Does rubbing nails together improve hair growth? No, that's not true: There is no scientific evidence backing this belief.
The claim appeared in a video (archived here) published on TikTok on May 5, 2023, under the title "Rubbing fingernails together can improve hair growth."
It opened:
According to research, rubbing your fingernails together can increase hair growth.
(Translation from Thai to English by Lead Stories staff).
This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:
(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Thu Aug 17 02:09:03 2023 UTC)
Rubbing fingernails to improve hair growth is a popular myth in India. It is considered a type of Balayam, which is a yoga practice and an alternative medicine approach that proposes hair growth exercises. The concept behind it is that rubbing nails with enough pressure supposedly activates the nerves on the nail beds and increases blood circulation to the scalp, but no scientific evidence or research backs the claim, as clarified by the Institute of Dermatology of Thailand.
Anitifakenews Thailand, a government website to stop the spread of unverified news on social media, said rubbing fingernails can not help with hair growth, and it can also harm your nails. Moreover, extra caution should be observed when trying this technique by certain categories, such as pregnant women, because balayam may cause uterine contractions.
