Do hair and fingernails keep growing after death?
No — the evidence does not support this claim.
Hair and fingernails continue to grow after a person dies.
What the evidence shows
Hair and nails do not grow after death. Growth requires glucose, hormones, and active cells at the root, all of which stop when the body dies. The appearance of growth is an optical illusion: as the body dehydrates, the skin around the nails and hair follicles shrinks and retracts, making the existing hair and nails look longer by comparison.
This summary describes a fact-check originally published by UAMS Health. FactGuard did not conduct this review; we summarize it and link to the original. Read the original fact-check by UAMS Health →
Sources
- UAMS Health (University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences)
- Dermatology clinical guidance
Published 2026-06-07 · Last reviewed 2026-06-07
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