ASK A STUPID QUESTION

Do nails all grow at the same rate?

DR SWETA RAI, from the British Association of Dermatologists, says: ‘Your fingernails all grow at the same rate – roughly 1mm every week. But they grow at a different rate to your toenails, which grow on average 1mm a month.

‘We don’t know exactly why this is, but the rate of growth is controlled by stem cells in the nail bed near the cuticle.

‘Environmental factors – such as your diet or doing a manual job – can injure the nail bed, causing different nails to grow at different rates. Runners suffer damage to toenails according to their shoes and the amount of activity they do.

‘Your nails will generally recover from injury, but in extreme cases damage can be permanent.’