what is a nail made of

Your fingernails and toenails are made mostly of a hard protein called keratin , the same kind of protein found in your hair and the outer layer of your skin.

Quick Scoop

• Nails are made primarily of keratin, a tough structural protein.

• The visible hard part is called the nail plate, which is many layers of flattened, dead keratin-filled cells.

• Nails also contain small amounts of water and mineral salts like calcium, sulfur, and others, which help with flexibility and strength.

• Under and around the nail are living tissues (nail bed, matrix, cuticle) with blood vessels and nerves that produce and support the nail.

So, when you look at your nails, you’re really seeing a hard, compact sheet of keratin made by living skin cells underneath, not “bone” or “cartilage.”

TL;DR: A nail is a thin, hard plate made mostly of keratin protein, with a bit of water and minerals, produced by living skin tissue at the base of your finger or toe.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.