Nickelodeon of all channels did a little science quick facts spot about nail growth. They said that men’s fingernails grow faster than women’s nails. In trying to search it myself, the fact seems to be true, but I can’t find WHY. I have also found out that fingernails grow twice as fast as toe nails and that the nails on your dominant hand grow faster than the nails on the other hand. Why would all of this be true?
I don’t know about the male/female difference, but I’ve read that fingers that are used more will have their nails grow faster. The example they used was that the fingernails of typists grew significantly faster than those of a control group. They speculated that it was because of increased blood circulation.
This would explain dominant over non-dominant, and maybe fingernails over toe nails.
Though if you want another data point: The nails on my ‘big’ toenails grow at least twice as fast as the other eight. For me it works out like so:
Fingernails: manicure every week.
Big toes: cut every other week.
Remainder of toenails: pedicure once/month.
How my big toes could be said to be more active than the rest, though…
Nobody knows why, nobody knows why, nobody knows why.*
Science tells us *what * happens, not why.
Maybe it’s hormones, maybe it’s work, maybe it’s because women tend to wear nail polish and rub their nails in acetone, maybe because men tend to keep them shorter and cutting stimulates the nailbed to more growth, maybe it’s 'cause Og decided it should be so for better smashing. Even if you could perform studies to show that testosterone promotes nail growth, or estrogen inhibits it, you still wouldn’t know why. Anecdotally, I can report that my nails grow faster when I cut them very very short (like when I’m doing a lot of massage.) They then grow faster than my husband’s - he keeps his fairly long.
StarvingButStrong, what I’ve read is that “active” means nails which recieve small shocks which carry to the nailbed. Typing is the perfect example. Perhaps the shape of your toes is such that the big toenail rubs or hits the inside of your shoe more often. I know mine are like that.
*Sorry, it’s not you, it’s me. I sometimes feel like I’m the only deeply spiritual *and * deeply devoted to science person on the board. I can manage the two only by being very clear about the boundaries and shortcomings of each.
I did some reading, and came away with a feeling that WhyNot is probably right, “Nobody knows why.” I didn’t find anything definitive, but looked for quite awhile, because I really wanted to know the answer and thought it was a great question. Here’s what I did come up with. From here under Relevant Anatomy -
I looked up germinal matrix and found it to be a fancy term for nail bed. I also found reference to a study, " Growth and size of nails and their relationship to age, sex, hereditary, and other factors." J Gerontol, but not the study itself. I also tried to find it by changing, what I am guessing is a typo, “hereditary” to “heredity.” Too bad, because it’s probably what would answer your question.
I also tried to find an explanation for another statement I saw on a bunch of sites, “The longer the finger, the faster the nail growth.” I figured if men generally have longer fingers, maybe that could be why their nails grow faster. Nothing to support it that I could find.
Thanks for the info and for taking an interest in my topic,** chichlidiot**. I also found cites that said that women’s nails grow faster during pregnancy and when they are older. The question is, compared to what exactly? Does that mean older men’s finger growth slows down or that older women speed up? Is it a hormone thing? If you compared young boys to young girls, is it still true, or only in reproductive age people?
Women’s nails grow faster during pregnancy than they do when they’re not pregnant. It’s not only true, but dramatically true. It’s probably the one good side effect of pregnancy. (Well, hair also grows faster and tends to get thicker. But it also falls out quicker.) I used to think it was simply due to prenatal vitamins, but with this pregnancy, I wasn’t able to take prenatals consistently for the first three months due to morning sickness. My nails still grew like reeds. They’re also shiner, less prone to splitting and the ridges in them have completely disappeared. If you looked at my nails, you’d swear they were buffed and polished with clear polish. Most pregnancy books chalk it up to the hormones. It goes away within a few weeks of birth, even if you keep taking the vitamins.
And what about this business with your nails continuing to grow after you’re dead? What, are the nails the last to find out?
That one has been covered by the Straight Dope here.
Thanks! I actually knew that once, but I had forgotten it. 