Nail Polish Research Paper

Nails and Nail Polish

Since 5000 B.C men and women have had a fascination with their nails as part of their beauty regime. Egyptian women as well as women from India have been dying their nails, this was to show social status. Cleopatra tended to wear a ruby-red colour, made from Henna and sometimes blood whilst Queen Nefertiti chose a crimson shade, other women were only permitted to wear pale colours. A thousand years later in 4000 B.C Babylonian men used black and green Kohl to colour their nails whilst in 600 B.C the noblemen and woman of the Chou Dynasty used gold and silver dust. (Beautifully Invisible (May, 2011). A history of Nail Laquer: Blood red nails on your finger tips, retrieved from http://www.beautifully-invisible.com/2011/05/nail-lacquer-blood-red-nails-fingertips-history-nailpolish.html)

It is believed that the French manicure appeared in the 18th century in Paris and by the turn of the 19th century many used a red tint with scented oils, followed by a polish and buff. For most of the 20th century the manicurist was overlooked within the beauty industry, their history and work culture were ignored. They were often known as petty thieves and dim-witted gossip mongers and for the working-class women they remained an unthinkable expense. In fact, most men looked at the manicurist as nothing more than a saloon girl or prostitute. In 1878 America saw the opening of its first manicure salon in Manhatten by a lady known as Mary E Cobb and then in 1920 we saw the first nail polish created from high-gloss car paint. Michelle Manard, a French make-up artist, adapted the car paint to be used as a nail lacquer and her formula is similar to what we use today. From here, she then formed the company Revlon in 1932, and as we know Revlon is still here in

Why just wear one bold colour over the entire nail? Beatrice Kaye, manicurist to the stars introduced the style known as the “moon manicure”, the moon and tip of the nail were left unpainted. Bette Davis and Joan Collins being two who wore this style first in the 1920’s. 1930 saw Princess de Faucigney-Lucinge set another new trend, red nails with a silver stripe just on the tips. More discoveries came about in 1937 when Earl Tupper, creator of Tupperware, decided to experiment with glue on nail appliques. This meant that even women with short nails could have beautiful long nails like the stars in no time.
In 1955 Fred Slack, dentist, and his brother tom inadvertently invented acrylic extensions whilst trying to mend a fingernail however, it wasn’t until 1978 that Acrylics were born! Dental company Odontorium Products Inc converted the denture acrylic into a product for the fingers, hence OPI was launched. Now long nails were achievable for everyone. Cher and Donna summers used Acrylic extensions to dramatize their oval shape and this time period was also when the new style of square shape came into