Why do my fingernails grow at least three times as fast as my toenails?
Toenails are subject to less wear and tear and so do not need to grow as quickly. Hands can be used as spades, for example, and fingernails can be used to prise things open.
According to Linden Edwards and Ralph Schott, in a paper published in 1937 in the ), toenails grow at half the rate of fingernails. On average, fingernails grow a little less than 4 centimetres a year. There is quite a big variation between individuals, depending on heredity, gender, age and how much they exercise. Nails grow faster in the summer.
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Mike Follows
Willenhall, West Midlands