending task of caring for our hair and nails.

Michelle Moscova, Adjunct Associate Professor, Anatomy, UNSW Sydney

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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  • Dreams: Relevance, Meanings, Interpretations

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    It’s Q&A Day at 10almonds!

    Have a question or a request? We love to hear from you!

    In cases where we’ve already covered something, we might link to what we wrote before, but will always be happy to revisit any of our topics again in the future too—there’s always more to say!

    As ever: if the question/request can be answered briefly, we’ll do it here in our Q&A Thursday edition. If not, we’ll make a main feature of it shortly afterwards!

    So, no question/request too big or small

    ❝I have a question or a suggestion for coverage in your “Psychology Sunday”. Dreams: their relevance, meanings ( if any) interpretations? I just wondered what the modern psychological opinions are about dreams in general.❞

    We’ll indeed do that one of these Psychology Sundays! Thanks for suggesting it.

    What we can say in advance is that there’s certainly not a single unified scientific consensus yet, but there are two or three prevailing views definitely worth covering, e.g. randomly generated, a by-product of reorganizing information in the brain, or expressions of subconscious thoughts/feelings.

    There are also differences between a top-down/bottom-up approach to understanding dreaming, and efforts to tie those two together.

    Watch this space!

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  • Chia Seeds vs Flax Seeds – Which is Healthier?

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    Our Verdict

    When comparing chia to flax, we picked the chia.

    Why?

    Both are great! And it’s certainly close. Both are good sources of protein, fiber, and healthy fats.

    Flax seeds contain a little more fat (but it is healthy fat), while chia seeds contain a little more fiber.

    They’re both good sources of vitamins and minerals, but chia seeds contain more. In particular, chia seeds have about twice as much calcium and selenium, and notably more iron and phosphorous—though flax seeds do have more potassium.

    Of course the perfect solution is to enjoy both, but since for the purpose of this exercise we have to pick one, we’d say chia comes out on top—even if flax is not far behind.

    Enjoy!

    Learn more

    For more on these, check out:

    Take care!

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  • Insomnia? High blood pressure? Try these!

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    Your Questions, Our Answers!

    Q: Recipes for insomnia and high blood pressure and good foods to eat for these conditions?

    A: Insomnia can be caused by many things, and consequently can often require a very multi-vector approach to fixing it. But, we’ll start by answering the question you asked (and probably address the rest of dealing with insomnia in another day’s edition!):

    • First, you want food that’s easy to digest. Broadly speaking, this means plant-based. If not plant-based, fish (unless you have an allergy, obviously) is generally good and certainly better than white meat, which is better than red meat. In the category of dairy, it depends so much on what it is, that we’re not going to try to break it down here. If in doubt, skip it.
    • You also don’t want blood sugar spikes, so it’s good to lay off the added sugar and white flour (or white flour derivatives, like white pasta), especially in your last meal of the day.
    • Magnesium supports healthy sleep. A fine option would be our shchi recipe, but using collard greens rather than cabbage. Cabbage is a wonderful food, but collard greens are much higher in magnesium. Remember to add plenty of mushrooms (unless you don’t like them), as they’re typically high in magnesium too.

    As for blood pressure, last month we gave tips (and a book recommendation) for heart health. The book, Dr. Monique Tello’s “Healthy Habits for Your Heart: 100 Simple, Effective Ways to Lower Your Blood Pressure and Maintain Your Heart’s Health”, also has recipes!

    Here’s one from the “mains” section:

    Secret Ingredient Baltimore-Style Salmon Patties with Not-Oily Aioli

    ❝This is a family favorite, and no one knows that it features puréed pumpkin! Most salmon cake recipes all for eggs and bread crumbs as binders, but puréed pumpkin and grated carrot work just as well, lend a beautiful color, and add plenty of fiber and plant nutrients. Canned salmon is way cheaper than fresh and has just as much omega-3 PUFAs and calcium. Serve this alongside a salad (the Summer Corn, Tomato, Spinach, and Basil Salad would go perfectly) for a well-rounded meal.❞

    Serves 4 (1 large patty each)

    Secret Ingredient Baltimore-Style Salmon Patties:

    • 1 (15-oz) can pink salmon, no salt added
    • ½ cup puréed pumpkin
    • ½ cup grated carrot (I use a handheld box grater)
    • 2 tablespoons minced chives (Don’t have chives? Minced green onions or any onions will do)
    • 2 teaspoons Old Bay Seasoning
    • 1 tablespoon olive oil
    • ½ large lemon, sliced, for serving

    Not-Oily Aioli:

    • ½ cup plain low-fat Greek yogurt
    • Juice and zest from ½ large lemon
    • 1 clove garlic, crushed and minced fine
    • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
    1. For the patties: mix all the ingredients for the salmon patties together in a medium bowl
    2. Form patties with your hands and set on a plate or tray (you should have 4 burger-sized patties)
    3. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
    4. Set patties in a skillet and brown for 4 minutes, then carefully flip.
    5. Brown the other side, then serve hot.
    6. For the Aioli: mix all the ingredients for the aioli together in a small bowl.
    7. Plop a dollop alongside or on top of each salmon patty and serve with a spice of lemon.

    Per serving: Calories: 367 | Fat: 13.6g | Saturated Fat: 4.4g | Protein: 46g | Sodium: 519mg | Carbohydrates: 13.2g | Fiber: 1.3g | Sugars: 9g | Calcium: 505mg | Iron: 1mg | Potassium 696mg

    Notes from the 10almond team:

    • If you want to make it plant-based, substitute cooked red lentils (no salt added) for the tinned salmon, and plant-based yogurt for the Greek yogurt
    • We recommend adding more garlic. Seriously, who uses 1 clove of garlic for anything, let alone divided between four portions?
    • The salads mentioned are given as recipes elsewhere in the same book. We strongly recommend getting her book, if you’re interested in heart health!

    Do you have a question you’d like to see answered here? Hit reply or use the feedback widget at the bottom; we’d love to hear from you!

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  • I want to eat healthily. So why do I crave sugar, salt and carbs?

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    We all want to eat healthily, especially as we reset our health goals at the start of a new year. But sometimes these plans are sabotaged by powerful cravings for sweet, salty or carb-heavy foods.

    So why do you crave these foods when you’re trying to improve your diet or lose weight? And what can you do about it?

    There are many reasons for craving specific foods, but let’s focus on four common ones:

    1. Blood sugar crashes

    Sugar is a key energy source for all animals, and its taste is one of the most basic sensory experiences. Even without specific sweet taste receptors on the tongue, a strong preference for sugar can develop, indicating a mechanism beyond taste alone.

    Neurons responding to sugar are activated when sugar is delivered to the gut. This can increase appetite and make you want to consume more. Giving into cravings also drives an appetite for more sugar.

    In the long term, research suggests a high-sugar diet can affect mood, digestion and inflammation in the gut.

    While there’s a lot of variation between individuals, regularly eating sugary and high-carb foods can lead to rapid spikes and crashes in blood sugar levels. When your blood sugar drops, your body can respond by craving quick sources of energy, often in the form of sugar and carbs because these deliver the fastest, most easily accessible form of energy.

    2. Drops in dopamine and serotonin

    Certain neurotransmitters, such as dopamine, are involved in the reward and pleasure centres of the brain. Eating sugary and carb-rich foods can trigger the release of dopamine, creating a pleasurable experience and reinforcing the craving.

    Serotonin, the feel-good hormone, suppresses appetite. Natural changes in serotonin can influence daily fluctuations in mood, energy levels and attention. It’s also associated with eating more carb-rich snacks in the afternoon.

    Woman sits at her desk, tired
    Do you get 3pm sugar cravings? Serotonin could play a role.
    Marcus Aurelius/Pexels

    Low carb diets may reduce serotonin and lower mood. However, a recent systematic review suggests little association between these diets and risk for anxiety and depression.

    Compared to men, women tend to crave more carb rich foods. Feeling irritable, tired, depressed or experiencing carb cravings are part of premenstrual symptoms and could be linked to reduced serotonin levels.

    3. Loss of fluids and drops in blood sugar and salt

    Sometimes our bodies crave the things they’re missing, such as hydration or even salt. A low-carb diet, for example, depletes insulin levels, decreasing sodium and water retention.

    Very low-carb diets, like ketogenic diets, induce “ketosis”, a metabolic state where the body switches to using fat as its primary energy source, moving away from the usual dependence on carbohydrates.

    Ketosis is often associated with increased urine production, further contributing to potential fluid loss, electrolyte imbalances and salt cravings.

    4. High levels of stress or emotional turmoil

    Stress, boredom and emotional turmoil can lead to cravings for comfort foods. This is because stress-related hormones can impact our appetite, satiety (feeling full) and food preferences.

    The stress hormone cortisol, in particular, can drive cravings for sweet comfort foods.

    A 2001 study of 59 premenopausal women subjected to stress revealed that the stress led to higher calorie consumption.

    A more recent study found chronic stress, when paired with high-calorie diet, increases food intake and a preference for sweet foods. This shows the importance of a healthy diet during stress to prevent weight gain.

    What can you do about cravings?

    Here are four tips to curb cravings:

    1) don’t cut out whole food groups. Aim for a well-balanced diet and make sure you include:

    • sufficient protein in your meals to help you feel full and reduce the urge to snack on sugary and carb-rich foods. Older adults should aim for 20–40g protein per meal with a particular focus on breakfast and lunch and an overall daily protein intake of at least 0.8g per kg of body weight for muscle health
    • fibre-rich foods, such as vegetables and whole grains. These make you feel full and stabilise your blood sugar levels. Examples include broccoli, quinoa, brown rice, oats, beans, lentils and bran cereals. Substitute refined carbs high in sugar like processed snack bars, soft drink or baked goods for more complex ones like whole grain bread or wholewheat muffins, or nut and seed bars or energy bites made with chia seeds and oats

    2) manage your stress levels. Practise stress-reduction techniques like meditation, deep breathing, or yoga to manage emotional triggers for cravings. Practising mindful eating, by eating slowly and tuning into bodily sensations, can also reduce daily calorie intake and curb cravings and stress-driven eating

    3) get enough sleep. Aim for seven to eight hours of quality sleep per night, with a minimum of seven hours. Lack of sleep can disrupt hormones that regulate hunger and cravings

    4) control your portions. If you decide to indulge in a treat, control your portion size to avoid overindulging.

    Overcoming cravings for sugar, salt and carbs when trying to eat healthily or lose weight is undoubtedly a formidable challenge. Remember, it’s a journey, and setbacks may occur. Be patient with yourself – your success is not defined by occasional cravings but by your ability to manage and overcome them.The Conversation

    Hayley O’Neill, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, Bond University

    This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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  • Fasting Cancer – by Dr. Valter Longo

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    We’ve previously reviewed Dr. Longo’s “The Longevity Diet”, and whereas that one was about eating, this one is (superficially, at least) about not eating. Nor is this any kind of dissonance, because, in fact, it’s important to do both!

    That said, he discusses not just fasting per se, but also the use of a personalized fast-mimicking diet, to accomplish the same goal of not overloading the metabolism—as overloading the metabolism results in metabolic disease, and cancer is, ultimately, a metabolic disease of immune dysfunction with genetic disorder*—which makes for quite a deadly trifecta.

    *not in the sense of “hereditary”, though certainly genes can influence cancer risk, but rather, in the sense of “your gene-copying process becomes disordered”.

    The first three chapters (after the introduction, which we’ll comment on shortly) are devoted to explaining the principles at hand:

    1. Fasting cancer while feeding patients
    2. Genes, aging, and cancer
    3. Fasting, nutrition, and physical activity in cancer prevention

    In those chapters, he details a lot of the science for exactly how and why it is possible to “feed the patient and starve the cancer” at the same time.

    After that, the rest of the book—another nine chapters, not counting appendices etc—are given over to fasting and nutrition in the context of nine main types of cancer, one chapter per type. These are not hyperspecific, though, and are rather categorizations, such as “blood cancers”, and “gynecological cancers” and so forth. It’s comprehensive, and while it could be argued that it may mean chapters feel irrelevant to some people (à la “I have never smoked and have no pressing concern about my lung cancer risk” etc), the reality is that it’s good to know how to avoid them all, because if nothing else, it’d be super embarrassing to get a cancer you “thought you couldn’t get”. So, it’s honestly worth the time to read each chapter.

    In the category of criticism, he did open the introduction with a handful of anecdotes to defend the consumption of (well-established group 1 carcinogens) red meat and alcohol as “secondary concerns that might not be such a big deal”, even discussing how surprised his colleagues in the field are that he has this view. Suffice it to say, it’s contrary to the overwhelming body of evidence, and reads suspiciously like a man who simply doesn’t want to give up his steak and wine despite his own longevity diet forswearing them.

    The style is self-indulgently autobiographical and very complimentary, and (in this reviewer’s opinion) it can be tedious to wade through that to get to the science, but at the end of the day, his self-accolades might be needless fluff, but they don’t actually remove anything from the science in question.

    Bottom line: as you can see, there are good and bad things to say about this book, but the information contained in the good makes it well worth reading through the stylistically questionable to get it.

    Click here to check out Fasting Cancer, and starve cancer cells while nourishing your healthy ones!

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  • Managing Your Mortality

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    When Planning Is a Matter of Life and Death

    Barring medical marvels as yet unrevealed, we are all going to die. We try to keep ourselves and our loved ones in good health, but it’s important to be prepared for the eventuality of death.

    While this is not a cheerful topic, considering these things in advance can help us manage a very difficult thing, when the time comes.

    We’ve put this under “Psychology Sunday” as it pertains to processing our own mortality, and managing our own experiences and the subsequent grief that our death may invoke in our loved ones.

    We’ll also be looking at some of the medical considerations around end-of-life care, though.

    Organizational considerations

    It’s generally considered good to make preparations in advance. Write (or update) a Will, tie up any loose ends, decide on funerary preferences, perhaps even make arrangements with pre-funding. Life insurance, something difficult to get at a good rate towards the likely end of one’s life, is better sorted out sooner rather than later, too.

    Beyond bureaucracy

    What’s important to you, to have done before you die? It could be a bucket list, or it could just be to finish writing that book. It could be to heal a family rift, or to tell someone how you feel.

    It could be more general, less concrete: perhaps to spend more time with your family, or to engage more with a spiritual practice that’s important to you.

    Perhaps you want to do what you can to offset the grief of those you’ll leave behind; to make sure there are happy memories, or to make any requests of how they might remember you.

    Lest this latter seem selfish: after a loved one dies, those who are left behind are often given to wonder: what would they have wanted? If you tell them now, they’ll know, and can be comforted and reassured by that.

    This could range from “bright colors at my funeral, please” to “you have my blessing to remarry if you want to” to “I will now tell you the secret recipe for my famous bouillabaisse, for you to pass down in turn”.

    End-of-life care

    Increasingly few people die at home.

    • Sometimes it will be a matter of fighting tooth-and-nail to beat a said-to-be-terminal illness, and thus expiring in hospital after a long battle.
    • Sometimes it will be a matter of gradually winding down in a nursing home, receiving medical support to the end.
    • Sometimes, on the other hand, people will prefer to return home, and do so.

    Whatever your preferences, planning for them in advance is sensible—especially as money may be a factor later.

    Not to go too much back to bureaucracy, but you might also want to consider a Living Will, to be enacted in the case that cognitive decline means you cannot advocate for yourself later.

    Laws vary from place to place, so you’ll want to discuss this with a lawyer, but to give an idea of the kinds of things to consider:

    National Institute on Aging: Preparing A Living Will

    Palliative care

    Palliative care is a subcategory of end-of-life care, and is what occurs when no further attempts are made to extend life, and instead, the only remaining goal is to reduce suffering.

    In the case of some diseases including cancer, this may mean coming off treatments that have unpleasant side-effects, and retaining—or commencing—pain-relief treatments that may, as a side-effect, shorten life.

    Euthanasia

    Legality of euthanasia varies from place to place, and in some times and places, palliative care itself has been considered a form of “passive euthanasia”, that is to say, not taking an active step to end life, but abstaining from a treatment that prolongs it.

    Clearer forms of passive euthanasia include stopping taking a medication without which one categorically will die, or turning off a life support machine.

    Active euthanasia, taking a positive action to end life, is legal in some places and the means varies, but an overdose of barbiturates is an example; one goes to sleep and does not wake up.

    It’s not the only method, though; options include benzodiazepines, and opioids, amongst others:

    Efficacy and safety of drugs used for assisted dying

    Unspoken euthanasia

    An important thing to be aware of (whatever your views on euthanasia) is the principle of double-effect… And how it comes to play in palliative care more often than most people think.

    Say a person is dying of cancer. They opt for palliative care; they desist in any further cancer treatments, and take medication for the pain. Morphine is common. Morphine also shortens life.

    It’s common for such a patient to have a degree of control over their own medication, however, after a certain point, they will no longer be in sufficient condition to do so.

    After this point, it is very common for caregivers (be they medical professionals or family members) to give more morphine—for the purpose of reducing suffering, of course, not to kill them.

    In practical terms, this often means that the patient will die quite promptly afterwards. This is one of the reasons why, after sometimes a long-drawn-out period of “this person is dying”, healthcare workers can be very accurate about “it’s going to be in the next couple of days”.

    The take-away from this section is: if you would like for this to not happen to you or your loved one, you need to be aware of this practice in advance, because while it’s not the kind of thing that tends to make its way into written hospital/hospice policies, it is very widespread and normalized in the industry on a human level.

    Further reading: Goods, causes and intentions: problems with applying the doctrine of double effect to palliative sedation

    One last thing…

    Planning around our own mortality is never a task that seems pressing, until it’s too late. We recommend doing it anyway, without putting it off, because we can never know what’s around the corner.

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