Do all nail plates grow 1mm a week?

Now that’s a fun question!

On average yes, but, the definition of average in a nail salon is a bit murky!

A day in the life of a salon after lockdown showed us a larger deviation in nail plate growth than we expected after we were forced to go into lockdown for 11 weeks.

On the left: Client is 30 years old with this set applied on the 4th of March 2020 and the photo shows her on the 21st of May 2020 after we could return to work – its about 78 days or 11 weeks

On the right: Client is 60 years old with this set applied on the 7th of March 2020 and this photo taken on the 21st of May 2020 – its about 75 days or almost 11 weeks

Their nail plates have grown at a very different rate even though both have the same product and the same nail tech did the work. Neither have any medical conditions that may affect the growth of the nail plate – the only difference is 30 years in age.

There are so many factors to be taken into account.

How old is your client?

The older we become the slower our nail plate cells are made – also we may have some problems with our blood circulation, don’t forget our matrix gets its nutrients from our blood supply if the nutrients are reduced then so is the nail plate cell production

Is she pregnant?

When we are pregnant, we are full of growth hormones and our blood volume is greater, both things make us produce more nail plate cells faster so our nails grow quicker than normal

Does she have any medical conditions that may affect the growth of the nail?

• Psoriasis
• Alopecia
• Lichen planus

All of these conditions can affect the nail bed tissue, the bed epithelium or the nail matrix and this in turn affects the nail plate growth.

All of these things can be a factor – smart is to use the 1mm a week as rule of thumb but make notes and measure your client’s regrowth when he/she comes back into the salon, then you know how fast or slow their nails grow, which product is more suited to your client’s nail plates, and when he/she needs to return for a rebalance.

Nail unit maintenance with oil and or lotion may have a positive affect by maintaining the elasticity in the bed epithelium ensuring nail plate movement is not slowed down by dryness.