There’s more to our nails than just the nail itself and the cuticles. When you understand the makeup of the human nail and what each part of it does, it will be easier to know how to properly care for them. Once you are aware of how to take care of your nails, you won’t need as many trips to the nail salon to keep them healthy, which means you can always have beautiful and strong nails without breaking your wallet.

The nail is made of a tough protein called keratin, which is made from living skin cells in the fingers and toes. Keratin is composed of 14% water, 5% sulphur, 14% lipids (fats), 48% amino acids and a combination of calcium phosphates and carbohydrates. The main parts that make up the human nail are the nail plate, nail groove, lunula, eponychium and the nail bed. The nail plate is the hard and translucent part of the nail, which we commonly refer to as the “nail.” The part of the nail that grows out and extends, resulting in long fingernails, is known as the “free edge.” Luckily there are no nerve endings in the free edge part of the nail. If there were it would be too painful to cut them. However, the part that does have some nerve endings which can trigger a painful sensation is the nails proximal end, which is the part of the nail that grows underneath the skin.

The nail grooves are the furrowed tracks on each side of the nail plate. The lunula is the part of the nail that appears as the crescent shaped white area of the nail bed. The eponychium is more commonly known as the cuticle and is the fold of skin at the proximal end of the nail. The nail bed itself is made up of many factors, including veins, arteries, nerve tissue, capillaries, and a lymphatic system. The nail bed is an actual part of the dermis layer of the skin. Other parts that make up the nail include the paronychium, which is the fold of skin on both sides of the nail and the hyponychium, which basically the epidermis layer of skin that is underneath the free edge of the nail.

The main factors that can cause your nails to become unhealthy and damaged include maintaining a poor diet, crash dieting, malnutrition, drug use, anemia, damage/trauma to the nail itself and endocrine disorders (disorders that affect the body’s hormones). While having manicures and pedicures done at a nail salon is one way of taking care of your nails, there are things you can do at home to ensure their health and safety. Moisturize your nails and toenails just like you would your skin because nails can dry out, too. To keep your toenails safe, avoid wearing dirty socks, which can cause an infection, stay away from shoes that fit too tightly and avoid walking barefoot in environments that are unclean. When getting your nails done be sure the tools being used are clean, as they can transmit infections. Soaking your nails in warm water or olive oil at home and applying nail strengthener can also keep your nails healthy and free of infection.

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