A woman in northern China has drawn attention after revealing she has been collecting her own fingernail clippings since childhood — and now sells them for use in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM).
The woman, from Hebei province, reportedly sells her collection for about 150 yuan (US$21) per kilogram. In TCM, fingernails are called jin tui and are believed to help “clear heat and toxins” from the body and aid wound healing.
References to fingernails as medicine date back centuries. The Tang dynasty physician Sun Simiao wrote in his medical text Qianjin Yaofang that fingernails could be burned into ash and mixed with breast milk to treat bloating in children. Historical records show the practice continued for centuries, and doctors were still prescribing it in hospitals as recently as the 1960s.
Although their use later declined as alternatives became available, fingernails re-emerged in 2018 as an ingredient in a patented medicine called Hou Yan Wan, used to treat throat inflammation.
One reason fingernails are rarely used is their scarcity — adults only grow about 100 grams per year. To meet demand, medical companies reportedly purchase clippings from schools and villages. Experts, such as Professor Li Jimin of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, say the nails go through washing, sterilisation, heat processing, and grinding before being turned into powder for medicinal use.
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Still, the practice has triggered heated debate online. Some critics questioned whether toenails might be mixed in, or raised concerns about dirt and disease. Others argued that if properly sterilised, the ingredient should be safe.
Fingernails aren’t the only human-derived substances recorded in traditional medicine. Teeth, hair, and even dandruff once appeared in ancient medical texts as treatments for various ailments.
