This blog is one that I've been thinking about doing for a while now. It's a topic that comes up a lot in the nail world and I know that some people will disagree with what I'm writing. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and I'm perfectly fine with people disagreeing with what I write but I'm going to stick to facts to go with what I'm saying. I will include any links that I also find relevant also so you can check them out if you are interested.
Do your nails need to breath?
Seems like a simple enough question right? Nail techs will often hear their clients say that they are leaving their acrylics or gels off as they "are giving my nails time to breathe" In order for nails to "breathe" they would have to be living and if they were living then we would not be able to cut them without pain. Now I can hear those people ready to jump on that comment and say "but in order for the nail to grow it has to be living!" To better understand this I want to break down the make up of a nail.
Free edge: This is the part of the nail that extends over the nail bed.
Nail Plate: This is the part of the nail you see. It protects the nail bed and is made up of cells tightly packed together.
Lunula: This is the part of the nail that looks a bit like a semicircle. This is where the living cells from the matrix start to transition into the dead cells through a process called keratinisation.
Nail Bed: Your nail plate sits on top of the nail bed. Your nail bed contains all the blood vessels and nerves.
Cuticle: This surrounds the base of the nail and protects the matrix.
Matrix: This is a very important part of the nail. In the matrix is where the magic happens, so to speak. This is where the health of the nail is decided. If the matrix is deprived of its nutrients then it will effect the nail.
Ok so we've looked at the main parts of the nail to start to get an understanding of how our nails function. The main part to take into consideration is the changes in the cells. They are living when in the matrix but by the time they get into the lunula they start to change. So what exactly goes on here?
Keratinisation: This is the hardening process cells go through that changes them into dead cells. The lunula is where you can see the transitional stage of this occurring. By the time these cells reach the free edge they are long since dead.
Keeping this in mind, your nails technically aren't living. We cut our nails when they are too long and it does not hurt, just like we cut our hair. So for this reason our nails do not actually need time to "breathe"
What About Nail Polish?
I have been wearing nail polish almost consistently for the last 3 or more years (I have a terrible memory, I think its been way longer than 3) My nails are long, strong natural nails. I used to have issues with breakages and peeling but I kept on repainting my nails every week. The longest my nails go without polish on in 24hours and that is really an extreme figure, its more likely to be a couple hours.
I hope this was helpful to you all and perhaps even taught you something you didn't know already! I'm going to leave some links now to posts that I feel are good reading for anyone wanting to know more about how our nails work.
Post on NSI Website
Bliss Kiss Post
Until next time,
Lyn
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