The History of the mani/pedi

The perfect pedicure is a must have for a trip to the beach. It can be the perfect finishing touch for any outfit and overall, doesn't it just make you feel happy to look down and see a cheery, shimmery color? Have you ever wondered where the idea of painting nails came from? Well I've done a little research and heres what I've found.
The practice is believed to have originated in ancient China. They used a mixture of ingredients such as egg whites, gelatin and beeswax for a sort of clear varnish, and for color they added mashed flower petals. It traveled to the rest of the world through Italian explorers who brought it back from China. The Egyptians also colored their nails with a reddish-brown dye made from the henna plant (the same thing still used for temporary tatoos).
In Eygpt your nail color signified your social class. Queens like Nefertiti and Cleopatra wore deep shades of red while lower classes were only allowed pale shades. Back in China, nail color was also an indication of social status. Gold and silver, and later, red and black were symbols of the wealthy.
Through the years, the tradition died down, and women went for a more natural look by rubbing tinted creams or powders into their nails and buffing them shiny. This practice was continued until the 1920's, when the invention of car paint gave the basis for colored nail enamels. Then there were only a few colors to choose from, as pinks and reds were the basics. However, darker reds were sometimes frowned upon, as they were seen to be too excessive.
By the 1950s, more color options were introduced and hairdressers were sometimes trained to also give manicures, which gave way to the modern day manicurists. Then in the 70s, the acrylic nail was invented and the market has been growing ever since.
So after learning all this, I decided to channel my inner royalty, and had some fun with these colors...



Red nails have always been the color of controversy...

In 1927, a product called Society Nail Tint was introduced, which was a white paint applied to the underside of the nails, and resembled the modern day french manicure.

Black polish, once only worn by goths and other sub-cultures, is now becoming more widely accepted and certainly makes for a dramatic touch...

I apologize for the oh-so-unfab band-aid... But dont you love the color selection we have today as opposed to back in the 1920s? Purple was almost impossible to come across until the 1950s!