Nail painting became popular in the 1920s.
Nail painting became fashionable in the United States in the 1920s with the introduction of automobile paint. Before this period, women sometimes dyed their nails with red oil or polished them with colored creams or powders. The trend for women to paint their nails was popular in France before it became common in the United States. In 1925, women who painted their nails could wear a pinkish-red color that was normally only applied to the center of the nails and not to the moons.
Long red nails were popular in the 1940s.
Two alternatives hit the beauty market in 1927: a pink cream and a tube of chalky white liquid to apply under the tip of the nail. The latter produced a look similar to a French manicure. In the 1930s, a team of brothers invented a variety of nail colors and founded the Revlon Company. A few years later, Max Factor created several dark colors designed to cover the entire nail.
A woman painting her nails.
Actress Rita Hayworth popularized the long red nail style in the 1940s. In 1945, Max Factor added several colors to their line, including pink, red, and other colors. In the early 1950s, the traditional manicure involved nail polish that did not cover the moon or the tip of the nail. Manicures worked in barbershops. Artificial nails were introduced in the 1970s, first on the West Coast.
A woman with false nails.
The trend of painting nails in the United States has varied over the years. It wasn’t until the 1940s that the average American woman dared to paint her nails. However, the trend continued into the 1960s. Therefore, younger women tended to look more natural in makeup and hair, so painting their nails was not as popular. However, the 1980s brought another boom in the nail polish industry. At this time, acrylic nails and French manicure became popular.
French pedicure toenails.
The history of nail painting dates back to the Chinese, when as early as 3000 BC. C. Royals used a variety of substances including flower petals, beeswax, egg whites, silver, and gold to paint their nails. In Egypt, both men and women painted their nails in colors that indicated social status. Royals used darker colors to paint their nails, while the lower classes used lighter shades.