Informative Essay- Origins of Nail Color/ Nail Art

Origin of Nail Color
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Nail polish has gained its popularity in modern times though many of its examples emerged in the ancient times. Nail polish empowered by the amazing improvements in science and technology especially modern chemist got accepted by the female population and the society in general.
Nail care had always been an important part of fashion since its invention in 3000 B.C.E, but its importance grew after the emergence of first portraits in the 17th century that had shiny nails. This inspired nail care a lot together with other cosmetic products and they spread among the general population being accepted significantly during the Victorian age (Toselli 2009).
According to history, nail polish is said to have been created in China around 5000 years ago. At this time, its use was by the ruling class to distinguish themselves from the rest of the population. The popular colors at the time were metallic in nature example gold and silver, and they were a sign of power and wealth. In Babylon, red or black nail polish was used to identify people of a high-class while the rest of the colors acted as identifiers of the peasants (Shapiro 2014).
Nail polish spread from China across India, the Middle East, and northern Africa. Nail polish vanished from the European fashion alongside other cosmetic products after the fall of the Roman Empire but returned after the arrival of rebirth and new trade connection with the Middle East and India. Nail polish and manicure continued to become common until the late 18th century when they became common in France (Lytle 1999).

By the 19th century, nail polish had become ordinary in France, England, Italy and the United States. It was just during the 20th century where it now got popular in France where manicure establishments appeared in great numbers. Nail polish in the past is the birth of the now nail polish that shows in every possible color combination.
References
Lytle, E. S. (1999). Careers in cosmetology. New York: Rosen.
Toselli, L. (2009). Pro nail polish: Salon secrets of the professionals. Richmond Hill, Ont: Firefly Books.
Shapiro, S. E. (2014). Nails: The story of the modern manicure. New York: Hero.