TY - CHAP EP - 889 AV - public ED - Humbert, P ED - Fanian, F ED - Maibach, HI ED - Agache, P Y1 - 2017/// TI - The pH of the Human Nail Plate KW - Nail KW - pH KW - Surface KW - Tape stripping KW - Washing KW - Gender KW - Acidity CY - Cham, Switzerland T2 - Agache's Measuring the Skin: Non-invasive Investigations, Physiology, Normal Constants: Second Edition PB - Springer ID - discovery10061624 N2 - In this chapter, measurements of the nail plate pH are reported. Measurements were conducted in vivo in 37 volunteers with healthy finger- and toenails, using a skin pH meter. The pH of unwashed and washed fingernails and the big toenails was measured, and the influence of washing, anatomical site (fingers/toes), side (left/right), finger digit (digits 1?5), and gender were determined. The pH of the nail plate surface was around 5. There was no significant difference between the sides, i.e., the right or left hand/foot, among the ten fingernails and between the two great toenails. However, toenails had a significantly higher pH than fingernails. Washing the nails caused an immediate, but transient, increase in pH, which was not sustained with time, and pH returned to prewashing levels within 20 min. In males, washing did not significantly influence finger- or toenail plate pH. In females, however, washed fingernails had a significantly higher pH than unwashed ones, while there was no difference in the pH of the toenails. The pH of the nail plate interior, measured after tape stripping, was found to be slightly lower than that at its surface. N1 - This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher?s terms and conditions. SP - 883 A1 - Murdan, S A1 - Milcovich, G A1 - Goriparthi, GS UR - https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32383-1_122 ER -