The history of nail polish goes back to other eras, however, this item remains popular and today has countless variations, from care to colors.
The history of nail polish, commonly known as nail polish, is quite old. In the beginning, it was used to record the power and importance of the individual within society, in other words, only kings, queens and emperors use coloring on their nails.
The history of enamel in Ancient China
According to some records, the use of enamel in China began with the Chou dynasty. At first, royal men and women colored their nails with a type of gold or silver paste to symbolize their supremacy. The good care of their nails demonstrated the privileged place that royalty occupied, as they did not need to do manual labor or work, like other subjects.
The history of enamel in Ancient Egypt
Similarly, in Egypt, nail dyes, predecessors of nail polish, were also used and separated according to the individuals’ social class. There, it was used mainly by women and the coloring was based on pigments from henna. However, some additions were made to the mixture, giving variation to shades of red.
According to historical accounts, Cleopatra had a deep and intense red as her favorite color of nail polish. Nefertiti, another Egyptian queen, preferred a lighter shade of red, reminiscent of the shine of rubies.
Middle Ages and Early 20th century
Eventually, over the years, more expressive colors, such as red and black, gave way to the modesty required by the Catholic Church during the Middle Ages. Nails were short, the ancestors of nail polish were left aside and nails were only trimmed and polished with leather strips.
Later, with the arrival of the 20th century and the automobile industry, colors and varnish also came back to the fore in women’s hands. Unexpectedly, the technologies used in car painting became the pioneer in the manufacture of enamels as we know them today.
Initially, in the history of nail polish, they were only found in lighter shades of pink and it was believed that they could be harmful to the health of your nails. Although this was never tested, women adopted the trend of only painting the middle of their nails, thus creating the half-moon nail, where the top and bottom were exposed and only the middle was dyed.
Revlon brothers and movie stars
As the years went by, both technology and the consumption of nail polish grew. It was thus that in the mid-1930s, two brothers, Charles and Joseph Revlon, one of whom was a chemist, decided to invest in the production of more resistant nail polishes with more color options. Changing the entire course of enamel history.
Another point that greatly helped the history of nail polish as we know it today was the popularization of cinema and consequently its stars. In the golden years of Hollywood, actresses like Marylin Monroe and Rita Hayworth were symbols of sensuality and feminine beauty. Therefore, everything they wore on stage became fashionable, including red nail polish.
70s and current times
In the same way that the strongest colors declined during the Middle Ages, in the post-war years, the shades of nail polish became lighter again. Later, in the history of enamel, in the early 70s, synthetic enamels appeared and with that the boom of colors as we know them today. Eventually, stronger colors came back into fashion and have remained until today.
Currently, in this new chapter in the history of nail polish, in addition to a huge range of colors, the popularization of false and gel nails has taken over the fashion market. There are different formats and procedures based on the implantation of gel, fiberglass and acrylic. Like movie stars before, today artists from the music scene are the biggest inspirations when choosing the color and shape of their nails, with longer nails with lots of details being the trend now.
If you liked this content, read also: What causes yellow nails? and also color trends.
