{"id":4501,"date":"2023-06-05T03:54:43","date_gmt":"2023-06-04T20:54:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/what-the-half-moons-on-your-fingernails-mean\/"},"modified":"2023-06-05T03:54:43","modified_gmt":"2023-06-04T20:54:43","slug":"what-the-half-moons-on-your-fingernails-mean","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/?p=4501","title":{"rendered":"What the Half Moons on Your Fingernails Mean"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p> <span class=\"drop-cap__first text-dropcap \">L<\/span>et\u2019s be honest: Nail envy is a very real thing. With so many nail artists posting gorgeous nailfies on Instagram and TikTok, it\u2019s only natural to wish your nails were as long, colorful, or well-manicured. While all of these hopes and dreams can be remedied with a quick stop at your local nail salon, there\u2019s one nail characteristic that can\u2019t be bought: the half moons on your fingernails.<\/p>\n<p>See, now you\u2019re looking down at your nails and either wondering what they are or why you don\u2019t have them. (Personally, I only have them on a few of my nails, so you\u2019re not alone if you\u2019re noticing the same.)<\/p>\n<p>To find out what it means if you\u2019re missing half moons on your fingernails, I chatted with board-certified dermatologist <a href=\"https:\/\/www.drdanastern.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.drdanastern.com\/\">Dana Stern<\/a>, MD, who specializes in the diagnosis, treatment, and surgery of the nail. Ahead, learn what she has to say on the buzzworthy nail topic.<\/p>\n<h2>Why you may have half moons on your fingernails<\/h2>\n<p>If you\u2019ve ever wondered where your nails grow from, Dr. Stern points to your half moons (aka the nail\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/8647987\/#:~:text=The%20lunula%20is%20the%20visible,of%20the%20distal%20nail%20plate.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/8647987\/#:~:text=The%20lunula%20is%20the%20visible,of%20the%20distal%20nail%20plate.\">lunula<\/a>). \u201cHalf moons are half of the nail\u2019s matrix,\u201d she says, noting that the matrix is also referred to as the nail root. \u201cThe nail matrix is an oval-like structure that produces the actual nail plate\u2014it is the \u2018nail making center.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"related-content \" style=\"\" data-module-init=\"related-content\" data-module-immediate=\"\" v-cloak=\"\">\n<div class=\"related-content__wrapper \" v-cloak=\"\" :class=\"{'is-loaded':isLoaded}\">\n<p> <span class=\"inline pr-6 text-seafoam-dark\">Related Stories<\/span> <\/p>\n<p> <related-content class=\"related-content__links\" parent-article-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/half-moons-fingernails\/\" current-title=\"What It Means if You\u2019re Missing Half Moons on Your Fingernails\" current-image=\"GettyImages-1298737782.jpg\" v-on:parsely-posts-loaded=\"onPostsLoaded\" start-date=\"2022-12-04\" tag=\"div\" inline-template=\"\" url=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/half-moons-fingernails\/\" secret=\"w5ztterVB03LGZJLfXS0hf3EvQBuFFIWew9hmVQxthU\" apikey=\"wellandgood.com\" limit=\"3\"> <\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"related-content__card mb-[10px] sm:mb-[20px]\" :class=\"{'related-content__card--full':posts.length === 1}\" v-for=\"(post, key) in posts\"> <a v-on:click.prevent=\"trackLinkGA($event, key)\" :href=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/half-moons-fingernails\/post.url\" data-url-source=\"related-content\" class=\"related-content__link\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"\"> <\/p>\n<div class=\"related-content__card--image bg-tan\" :style=\"{ backgroundImage: 'url(' + post.image_url + ')' }\"> <img :src=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/half-moons-fingernails\/post.image_url\" :alt=\"post.title\"\/> <\/div>\n<p> <\/a>  <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> <\/related-content> <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Although many nail influencers have visible half moons, making it seem like they\u2019re a key component of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/nail-care\/\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/nail-care\/\">healthy, beautiful nails<\/a>, Dr. Stern says that lots of people can\u2019t see their lunulae. \u201cFor many people, the half moon is not visualized on most of the nails because it is covered with the skin at the proximal nail fold, but we all have nail matrixes and therefore lunulae,\u201d she assures us.<\/p>\n<h2>What do small or invisible half moons on your fingernails mean?<\/h2>\n<p>Some Internet folks are spreading misinformation that a lack of half moons is related to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/nails-health-vitamin-deficiency\/\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/nails-health-vitamin-deficiency\/\">having a vitamin deficiency<\/a>. And it\u2019s often believed because other nail irregularities, such as ridges, are chalked up to the same thing. In reality, Dr. Stern says that our nail matrixes (and the half moons that accompany them) are determined at birth\u2014not influenced by the vitamins we consume.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are born with our nail matrix and the size and shape is what determines nail quality to a large degree,\u201d she explains. \u201cWhen someone can\u2019t visualize their half moon on their thumb nail, it generally means they have relatively small matrixes and are more predisposed to have thin, small nails.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, she points out that just because you can\u2019t see your half-moons doesn\u2019t mean that they don\u2019t exist. \u201cThey are not missing, they are just not visible because they are under the proximal nail fold,\u201d she reassures us.<\/p>\n<h2>The takeaway<\/h2>\n<p>While half moons may look like a critical part of a healthy nail, Dr. Stern says that it\u2019s typically nothing to stress about (nor anything to call your doctor about) if they\u2019re not visible. One thing to keep in mind, though, is that if you do have visible lunulae, they should be pale white in color. If you notice that they turn black, brown, blue, red, or yellow, consult your doctor, as an underlying health issue (such as diabetes, heart failure, or renal failure) could be at play. Though, this is quite rare.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div data-type=\"_mgwidget\" data-widget-id=\"1675549\">\r\n<\/div>\r\n<script>(function(w,q){w[q]=w[q]||[];w[q].push([\"_mgc.load\"])})(window,\"_mgq\");\r\n<\/script>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Let\u2019s be honest: Nail envy is a very real thing. With so many nail artists posting gorgeous nailfies on Instagram and TikTok, it\u2019s only natural to wish your nails were as long, colorful, or well-manicured. While all of these hopes and dreams can be remedied with a quick stop at your local nail salon, there\u2019s &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":4502,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4501","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4501","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4501"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4501\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4502"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4501"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4501"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4501"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}