The History of Acrylic Nails
BY KAYLANY RAMOS — Staff Writer
Although we all know and love acrylic nails, we may not actually know the actual meaning behind how they began to become a loving sensation throughout America.
Acrylic nails have actually been around for thousands of years. You may be surprised by this, but Egyptian women used to wear really long fake nails. These were not only beautiful designs, but they wore them as social symbols. Some materials that were used were bones, ivory, and even gold.
Egyptians wore them to show that they were wealthy. The working class couldn’t have long nails because of their manual labor jobs, but the rich could.
Did you know that the dental industry actually had something to do with the invention of the acrylic nail?
Well in 1954 a dentist, Fred Slack, broke his fingernail at work, and created a fake nail as a realistic-looking replacement; this was only supposed to be temporary. After experimenting with different materials to perfect this invention, he and his brother, Tom, created a successful version. That was the beginning of an acrylic nails company called “Patti Nails”. Since then, acrylic nails have been used as an fashion accessory with countless shapes and designs.
Although a dentist did create acrylic nails, there is definitely history behind the beautiful works that are now styled and worn all over the world.
