Can Vaseline Really Help Your Nails Grow Quickly?

Vaseline aka petroleum jelly is one of the most multi-purpose household items that many people underutilize. While it is commonly used for moisturizing the skin (via Byrdie), its use is not limited to that. As a moisturizer, it works effectively in all weather conditions due to its thick, gooey feel, which not only locks in the moisture but also leaves your skin glowing as opposed to having it cracked up and dry. Vaseline can also be applied to your hair (per Stylecraze).

Injuries and burns also respond well to the application of Vaseline around the injured area — same thing with irritation and itching that often occur with new tattoos, per Makeup and Beauty. And there's even so much more things that your Vaseline can do that you probably had no idea about.

For those struggling with tooth discoloration, it should be good news to hear that Vaseline can help solve teeth staining. If you apply a bit of Vaseline on your baby's bum before putting diapers on them, it will help prevent or deal with any rash the baby may have, per Healthline.

There seems to be no end to the uses of Vaseline as it has also been linked to the speedy growth of nails. If this is true, then it might clearly be an important substance to own for manicure purposes. But is it really true? Will Vaseline your nails grow quickly?

Here's what we know about that.

Nails are made up of a protein called keratin and can grow up to 3.5 millimeters each month even without the application of Vaseline, according to Healthline. That's a considerable length for nails to grow naturally anyway, so why would anyone want to still induce growth through any other unnatural means? Well, the truth is some factors can affect the growth of nails. Factors such as stress have been known to adversely affect nail growth and may even temporarily stop them from growing altogether, per Healthline.

The use of Vaseline for nail growth is actually unfounded, and even for those who struggle to grow their nails, using Vaseline is not a solution. What petroleum jelly does to your fingernails and cuticles is to lock in moisture (via Fabbon) and to make them stronger and less likely to break, per My Glamm.

Mind you, nails grow from the root, not from the tip (via Kids Health) and most of the tips people prescribe — including rubbing garlic on them, using biotin supplements and yes, rubbing Vaseline — are only for strengthening the nails rather than making them grow more quickly. Nails grow at their own pace per WebMd.