Why do human grow hair and nails?

The human body consists of a large number of cells. Hair and nails are no exception. But there is a significant difference between the cells of hair and nails and cells throughout the body. When we cut or break them, you don't feel pain because they are formed by dead cells, despite that hair and nails grow.


This is due to the growth zone, located at the base of every hair and nail. Here the cells are actively dividing. Live little cells produce a lot of keratin protein, which does not allow parts of cells to interact with each other, causing the cell dies. New cells formed in the growth zone, push dead, with the result that there is growth.


The growth zone of the nail is under the skin at the base called matrix. It is thick and long so it grows wide and thick nail plate. Cells of the nail layers located between them are layers of water and fat. Hair grows from a small round bag – hair follicle, so are long, thin and round in cross section.


The fact that at the very base of every hair and each nail has area growth, where cells are alive and actively dividing. The "daughters" of these cells — first live, small cell — produce a lot of the structural protein keratin, so many that the cell is almost all of them filled. Keratin is a durable, waterproof protein, it does not allow parts of cells to "communicate" with each other, and the cell dies. New cells formed in the growth zone, push out dead cells forward, and that grows hair or a nail.

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