What Are Fingernails Made Of

To answer the question ,,What are fingernails made of?’’ I would say that most part of fingernails is made of keratin which is a protein. Keratin is also found in the long fibers of the hair. This substance is also the primary structural component of hooves and horns of animals. This protein is colorless. The growth plate is the base of the nail. The area where the skin of the finger connects to the nail is called the growth plate.



The epithelial cells are the cells located in the growth plate and these cells form the fingernails. There are three types of epithelial cells: columnar, cuboidal and squamous. They are pushed outward by newly generated epithelial cells as they age. In the never-ending process , the cells that have been pushed forward, eventually die. Our fingernails are so hard and constantly growing because the  inside of the cell to be taken over by the hard protein keratin. Living skin cells in the toes and fingers are producing the keratin.



The fingernails are many of many different parts:

the part of the nail that extends past the finger beyond the nail plate, is called the free edge. The nail has no nerve ending. I believe that’s why it doesn’t hurt when you cut of your nails.

the fold of skin at the proximal end of the nail is called cuticle or Eponychium

the fold of skin on the sides of the nail is called Paronychium

the attachment between the skin of the toe or  finger and the distal end of the nail is called Hyponychium

the translucent and  hard portion, composed of keratin is the nail plate

the adherent connective tissue that underlies the nail is the nail bed

the crescent shaped whitish area of the nail bed is called the lunula. This area is not always visible.

the hard skin or fold overlapping the sides and the base of a toenail of fingernail is called nail fold

the hidden part of the nail unit under the cuticle is called the matrix

Every day our nails grow with 0.1 mm or in other words , in 100 days – 1 centimetre. It is funny how seasons can influence the growing of our nails. They are also influenced by sex and age. Men nails usually grow quicker as well as for young people and especially during the  summer. Another interesting aspect is that toenails grow slower than fingernails and if you are right-handed the nails from the right hand will grow faster while the left-handed experience the same thing with their left hand’s nails.



Nails can say many things about a person. And I’m not talking only about the work that person does, or how neat he/she is but also reveals the health of a person. A healthy nail should be peachy-pink due to the healthy blood that supplies it. This review answered the question ,,What are fingernails made of?’’ and also brought to your attention some elementary information about fingernails .