Title: Your Nails (for Kids) - Nemours KidsHealth
Headings: Your Nails
Your Nails
Your Nails
Nail Care
Manicures and Pedicures
Common Nail Problems
What Your Nails Have to Say

Content: Your Nails (for Kids) - Nemours KidsHealth
Your Nails
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Your Nails
You may not think about your nails, unless you just painted them blue or your mom  says it's time to trim them. But your nails have a job to do. The hard surface of  your nails helps to protect the tips of your fingers and toes. And your fingernails  make it easier to scratch an itch or remove a dog hair from your sweater. Nails themselves are made of keratin (say: KAIR-uh-tin). This is the same substance your body uses to create hair and the top  layer of your skin. You had fingernails and toenails before you were even born. Where  do they come from? It may look like your fingernails and toenails start growing where your U-shaped cuticle (say: