Quick History of Nails: 1980s (2024)

FAQs

How did people do their nails in the 80s? ›

Some of the techniques and styles during this decade included: airbrushing, multi-colored nails, hand painting, feathers, real gold nails, and even foil art as well as the enhancement of products to give better length including tips, gels, and “organic” nail powders.

The '80s were well known for colorful clothing, and nothing is more colorful than neon. Back in the day, the most popular hues were similar to highlighters—bright yellow, orange, green, and pink.

Believe it or not people have been manicuring their nails for more than 5000 years. Nobility in Babylonia used solid gold tools to mani-pedi. According to a Ming Dynasty manuscript, nail polish has a history dating back even further, to 3000 BC when nail color indicated one's social status.

Before the invention of the modern nail clipper, people would use small knives to trim or pare their nails.

All right, Mary Beard, can we get this a bit closer to the present? OK. Nail painting became more of a thing for women for a millennium or two, but in the 1970s and 80s male musicians started to put the man back into the manicure. Iggy Pop, Lou Reed, David Bowie, Freddie Mercury, Prince …

Not being able to see a half-moon, or lunula, on the nails may be a sign of a vitamin deficiency, vitiligo, kidney failure, or another health condition. Some people only notice a lunula on their thumbs. Some causes can be serious, so it is best to contact a doctor.

In China around 3000 BC, the wealthy grew their nails long and adorned them with jewelry to indicate they didn't need to use their hands for manual labor. These attitudes continued well into the 1970s and 80s, as Black women adopted acrylic nails.

Moreover, long fake nails became trendy in the 1970s, especially silk-wrapped styles. Most had rounded or oval shapes. In contrast, this decade was when the French manicure was invented. It began as a way for actresses to do rapid costume changes, and it turned into the hip style for the rich and famous.

Fingernails don't sweat. Your thumbnail grows the slowest. Your middle fingernail grows faster than your other fingers. Fingernails are for protecting not only the fingertips but also the surrounding soft tissue from any external injuries.

The Chinese are often credited with creating the first “nail polish”, in 3,000 BC. Women soaked their nails in a combination of egg whites, gelatine, beeswax and dyes from flower petals; roses and orchids were the most popular. The result was shiny nails tinted reddish pink.

What was the original purpose of nails? ›

The short answer is we have evolved to have nails because they help us pick things up (like food), pick things off (like bugs), and hold tightly onto things. Early humans who had these type of nails (instead of claws) tended to live long enough to have babies and pass on the fingernails gene to their kids.

Moreover, long fake nails became trendy in the 1970s, especially silk-wrapped styles. Most had rounded or oval shapes. In contrast, this decade was when the French manicure was invented. It began as a way for actresses to do rapid costume changes, and it turned into the hip style for the rich and famous.

The history of artificial nails

These were often made from bones or ivory. The concept of the acrylic nail was then accidentally founded in 1954 by a dentist called Frederick Slack. One day at work he broke his nail and fashioned an artificial nail to go over his broken one, using dental acrylics.

The rise of the acrylic nail coincided with the stiletto trend. Women flocked to nail salons to get sculpted acrylic nails in fun shapes and bold colors. Acrylic allowed women to transform their nails into works of art. By the late 90s, the trend extended to gel nails which offered a more natural look.

Nails were formerly made of bronze or wrought iron and were crafted by blacksmiths and nailors. These crafts people used a heated square iron rod that they forged before they hammered the sides which formed a point.