In today's world, few women do not care about the beauty of their hands. Even men resort to the services of beauty salons to put their nails in order.
But when doing such mundane things, few people think about who invented the manicure and what secrets this procedure is familiar to everyone. However, many startling facts can surprise even the most well-read person.
History of occurrence
Since ancient times, people have been caring for the beauty of their hands. Even the ancient Egyptians attached great importance to manicure, which is confirmed by scientists studying Egyptian mummies. It has long been proven that Cleopatra and Nefertiti stained the nail plates with henna, which has a far resemblance to varnishing.
The oldest manicure set was found on the territory of Ancient Babylon. According to studies, Babylonian fashionistas looked after the condition of the nails only with gold tools.
But in ancient China, ladies painted their hands and nails using a mixture of wax, egg whites, Arabic jam and flower petals. As a result, a certain color was formed that determined the woman's belonging to one or another class.
The length of the nail plates was also of great importance. Only wealthy and noble women had the right to grow long nails.
Manicure in the usual sense for everyone was opened only in the 30s of the XIX century.
The French king Louis complained of a burr appearing on his finger. Several doctors were called to remove it, but only one doctor was able to fix the problem, to whom they attribute the opening of a manicure.
Subsequently, this doctor invented a special manicure set consisting of a suede file, powder and an orange stick. And in a fairly short period of time, such a set gained popularity and appeared on the bedside shelves of many fashionistas.
The spread of manicure
At the end of the 19th century, information about the manicure set created by the French doctor spread across all developed states. Thanks to this, many Americans began to monitor the beauty of their hands in this way. At the beginning of the last century, the first nail polish was created, which consisted of sequins, but did not last more than a day.
In 1917, a tool was introduced in the United States that allows you to quickly and painlessly remove the cuticle. At the same time, nail salons appeared in large American cities, which saved many women from the need to put their hands in order on their own.
In 1925, they created means not only for staining nails, but also for cleansing them of varnish. The coating itself had a pinkish tint and was intended for application to the central part of the plate.
Not all coatings produced in those days received well-deserved recognition. For example, the red color caused rejection in most fashionistas, as they immediately began to associate it with accessibility and frivolity.
Thanks to the Frenchwoman Juliet Marlene, in the middle of the 20th century, women were able to repair damaged nail plates using pieces of silk fabric or paper. In the same period, dyes appeared, allowing you to get different shades of varnishes.
At the end of the 20th century, women stopped covering their nails with multi-colored varnishes, starting to focus on naturalness. To this day, many fashionistas adhere to this rule and pay much attention to the health of the nail plates.
Interesting Facts
At first glance it seems that manicure is an ordinary procedure, and therefore does not deserve special attention. However, there are facts that allow us to look at it differently.
- In ancient Egypt, it was believed that long nails allow a person to communicate with the gods. But she only had the right to know such nail plates. The tone of the nails also made it possible to emphasize the status: the brighter the color, the higher the position of the person.
- In ancient China, extended nails were found not only in women, but also in men. It was believed that the longer the nail plate of a representative of the stronger sex, the more courageous his character.
- The fashion for nail growth on the little finger came to us from France. In the XVII century, this trend was successful among men who in this way expressed their intelligence.
- Oriental fashionistas of past centuries preferred to save time on manicure, and therefore found a way for long-term staining of the plates. To do this, they introduced a special dye under the base of the nail plates, which stained the nails for a long time.
- The owner of the longest nails is Nelvin Feisel, who for a quarter century managed to grow nails 9.5 meters long.
Manicure art has ancient roots, which suggests that well-groomed hands were appreciated at all times. Beautiful and healthy nails make a person more attractive, which involuntarily attracts others.
Read more about the history of manicure in the video below.
