Can rubbing your nails really increase hair growth?

I've been holding back on writing this post for months now for fear of sounding like a complete loon. But I've decided that since we're all friends here, you all will at least forgive me if I do sound crazy. You see it all goes back to either late 2009 or early 2010 when I was chatting with a co-worker from India. From time to time we discuss holistic treatments and such. So we're talking about meditation, eating right and so on when all of the sudden he tells me this: "Do you know what my dad does for healthy hair? He rubs his fingernails together." "He does that all the time and his hair is thick and healthy." My friend has to be in his forties, so if his dad has thick and healthy hair, that would be considered a great accomplishment.

I've heard of adding strange herbs and pouring oils over your scalp for healthier hair, but rubbing nails together was something totally new to me. Was rubbing your nails together for long hair equivalent to clicking your heels together if you wanted to get your wish? To me the idea sounded that farfetched. Even so, the very next moment I could get in front of a computer I immediately began to seek out the merits of this claim. Turns out that there's quite a bit of information online about rubbing the nails together to impact, shedding, growth, and even grey hair.

Being the curious individual that I am, I immediately sought to uncover the logic behind this method (if it did indeed work). What I did discover is that most believe the nerve endings in the fingertips are also connected to the scalp. In Chinese acupressure, certain parts of the body are stimulated to directly impact other areas. So as we create friction by rubbing our nails together, the scalp is then also stimulated. In essence, the scalp is said to receive increased blood flow and stimulation as we rub our nails together. Best of all, the technique only has to be practiced for 5-10 minutes daily (twice a day is recommended).

When I scanned online posts for testimonials, most people either laughed it off as complete nonsense or said they did it for a little while but remained inconsistent. Along with the naysayers, there were also the group of people who said they practiced this technique regularly and have seen positive results. I was amazed when I read from some people that they felt their scalp itch, or tingle when using the nail rubbing technique. So what about me, you ask?

Well I did use this technique religiously for a little over a month. I rubbed my nails together for several minutes periodically throughout the day. My friend from India even caught me doing it one day at work and referenced our conversation a month earlier.

So what results did I experience? First off let me just say that my nails were the most beautiful they'd ever been when I "rubbed" regularly. They had a gorgeous natural shine to them. Not only that, they were thick and strong. Retaining nail length was not an issue. So even for this result alone, I think the practice was worth it. Now let's talk about my hair. When my friend first alerted me to this technique, I was well into my relaxer stretch. I was already packing plenty of new growth. When I finally did relax, I was all smiles over the amount of length I'd achieved in the duration of stretch. Unfortunately, that was the same stretch were I was plagued with massive tangles. So that kinda took away some of the glory of the length I'd achieved. Not too long after my touch up, I neglected my nail rubbing practice. When I think back to why I stopped, the only reasons I can think of were because I was doing it so frequently, that I feared it looked like I picked up a nervous habit. I could be sitting in a business meeting and there I was rubbing my nails together.

That was several months ago. I find myself looking back now wondering what could have been if I kept this practice up regularly. I'm looking down at my chewed up nails reminiscing of the days were I had fabulous, thick, healthy nails and a head full of dense new growth. For this reason, I've decided to re-implement this practice into my routine. This time, however, I decided to share with you incase anyone out there wanted to try. If it turns out that nail rubbing does actually encourage hair growth, I'd be wrong for not sharing. Think what this could mean if it's true. You could be giving yourself a "scalp massage" while sitting in a waiting room without actually touching your scalp. Either way, the results, for me, were promising enough for me to reinstitute nail rubbing into my daily life once again.

So basically the technique only involves rubbing the nails together. I would describe is buffing your nails as you would with a nail buffer, only instead of a buffer, you use your other set of nails. That's it! One can do it for 5-10 minutes a day or longer if desired. So who's open minded enough to give it shot?