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

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

So it’s no surprise that many of us have gained a fresh level of appreciation for our hairdressers and nail technicians during COVID restrictions. Even Taylor Swift reported the matter she cut her own hair during quarantine.

What would happen if all this hair and nail care was too hard for us and we decided to give it all up? Will our hair and nails continue to grow?

The answer is yes. The hair on the head grows on average 1 centimeter per monthwhile our nails only grow on average over 3 millimeters.

If we don’t take care of it, our hair and nails can grow to impressive lengths. Aliia Nasyrova, called the Ukrainian Rapunzel, holds the world record for the longest hair of a living woman, measuring an impressive 257.33 cm.

When it comes to record nails, this record belongs to Diana Armstrong from the United States at 1306.58 cm.

Most of us, however, cut our hair and trim our nails regularly – some more frequently than others. So why do some people’s hair and nails grow faster?

Remind me what they’re made of?

Hair and nails are made mainly of keratin. Both grow from matrix cells under the skin and develop based on different patterns of cell division.

Nails grow evenly from matrix cells that lie under the skin at the base of the nail. These cells divide, pushing older cells forward. As they grow, new cells move along the nail bed – a flat area under the nail that is pink in color due to ample blood supply.

The hair also begins to grow from the matrix cells, eventually forming the perceptible part of the hair – the shaft. The hair shaft grows from a root located under the skin and wrapped in a sac called a hair follicle.

This sac contains innervations (which is why pulling hair hurts), seborrheic glands that lubricate the hair, and a petite muscle that makes your hair stand on end when it’s frigid.

At the base of the hair follicles is the hair bulb, which contains the all-important hair papilla that supplies blood to the hair follicles.

Matrix cells near the papilla divide to form fresh hair cells, which then harden and form the hair shaft. As fresh hair cells are produced, the hair is pushed above the skin and hair grows.

But the papilla also plays an integral role in regulating hair growth cycles, as it sends signals to stem cells to move to the base of the hair follicle and form the hair matrix. The matrix cells then receive signals to divide and begin a fresh phase of growth.

Unlike nails, our hair grows in cycles

Scientists have identified four phases of hair growth,:

1. anagen, i.e. the growth phase that lasts from two to eight years

2. catagen or transition phase when growth slows down and lasts about two weeks

3. telogen, i.e. the resting phase when no growth occurs at all. This usually takes two to three months

4. the exogenous or shedding phase, when the hair falls out and is replaced by fresh hair growing from the same hair follicle. This starts the process all over again.

Each follicle goes through this cycle 10-30 times in your life.

If all our hair follicles grew at the same rate and entered the same phases at the same time, we would all be bald. This usually doesn’t happen: only one in ten hairs are in the resting phase at any given time.

While we lose approx 100-150 hairs a daythe average person has 100,000 hairs on the head, so we barely notice this natural shedding.

So what influences the rate of growth?

The most vital factor is genetics. Although the rate of hair growth varies from person to person, this is usually the case consistent among family members.

Nails are also influenced by genetics, which is often the case with siblings, especially identical twins similar nail growth rate.

But there are other influences as well.

Age makes a difference for hair and nail growth, even in robust people. Younger people typically have faster growth rates due to the slowing of metabolism and cell division that occurs with aging.

Hormonal changes may have an impact. Often pregnancy speeds up the rate of hair and nail growth, while menopause and high levels of the stress hormone cortisol can cause this slow growth rate.

Nutrition is also changing hair AND nail strength and growth rate. Although hair and nails are made mainly of keratin, they also contain water, fats and various minerals. As your hair and nails grow, you need to replenish these minerals.

Therefore, a balanced diet with enough nutrients to support your hair and nails is necessary to maintaining their health.

Nutrient deficiencies can contribute to hair loss and brittle nails by disrupting their growth cycle or weakening their structure. For example, iron and zinc deficiencies are related hair loss AND brittle nails.

This may explain why broad hair and forceful, well-groomed nails have long been associated with good health and high status.

However, not all observations are true.

No, hair and nails do not grow after death

A persistent myth that you may relate to vampire legends is that hair and nails continue to grow after we die.

In fact, only them to appear to do this. As the body dehydrates after death, the skin shrinks to form hair and nails they seem longer.

Some mortics are well aware of this phenomenon inject tissue filler into the fingertips of the deceased to minimize this effect.

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