Day 4: Nail Science

Today we learnt all about nails! It was actually pretty interesting and I learn some new things!

First we learnt about the main functions and features of the skin on our hands and feet. Our skin is made up of three types of layers:

1. Epidermis: The outer layer. It provides a physical barrier between the inside and outside of the body.

2. Dermis: The deepest of the layers and contains the glands, hair follicles, nerves and the blood capillaries.

3. Hypodermis/Subcutaneous layer: Mainly made up of adipose (fatty) tissue and is the entry point for the arteries and veins that supply the dermis. It protects the body by providing a cushioning layer.


Features of the nail



Free edge: Is part of the nail that extends from the end of the nail bed outwards.

Nail Plate: Composed of hard keratin, which forms a protective structure for the fingertip.

Nail Groove: These grooves or channels on either side of the nail plate protect the sides of the nail as it grows. It also allows your nails to grow in a certain way! Your nail grooves are there not only there to protect the side of the nail, but also so that your nail grows straight.

Lunula: This is the white crescent shape visible through the base of the nail plate. The lunula is the softest part of the nail plate.

Cuticle: This is the fold of the skin at the base of the nail. This extends from one side of the groove to the other. If the cuticle is not cute from the nail plate regularly, it will split and expose epidermal layers known as hangnails.

Nail Bed: The nail bed is pretty much the skin under your nail plate.

Matrix: The matrix is the skin at the bottom of your whole nail. This determines the shape and quality of the nails. The matrix is the only living and reproducing portion of the nail. It produces nail plate cells and as these cells mature, they will fill with keratin and harden as they push forward away from the blood supply creating a nail plate.

Therefore, the matrix is very important! If your matrix is damaged, your nail may not be able to grow back!! So be very careful!

We went through a PowerPoint with pictures of some nail disorders and diseases! It was funny because every time the teacher went to the next slide, all you hear was "ewwwww!!!!" or "ohhh!!!" Stuff like that, because every slide had a picture of the disease. It was pretty hard to look at these photos but we all had to understand what type of nail diseases there are and it was interesting seeing how bad it can get!!

That is why I am happy to share what I learn at my beauty college, so everyone can understand and learn some new stuff! I have learnt a lot today and I am more cautious about my nails and I want other people to realise that anyone could get these diseases if they don't treat their nails properly!

Leukonychia: Have you ever noticed small white spots on your nails? Well it is not a sign of iron deficiency or anything else you have heard. It is actually just caused by injury like hitting your nail plate or matrix. So don't worry! It's nothing serious.

Onychophagy: Is often caused by a nervous habit and the free edge is bitten away. People who constantly bite their nails and bite it until it is completely too short and there is no white tip.. that is really bad!!!! So nail biting people, STOP BITING YOUR NAILS! :) If you keep doing that, it may not grow back because you ruin the nail bed (gets dry) as there is no nail plate. Even if it does grow back, your nail may not stick properly to your nail bed and it could fall off!!



Regular manicures or nail enhancements can help improve the appearance as well as encourage new growth! ^_^

There are many more nail diseases but I think this blog will be too long if I wrote every single one down.



So overall, getting a manicure or pedicure can be very helpful to keeping your nails clean and healthy! Most manicures and pedicures are not very expensive and are quite affordable! But make sure that you go to a salon that is experienced!! You can easily get nail diseases if you go to a salon that does not take care of their tools and do not sterilize them!!

Here are some things to remember:

1. Not to bite nails
2. Get regular manicures and pedicures
3. Wash hands regularly

Your nails should be fine if you take care of them!! ^_^