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Do Nails Grow Faster In Water?

As a nail blogger who have had long nails on for quite some time and still currently do, I can tell you with my little years of growing nails that fingernails do not grow faster in water instead, water causes more harm to them than good.

Before I proceed to give you my reasons, here’s a mail I want you to see. I got this mail a few days back from one of my subscribers.

It reads;

Hi, my name is Gloria, and I’m a diehard fan of your blog. I’ve been following all of your blog posts, especially how to stop biting nails in 9 minutes, and it has been helpful.

In fact, with your tips, I no longer chew my nails and today make it two months that I haven’t gone after my nails.

Just recently, I stumbled on a post which talks about growing nails in water, so I want to know, Do Nails Grow Faster In Water?

I’ll appreciate it a lot if you can give a valid answer to this question of mine. Thanks in advance as I await your reply.

My Response

Thanks, Gloria, for this beautiful question. You are not the only one that has asked me this kind of question.

Surprisingly, a day doesn’t go by without being confronted with questions like Does drinking water make your nails grow or Do Nails Grow Faster In Water and all that.

Before I’ll go ahead to answer your question, here’s is something you should know.

Two things happen to you when your nails are in the water for too long a time

1. The skin around your nails shrinks and retract backwards giving an illusion of a longer nails

2. Your Fingernails out of excitement expand

Having listed two possible things that may occur when your nails are in the water, let me explain further.

Related: Can I Go Swimming With Fake Nails? Find Out Now

1. Skin Shrinks

If you’re that type that usually spends a considerable amount of your time in the pool or does activities that require immerging your fingers in water for too long, you must have noticed that each time you take your hands out of the water, your nails usually appears as if they’ve grown?

Well, the truth is, what you’re seeing is as a result of a shrink skin and not an actual nail growth per se. And when this happens, it gives you this false illusion of a longer nail. But if left for some time, it goes back to normal.

But why does this happens in the first place? Here’s the catch.

Our skin is made up of an outer covering known as Sebum. Usually, sebum act as a protective covering to the surface.

During swimming, for example, the sebum which acts as waterproof gets broken, which further allows water to get the better part of your skin, making them look waterlogged.

The excess water already presents or trapped in the skin of your fingers then causes some part to swell than others. That’s precisely why your nails look wrinkled after swimming for a long time giving your nails that appearance of long nails.

What Can I Do If My Skin Shrink After Swimming

There’s absolutely nothing you can do if your skin shrinks probably after spending time in the pool or doing the dishes other than to wait for a while for it to get back to normal.

However, you can prevent this from occurring, especially if your work involves submerging your fingers in water often by wearing rubber gloves. Doing this will safeguard the protective oil – Sebum from being broken as a result of overexposure to water.

2. Nails Expands

If you cut a piece of sliced bread and allow them to stay in water for like an hour, what do you think will happen? It will swell.

The same thing goes for your nails. When your nails spend a considerable amount of time in the water, your nail plate absorbs water and thus expands, making your fingernails to appear longer.

But if left for some time or when moisturiser is applied on it, it takes away the moisture from the nails and restores them to its original position.

That said, lets quickly look at ways you can adopt to grow your nails fast.

How To Make Your Nails Grow Faster

There’s little you can do to grow your nails out but with my little experience in nail growth and having taught several persons both offline and online, I can boldly say that the secret to getting long nails is this

1. Eat well-balanced diets

2. Exercise regularly

3. Keep your nails moisturised always

4. And don’t bite your nails

If you can keep up with these four things I’ve stated above, your nails will not only grow out healthy, but they’ll become so strong and above all, beautiful.

Does warm water make your nails grow faster?

If you think emerging your fingernails in warm water will make them grow longer then you’re incorrect.

Surprisedly, what it does to your fingernails, especially when little oil is added to it is softens your cuticles for them to be easily pushed back without you feeling any pain.

Do nails grow quicker in the water?

Capital No. The truth is water cause more harm to them than good. For these reasons, I’ll advise that you keep your nails protected by all means.

You can do this by wearing gloves while washing dishes, cleaning or apply moisturisers on them after prolonged exposure to water.

Does drinking water make your nails grow?

I can’t say if drinking water does help your nails grow, but one thing I’m sure of is that taking lots of water can keep your nails and cuticle hydrated.

However, it’s not enough to drink water; you should exercise as well as this is what will keep the blood flowing which invariably can trigger how your nails grow.

Do your nails grow in the shower?

Not really, instead, spending time in the shower will soften your nails and make them susceptible to breaking.

Does water make your nails weak?

The answer is capital. Yes. When nails spend too much time in the water, they swell losing almost if not all of the natural oil in them, which further render them weak and liable to break.

Does drinking water help your nails?

Taking Water indeed can help your body in a lot of ways. For example, it can help to flush out toxins out of your body and make your skin to look fresh, radiant and glowing, Same way it can help keep your nails and cuticle hydrated.

Does pool water make your nails grow?

There’s no evident report as to whether pool water can grow one’s nails, but there is an apparent proof that fingernails usually appears longer due to the shrinking of skin which will create an illusion of a longer nail.

Conclusion On Do Nails Grow Faster In Water

They may be lots of articles out there suggesting that nails do grow faster in water, but the truth is, it doesn’t.

What a lot of us see as nail growth the moment we step out of that pool is as, a result shrinkage in our skin plus a bit of expansion which usually goes back to normal after a while.

So if you’re among those still living with that myth that nails do grow faster with water, its high time you stop daydreaming.

Like as I’ve said, your fingernails will only grow faster only when you eat a well-balanced diet, keep them moisturised, exercise regularly and most importantly, when you don’t bite them.

I hope I’ve been able to profer an answer to your question? If so, please don’t hesitate to click on the SHARE buttons below. God bless you as you do so.