Nails grow about 3 to 3.5 mm a month. Pick your manicure to see when it needs a fill or a redo, how long until your nails are as long as you want, or how long a lost nail takes to grow back. Add the day for real dates.
Gel · nails grow 3–3.47 mm a month
Redo in 2–3 weeksBy then about 1.4–2.4 mm of bare nail shows at your cuticle.
Bare nail at the cuticle, week by week
Where these numbers come from
Call your doctor if
Growth from Cleveland Clinic and Yaemsiri et al. (2010, through Harvard’s BioNumbers); how long manicures last from Glamsquad, StyleSeat and CND educator Julie Kandalec; lost nails from MedlinePlus, Healthline and Cleveland Clinic. Checked 2026-10-05. Everyone’s nails grow at their own speed: this is a guide, not a promise. Ours: the arithmetic and the drawing.
Quick answer: fingernails grow about 3 to 3.5 mm a month, roughly 1/8 inch. Regular polish lasts about a week, gel 2 to 3 weeks, dip powder 3 to 4 weeks, and acrylics need a fill every 2 to 3 weeks. A lost fingernail takes 4 to 6 months to grow back, a toenail 12 to 18 months.
How to use it
Pick what you want to know. When to redo my manicure: tap your manicure for when it needs a fill or a redo and how much bare nail will show at the cuticle by then. How long to grow them: type how much longer you want your nails, in inches or millimetres. A lost nail: finger or toe, for how long the new one takes. Add a date for real calendar days, and copy the link to keep your timeline. Choosing the shape for the length you are growing? The nail shape finder draws every shape on your nail, and the salon tip calculator works out the tip at your next fill.
How fast nails grow
Cleveland Clinic: “Fingernails typically grow about 3 millimeters per month.” A 2010 study that measured it put the average a little higher: “Average fingernail growth rate was faster than that of toenails (3.47 vs. 1.62 mm/month, P < 0.01)” (Yaemsiri et al., through Harvard’s BioNumbers). The tool uses both ends, 3 to 3.47 mm a month, and a month of 30.44 days; that arithmetic is ours.
| Longer by | At 3.47 mm a month | At 3 mm a month | About |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 mm | 9 days | 11 days | 9–11 days |
| 2 mm | 18 days | 21 days | about 3 weeks |
| 1/8 in (3.2 mm) | 28 days | 33 days | 4–5 weeks |
| 5 mm | 44 days | 51 days | 6–7 weeks |
| 1/4 in (6.4 mm) | 56 days | 65 days | 8–9 weeks |
| 10 mm | 88 days | 102 days | about 3 months |
| 1/2 in (12.7 mm) | 112 days | 129 days | about 4 months |
From nails cut to the fingertip, short (2–4 mm past it) takes about 3 to 6 weeks, medium (5–8 mm) about 6 to 12 weeks, long (8–15 mm) about 2½ to 5 months.
How long each manicure lasts
A manicure does not wear out only at the tip: “within a couple of weeks after a manicure, you’ll start to see a gap between the polish and your cuticle as new nail growth appears” (Glamsquad). The salon guides:
- Regular polish: “Traditional nail polish is prone to chipping relatively quickly – often within a week” (Glamsquad); “Traditional polish offers a week of wear” (CND educator Julie Kandalec, on AOL).
- Gel: “about two weeks , and often up to around three weeks with good care” (Glamsquad); gel nails “last two-plus weeks” (Kandalec).
- Dip powder: “Dip manicures usually last for at least three weeks , but can sometimes last up to four weeks” (StyleSeat); Glamsquad says up to 4 or even 5 weeks, Kandalec two to four.
- Acrylics: “Scheduling a fill every 2 or 3 weeks allows the nail technician to rebalance the acrylic” (Glamsquad); “Acrylic nails can technically last six to eight weeks, but you’ll have to visit the nail salon every couple of weeks to fill in the growth” (StyleSeat).
| Manicure | When | Bare nail at the cuticle by then |
|---|---|---|
| Regular polish | Redo in 4–7 days | 0.4–0.8 mm |
| Gel | Redo in 2–3 weeks | 1.4–2.4 mm |
| Dip powder | Fill or redo in 3–4 weeks | 2.1–3.2 mm |
| Acrylics | Fill in 2–3 weeks | 1.4–2.4 mm |
How long a lost nail takes to grow back
MedlinePlus: “If you lose your nail, it will take about 7 to 10 days for the nail bed to heal. A new fingernail will take about 4 to 6 months to grow to replace the lost nail. Toenails take about 12 months to grow back.” Healthline agrees on 4 to 6 months for a fingernail and says up to 18 for a toenail; Cleveland Clinic says a fingernail’s “Full regrowth takes at least six months” and a toenail’s “Full regrowth takes 12 to 18 months.” Call your doctor if redness, pain or swelling gets worse, pus drains from the wound, you have a fever, or bleeding does not stop (MedlinePlus).
Worked examples
A gel manicure done on October 1, 2026: redo in 2–3 weeks: book between Oct 15, 2026 and Oct 22, 2026, when about 1.4–2.4 mm of bare nail shows at the cuticle.
Growing them 1/4 inch from October 5, 2026: 8–9 weeks, around Nov 30, 2026 to Dec 9, 2026 (56 to 65 days).
A toenail lost on January 31, 2026: a new toenail in 12 to 18 months, grown back between Jan 31, 2027 and Jul 31, 2027.
Common mistakes
- Waiting for chips to book a fill. The gap at the cuticle shows first, and lifting there is where a fill is due.
- Counting from the shortest nail. Each nail grows at its own pace; plan for the slowest end of the range.
- Peeling off gel or dip as it lifts. “If you observe a minor lift at the edge of your manicure after a few weeks, the impulse to peel or pry off the product is powerful” (Glamsquad): soak it off instead.
More on Needle Style
Short gel nail designs, acrylic nail designs, long nail inspiration, shorties nails and press-on nails.
Growth from Cleveland Clinic and Yaemsiri et al.; manicures from Glamsquad, StyleSeat and CND educator Julie Kandalec; lost nails from MedlinePlus, Healthline and Cleveland Clinic. Checked 2026-10-05.
FAQ
How long do acrylic nails last?
They need a fill every 2 to 3 weeks as your nails grow, and with fills a set can last six to eight weeks (StyleSeat).
How long do gel nails last?
About two weeks, often up to three with good care (Glamsquad).
How fast do nails grow?
Fingernails grow about 3 to 3.5 mm a month, about 1/8 inch; toenails about 1.5 mm, less than half as fast.
How long does it take for a nail to grow back?
A lost fingernail takes 4 to 6 months and a toenail 12 to 18 months; the nail bed itself heals in 7 to 10 days (MedlinePlus, Healthline, Cleveland Clinic).
What is the nail growth rate per day?
About 0.1 mm a day: 3 to 3.47 mm a month over 30.44 days.
How long does dip powder last?
At least three weeks and sometimes up to four (StyleSeat); some last up to five with care (Glamsquad).