10 Unusual Facts About Nails and Nail Polish – Advent Calendar Day 20

Your nails are a lot more complex than you may actually think. Check out these 10 interesting nail and nail varnish facts that will surely pique your curiosity.

1. 1. 1. Are you a nail biter? There is actually a medical term for this common habit: Onychophagia.
      2. You may think that typing with your nails will damage them. However, it does in fact stimulate their growth and has a similar effect to a nail massage. For long nails, get typing!
      3. It was in China where nail polish originated around 3000 BC. The original ingredients included beeswax, egg whites, gelatin and vegetable dyes.
      4. Los Angeles-based luxury jewellery couturier Azature Pogosian has launched a nail polish that the average person would need a mortgage to afford. The designer, who specializes in black diamonds, has created a nail polish worth 250 thousand dollars, approximately £185,000 a bottle.
      5. During the warmer months, your nails will grow at a faster rate than they will during the winter. One theory is that since sunlight exposure causes your body to make Vitamin D, the increase in Vitamin D results in your nails growing at a faster rate.
      6. Acrylic nails were first introduced in 1978 and were invented by a dentist.
      7. The original inspiration for coloured nail enamels came with the invention of the first car paints in the 20s. Imagine being able to have your nails painted to match your car!
      8. Have you ever wondered why you sometimes lose a nail after an injury? Our nail plates need blood flow, nutrients and oxygen to grow normally. An injury can interrupt the supply and stop your fingernail from growing.
      9. The longest fingernails ever measured on a single hand belonged to Shridhar Chillal from India and measured in at a staggering length of 909.6 cm (358.1 in). He may have had some challenges fastening buttons!
      10. Have you ever wondered why the sound of nails on a chalkboard makes you wince?  The noise hits a frequency that’s naturally amplified by the shape of our ear canals, so we hear it more intensely and it’s a shock to the senses.

If you want to learn more about nails, we have some qualifications you may be interested in.