Nail polish
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Nail polish or nail varnish is a lacquer that is applied to the nails of both the fingers and toes, usually cosmetically, but also as protection for the nails. The act of simply polishing the nails without applying a chemical layer afterwards is called nail buffing.
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[edit] History
Nail polish seems to have been originated by the Chinese around 3000 B.C. The Japanese and Italians thought to have been the first ones to actually to use nail polish.[citation needed] The Chinese used a colored lacquer, made from a combination of gum arabic, egg whites, gelatin and beeswax. They also used a mixture consisting of mashed rose, orchid and impatien petals combined with alum.[citation needed] This mixture, when applied to nails for a few hours or overnight, leaves a color ranging from pink to red. The Egyptians used reddish-brown stains derived from the henna plant to color their nails as well as the tips of their fingers. Today, some people still use henna dyes to draw intricate, temporary designs on their hands in a practice known as Mehndi.
During the Chou Dynasty of 600 B.C., Chinese royalty often chose gold and silver to enhance their nails. A fifteenth-century Ming manuscript cites red and black as the colors chosen by royalty for centuries previous.[citation needed] The Egyptians also used nail color to signify social order, with shades of red at the top. Queen Nefertiti, wife of the king Akhenaton, colored her finger and toe nails ruby red and Cleopatra favored a deep rust red.[citation needed] Women of lower rank who colored their nails were permitted only pale hues, and no woman dared to flaunt the color worn by the queen or king.[citation needed] Incas were known for decorating their fingernails with pictures of eagles.[citation needed]
It is unclear exactly how the practice of coloring nails progressed following these ancient beginnings. By the turn of the 19th century, nails were tinted with scented red oils and polished or buffed with a chamois cloth, rather than simply painted.[1] Even a century later, women still pursued a polished, rather than painted, look by massaging tinted powders and creams into their nails, then buffing them shiny.[1] One such polishing product sold around this time was Graf’s Hyglo nail polish paste.[1] Some women during this period painted their nails using a clear, glossy varnish applied with camel-hair brushes.[1] When automobile paint was created around 1920, it inspired the introduction of colored nail enamels.[1] Michelle Ménard is credited with inventing the beginnings of our modern day colored nail lacquers.[citation needed]
[edit] Constituents
Most nail polishes are made of nitrocellulose dissolved in a solvent and either left clear or colored with various pigments. Basic components included are: film forming agents, resins and plasticizers, solvents, and coloring agents.
Nail polish makers have been under pressure to reduce or eliminate potentially toxic ingredients, including phthalates, toluene, and formaldehyde, from their nail polish.[2][3] In September 2006, several makers agreed to phase out dibutyl phthalate, which has been linked to testicular problems in lab animals and humans, in updated formulations.[3] Though some makers recently agreed to eliminate formaldehyde from their products, others still use the chemical.[2]
[edit] Nail polish in fashion
Nail polish is traditionally worn by women, but it is gaining popularity with men as well, who may apply it to their fingernails, toenails, or both.
Traditional colors for nail polish are red, all types of pink and flesh-colored shades, although more unusual shades are also available, such as yellow, orange and even green. French manicures traditionally mimic the colors of natural nails, with flesh tones on most of the nail and white at the tips. Today, nail polish can be found in nearly every color and shade desired. It is believed that the film Pulp Fiction started a trend for a shade of dark red nail polish during the mid-1990s, after Uma Thurman's character wore Chanel's "Rouge Noir" (known as "Vamp" in the USA) throughout.[citation needed] Black or other very dark nail polish has been popular with goths and punks of both genders since the 1970s, however it has now gained popularity in the mainstream fashion world. Nail polish may also be used to complete an outfit. In this case, women, and occasionally men, match the color of the nail polish to the colors of the clothing.
Colors with glitter and a metallic sheen have also become popular among the teens of today. With the initial red losing its fame, metallic purple and colors with a shade of pearl are gaining the spotlight of the teen's cosmetic world. Clear and pink are all-time favorites.
Also in today's world some popular designs on one nail and can be done with thinner nail brushes (usually the ring finger) or all includes: flowers, strokes of lines and even more detailed designs with airbrush tools usually on acryilic nails.
Some men also wear nail polish (typically fingernail polish). Musicians, particularly of the rock genre, such as Marilyn Manson, Richard Kruspe, Dave Navarro, Steven Tyler, Kirk Hammett, Brian Molko, Lou Reed, Martin Gore, Davey Havok, Gerard Way, Pete Wentz, Bill Kaulitz, Lauri Ylönen, Jonne Aaron & Sir Christus, Ville Valo, Tuomas Holopainen and Alexi Laiho have been known to wear nail polish. In 1997, the cosmetic company Hard Candy released Candy Man, a nail polish brand aimed specifically at men. It featured colors such as Testosterone (gunmetal grey), Gigolo (silver-specked black), Superman (midnight blue), and Dog (deep purple). [4] Many professional men will choose to follow a pedicure with clear nail polish, although black and other darker colors are gaining popularity with more men.
Some types of polish are advertised to cause nail growth, make nails stronger, prevent nails from breaking, cracking and splitting and stop nail biting. Nail polish may be applied as one of several components in a manicure.
[edit] Nail polish remover
Nail polish is easily removed with nail polish remover, which is a solvent (usually acetone, sometimes acetonitrile) and often recognized by its characteristic industrial aroma. Other components may include oils, scents and coloring. Polish remover comes in a variety of different packages including individual felt pads soaked in remover, a bottle of liquid remover that can be used with a cotton ball and even containers filled with foam and remover that can be used by inserting your finger into the container and twisting until the polish comes off.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e "History of Nail Care." Originally published in Nails magazine, 2007.
- ^ a b Nail Polish manufacturers remove potentially harmful chemicals
- ^ a b Singer, Natasha. "Nail Polish Makers Yield on Disputed Chemical." New York Times (Sept. 7, 2006).
- ^ Lutyens, Dominic. "If it's good enough for Quentin Tarantino ..." The Independent (London), (Mar 2, 1997).
- Charles Panati , Extraordinary Origins of Everyday Things Harper & Row Copyright 1987
- Vanni Contingo, Article published in COSMO Magazine, copyright 2007
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