Nails Don't Breathe!

One of the most prevalent myths about nails - and one that is sadly perpetuated to this day by nail technicians - is the myth that nails breathe.

"Breathe" is defined as: to take air, oxygen, etc., into the lungs and expel it; inhale and exhale;respire.

"Respire" is defined as: to inhale and exhale air for the purpose of maintaining life; breathe.

This myth makes no sense on many levels! Nails aren't alive and don't have lungs nor do they have any ability to absorb air into the nail plate. The nail plate is created from nutrients that are delivered by the blood stream to the nail matrix. Cosmetic scientist Doug Schoon explains that "100% of the oxygen needed by the nail matrix to create a new nail plate comes from the blood stream and 0% comes from the outside world".  Blood brings oxygen and nutrients to the hand, fingers, and nails through millions of tiny blood vessels which also carry waste and carbon dioxide way. This intricate process is what feeds the matrix, so that it can produce healthy nail cells.  In short, nails do NOT require an external air supply and do not breathe or exhale.

Taking a break from nail polish or enhancements (acrylic, gel, etc) for a few weeks is not at all necessary.  Doug explains that while wearing enhancements, "moisture and natural nail oils leave the nail bed and pass through the nail plate at a slower than normal rate but they aren't trapped by the product." "The nail plate's moisture content is increased by increased 10-15%, and the oil content increases only slightly; both serve to increase the flexibility of the natural nail plate". Since the nails do not need to "breathe", no benefit is gained by waiting to reapply any type of nail coating. Nor does it make sense to assume the nails only need to breathe "every once-in-a-while". This faulty reasoning is not supported by the facts.

• Neither "air" nor "nutrients" can be absorbed or "fed" to the nail plate from any external source. 
• Moisture and natural nail oils leave the nail bed and pass through the nail plate at slower than normal rates, but they aren't "trapped".  
• Waste products are removed from the matrix area and surrounding tissues by the blood as well, and are not released into the nail plate. 
• Normal, healthy nail plates would continue to grow and thrive in a completely air-free environment, as long as a healthy flow of blood to the nail is maintained.

TL;DR

The natural nail plate is not living - and it does not breathe. Because it is made up of non-living keratin, it does not hurt to have your nails clipped – the same reason that it doesn’t hurt to have your hair cut. The nail plate is healthy when the health of the nail bed, matrix and surrounding tissue are properly cared for - it does not need to “breathe” to be healthy.



Resources:
http://schoonscientific.com/downloads/Myths-from-FB_2013-03-14.pdf
http://www.nsinails.com/nail-lab/science-of-beauty/dispel-the-myth-nails-donrt-need-to-breathe.html#.Vg2M93LltaQ
http://www.nailsmag.com/blogpost/108013/save-the-nails-with-the-nail-snorkel
http://www.nailcarehq.com/huffington-post-false-nail-info/