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The ancient and amazing history of women painting their nails.

long-finger-nails

On humans and other primates, nails are a flattened version of a claw which likely developed to aid in gripping and climbing. However, they can also act as a visible “health report.” Someone in poor health, or infected by a fungus, might have yellow, brittle nails, while someone in good health might have strong, long nails.
The fact that healthy nails are the sign of a healthy person may have led to people beginning to grow them out, or it could have been simply that long nails are cumbersome when working with your hands, so they were something of a status symbol. Whatever the case, it might surprise you to learn that manicuring nails has actually been around for many thousands of years—dating back at least to 3200 B.C. At the time, Chinese royalty would grow their nails and tint them with things like eggwhites or flower petals. Around the same time, Ancient Egyptians were also painting their nails, this time in accordance with their social classes; richer Egyptians painted their nails a darker colour, while poorer Egyptians painted them a lighter colour.

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