First things first, do you know what your nails are made of? Our fingernails and toenails are made up of a protein called keratin, which is essentially just a bunch of dead cells. Keratin is also found in our hair, scientifically speaking our nails are actually just modified hair, which is pretty weird if you stop to think about it. The reason cutting our nails and hair doesn’t hurt is because the cells are dead, bird feathers and horse hooves are also made of keratin.

Surely you have heard the myth that our nails continue to grow even after death. Yes, that is not true. They can’t keep growing because they’re dead, and dead cells in a dead body won’t keep them growing! The reason this myth became so popular is that when we die, the skin around the nails shrinks, giving the illusion that the nails are growing.

Bet you didn’t know this, fingernails grow faster than toenails AND men’s nails grow faster than women’s! But women’s nail growth exceeds men’s during pregnancy, most people believe that women can grow such long and luscious hair and nails during pregnancy due to prenatal vitamins, but that’s not really true . It’s all thanks to hormones.

Typing or excessive movement of the fingertips does not necessarily guarantee long and healthy nails, but it can help speed them up. The more movement and tapping you have at your fingertips, the better your blood flow, which can help you increase the rate at which your nails grow. But beware! The more movement and tapping you put into your nails, the greater the risk of damage and breakage! Which could take you back two more steps than the one you took.

Finally, the nails have no sensation. That’s right, no nerve endings at all, now I’m sure you’re sitting there thinking, but wait, I’ve felt something once or twice before I swear! Hanging nails are the worst! And have you tried ripping off your dangling nail? When I do that I feel like my whole finger is on fire! The nails extend deep under the cuticle skin and the nerves around the cuticle. Our brains integrate the sensation of force from the nail tips and cuticle as a complex and enhanced perception of pressure, so it may seem like our nails are covered in nerve endings, but they’re not!