History of Nail Polish
Have you ever wondered were or how nail polish was ever created? Even so how it has evolved over the centuries? At this time follow me on a wild adventure that dates back decades, in the creation of nail polish!
Nail polish was created in China dating back to 3000 BCE, along with the Zhou dynasty in 600 BCE, the royal house preferred the colors gold and silver. However, a big twist occurred when black and red replaced these metallic colors as royal favorites.
During the Egyptian times the lower classes wore pale colors, Whereas higher class identified themselves with painting there nails a reddish brown. In addition to this they would also have hennas painted on them.
An interesting fact within this time the mummified pharaohs also had their nails painted with henna.
Nail polish was often made from a mixture of:
- Beeswax
- Egg whites
- Gelatin
- Vegetable dyes
- Gum Arabic
We start getting into the earlier years of 1810-1812 when Fedrick S.N. Douglas travelled to Greece. During his time there, he discovered that the Greek women would paint there nails “dingy pink”. Which was later discovered as an ancient custom. In contrast to the different formulas used for creating the nail polish was fairly basic.
The ingredients as follows:
- Lavender oil
- Carmine
- Oxide tin
- Bergamot oil
Finally, a end of an era! In conclusion to this nail polish has always been a symbolism of evolving customs for the higher classes.
Written By: Amber K