The Practice of nail decoration has existed for the last 5000 years and can be traced back to the people of India, and the Egyptians, who embellished thieir nails with the reddish brown colour of henna. The colour and condition of a person's nails indicated social status.
In ancient times women were identified and separated from men by the colour of their nails, different tribes had different nail art. For instance the Inca civilization were well known for wearing images of Eagles on their fingernails.
There isn't much more recorded about early nail art until the 19th century, when Nail art began to advance into modern society.
By the mid 1920s and 1930s, inspired by modern nail polish, the 'Moon Manicure' became very popular. The cuticles were cut, and the tips were filed into points. Polish, usualy a shade of red, was applied to the middle of the nail, leaving the 'moon' of the nail, at the bottom, unpainted. Sometimes the tip was left unpainted as well.
Since the 1930s, nail art has evolved, and has grown considerably in popularity in the last few years. Typically involving the application of a vibrant colour of nail polish, followed by the application of stickers, glitter, decals, or even gems to the nails. Some people have their nails pierced, in order to insert small hoops, chains, studs, or semi precious metals. Many people choose to have acrylic or gel nails put on first before having any nail art done, so that the shiny surface will enhance the designs.
A skilled Nail Artist uses stencils, nail brushes, and even needles to achieve intricate designs. In Japan, 3D nail art is in demand. In this technique, actual charms are fastened to the nail and sculpture powder is used to produce a unique 3D effect. Many countries now organise annual events, both to popularise the art and also to give the opportunity for students of nail art from different countries to get together and share their skills and experience.
The 'Nail Fashion Printer' arrived around the turn of the century. It married the world of personal computers to the world of beauty in a unique way. The first ones had quality issues. The printer heads were fastened to rails, so were incapable of adjusting to various finger sizes. The first solution of adding more print heads was not successful because of the raised cost, and as different people all have different size and shape of fingers, the pictures always came out fuzzy. Although there are some modern printers who have overcome the limitations of previous machines. Many of todays printers though still use the same technology, mostly because the 'focus' has not been on speed or clarity, but on fun.
While many nail technicians can create sophisticated masterpieces with a free-hand technique using sharp brushes, or by employing a stencil, a new digitized method in nail art application has been introduced. The nails are cleaned and trimmed, just as they would be for a normal manicure, and a base coat is laid on and left to dry. Then a special polish is applied to allow the nail design to adhere properly. While it sets, the customer selects a design, or has their own motif scanned into the machine. Next, the customer's hand is placed in a cradle under a machine that sprays the design from the printer onto the nails. The printer is set to stop the process should it detect accidental movement from their hand.
Although Nail Art is widely available at nail salons nowadays, some people prefer to go to the tattoo parlour instead. In place of coats of polish and glittery decals, they have their nails tattooed. The design is etched into the nail via a single-needle tattoo machine. the surface of the nail is penetrated thousands of times to embed a micro-pigmentation. This kind of tattooed nail art will last until the nail grows out.
