Come along with Tidbits as we paint our nails!
PAINTED NAILS
- Perhaps as long as 5,000 years ago, Chinese royalty during the Ming Dynasty began staining their fingernails with various mixtures of beeswax, gelatin, and colored flower petals. Red was reserved for high-status citizens; paler, neutral colors were for ordinary people. The practice of coloring fingernails became widespread across different civilizations over many eras.
- In Egypt and India, henna was used. Mummified pharaohs had their nails painted with henna. Nefertiti and Cleopatra also used henna to dye their nails. In Babylon, soldiers dyed their nails black before going to battle, to be more intimidating. By the 1500s, Aztecs and Incas started adding pictures of eagles drawn on nails using sticks and natural dyes, thought to have been used as war totems. The nails would be covered with a white coating, and the eagle design would be drawn in red.
- In 1874, New York socialite Mary Cobb married Dr. Joseph Pray, a New England podiatrist who earned a sizable fortune selling foot powders and ladies’ cosmetics. While traveling in France, Mary Cobb learned the art of manicuring: soaking, trimming, shaping, and polishing nails. • In 1878, Mary Cobb opened the first nail salon in the U.S., located in Manhattan. She charged $1.25 for a manicure, and her clientele ranged from socialites to showgirls. She improved manicure methods, wrote helpful guides, sold manicure kits, expanded into cosmetics and skin care, and invented the emery board to shape nails. Her business savvy led her to sell her products through the burgeoning Five & Dime markets. By 1900, her business was one of the world’s largest female-owned businesses.
- In 1911, Chicago chemist Northam Warren invented a formula that would gently dissolve the cuticle rather than requiring it to be cut away or scraped off. He called the product Cutex. The product sold well, and he later invented the first acetone-based nail polish remover, which he sold along with a selection of the world’s first translucent paint-on nail polishes. These lacquer-based nail polishes replaced the various oils and powders that were rubbed in and buffed out. The Cutex company rose to prominence, as Warren bought out various other cosmetic companies along the way.
- The next advancement in nail polish came as a result of World War I. During and after the war, U.S. forces took over German chemical plants. Along the way, they discovered the patented formula for nitrocellulose, a quick-drying lacquer that was being used to provide cars with smooth, durable paint. By the early 1920s, DuPont was using this technology to produce shiny cars in a rainbow of colors.
- French make-up artist Michelle Menard, admiring the glossy paint job on a red sports car, wondered why this same varnish couldn’t be used on fingernails too. She was working at a cosmetic company at the time, and took the idea to a co-worker named Charles Revson.
- Charles Revson thought adapting automotive paint for use on fingernails was a great idea. He teamed up with his brother Joseph and chemist Charles Lachman to found their own company in 1932, selling enamel-based nail polish. The brothers wanted to name the company after themselves, but added an “L” to the company’s name in honor of Lachman, becoming Revlon.
- Revlon was the first to offer a full-bodied opaque color rather than a translucent tint. The company convinced women that the shade of the lipstick must match the shade of the nail polish. Their sales focused on hair salons at a time when women were flocking there to have their nails done. Next they expanded into department stores. The price point was higher than any other polish, setting them apart as a luxury brand. The revenue allowed them to purchase expensive full-color spreads in fashion magazines. Soon Revlon offered more colors than any other company, dubbing them with romantic names: Fire and Ice, Plum Lightning, Moon Drops. Revlon flourished throughout the Depression and World War II when women who were making great sacrifices still made room for small indulgences. The company grew into one of the largest cosmetics companies in the U.S., offering skin care, hair care, and makeup.
- In 1957, dentist Frederick Slack tore his thumbnail painfully while he was at work. To repair the damage, he used aluminum foil and dental acrylic from his dental lab to hold everything in place while it healed. He was amazed at how much the dried acrylic patch looked like a real fingernail. Later he teamed up with his brother to market a product that he first envisioned would help people stop biting their nails, while also repairing broken nails, only later discovering the wide market for artificial acrylic nails.
• In the 1950s, polish became a full-on fashion accessory. In Technicolor glory on the silver screen, stars like Marilyn Monroe, Rita Hayworth, and Lana Turner made red nails iconic, symbolizing elegance and allure.
- American make-up artist Jeff Pink needed a solution for actresses and fashion models who needed elegant nails – but didn’t have time to switch polish colors between wardrobe changes. In the 1970s, he developed “The French Manicure,” in which the nails are buffed to a high natural shine, while the half-moons at the base of the nails and the white tips remain untouched.
- In the 1970s, immigrants flocking to New York City set up salons in such abundance that manicures became affordable and accessible. What was once a luxury became as common as a haircut.
- By the 2020s, there was an explosion in nail art including stencils, magnetic polish, nail pens, stickers, glitter and sequined top coats, glow-in-the-dark, color-changing, micro beads, scented nail polish, and more.
- The year was 1924 when French hair stylist Antoine de Paris shocked the world and promoted his line of nail polishes by scandalously painting each one of his fingernails a different color.
- Olympic runner Florence Griffith Joyner was denied a spot on the 200-meter relay team in 1984 because her flamboyantly bejeweled 6-inch acrylic nails were judged to be too long to pass the baton. Coaches feared a fumble. Regardless, she went on to win the silver medal in the 200-meter race that same year—a race in which no baton was passed. Even today, the records she set for the women’s 100 meters and women’s 200 meters still stand.
