Is it true that hair and nails continue to grow after death?

There is a popular belief that hair and nails continue to grow even after a person’s death. We decided to check whether this myth has scientific confirmation.

Stories about the growth of hair and nails on the dead were used not only in folklore and legends about various types of undead, but also in works of art: horror films, games and books. Thus, the characters of the comic book “A Walk Through Hell” by Garth Ennis and Goran Sudzuka, trying to figure out if they are dead, remembered fact about the growth of stubble on the dead. The pathologist played by Vincent Price from the horror film The Tingler (1959) too claimedthat hair and nail growth continues after death. And the main character of Erich Maria Remarque’s novel “All Quiet on the Western Front” reasoned like this: “It suddenly occurs to me that these nails will not stop growing and after Kemmerich dies, they will continue to grow for a long, long time, like white ghostly mushrooms in the cellar. I imagine this picture: they curl up like a corkscrew and keep growing and growing, and with them the hair grows on a rotting skull, like grass on rich soil, just like grass... Is this really what happens?..»

In a living person, nails grow due to the formation of new cells. A week's worth of nails grows up by about 1 mm at an average rate of about 0.1 mm per day, but they grow a little slower on the legs. The older the person, the slower the growth rate. The nail consists of a nail plate, under which there is a matrix (matrix) and bed, as well as surrounding folds. Most new cells are born in the matrix located at the root of the nail and then displace the old ones, moving the nail plate forward. This entire process requires nutrients and glucose, which are no longer supplied to the body after death.

Hair growth occurs in a similar way: each hair grows from its own bulb (follicle), at the base of which there is a matrix where old cells divide and new ones are formed. This division also requires energy, which is produced by burning glucose, and it requires oxygen, the supply of which stops when the heart and breathing stop.

In addition, for hair and nail growth required complex hormonal regulation that is not maintained after death. Although actual growth does not occur, there is still a biological basis for the myth.

Most likely, it appeared due to another effect - drying out dead skin after loss of moisture and fatty tissue. Because of this, the skin on the fingertips is pulled back, causing the nails to appear longer. A similar thing happens on the face, when hairs appear through the shriveled skin of the chin, even if the person was clean-shaven before death. To combat such “growth” in funeral homes, the nail phalanges and faces (especially men who previously had a thick beard) are moisturized with special compounds.

Note that on the popular science resource “PostScience“There is material from pathologist, doctor of medical sciences and corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences Lev Kaktursky, which states that hair and nails can still grow after death due to the simple structure of these tissues. According to the article, this process can last up to two days and depends on the storage conditions of the body. However, the material does not contain references to any scientific publications, and the consensus of scientists and dermatologists is precisely the dehydration of the corpse, after which hidden areas of hair and nails become visible.

Not true

What do our verdicts mean?

Read on the topic:

1. BBC. Do hair and nails continue to grow after death?
2. Snopes. Fingernails Grow After Death
3. Medium. Science Monday: Do We Keep Growing After We Die?
4. Is it true that after shaving, hair becomes coarser, thicker, darker and grows faster?
5. Is it true that you can turn gray literally overnight from stress?
6. The fictional world of geek publics