The History of Artificial Nails

Artificial nails are popular today purely for cosmetic reasons. They are used to give a visually pleasing look and to make women feel more feminine and desirable. However, what you may not realise when you put your artificial nails on is that you have the dental industry to thank for them!

While the dentist may not have created the concept of the artificial nail, they did create the materials used for them today.

Women have been wearing nail extensions since the Egyptian times and back then they had a completely different meaning to what they do now. Wearing nail extensions from bone, ivory and gold, Egyptian women used them as a sign of wealth and status. This concept was followed over centuries and women in the Far East even grew their nails as long as possible to symbolise status.

When artificial nails were officially created, they were created to protect the nail and to give a more visually appealing look to the hands. Experts within the dental industry created artificial nails when they mixed materials together to create something that could be placed over the teeth to rebuild them and make them stronger.

It was by mixing Polymers and Monomers that a material was created that would successfully make the teeth stronger. It was soon realised that not only could this material be used to make the teeth stronger, but it could also be used to make nails stronger too.

To create the first official artificial nails, the Polymer and Monomer mixture was applied over the natural nail, extended past the nail onto a support and then left to set before being sculptured into shape. The material dried extremely hard and dental drills were often needed to help to sculpt the artificial nail in to shape.

As time evolved artificial nails were created using different materials to make them easier to sculpt and cheaper to purchase. The most common form of artificial nails available today come in the form of plastic. That makes them inexpensive to purchase and they are better sculptured into different shapes and sizes. They can also be painted easier and they can be more comfortable to wear. The only downside is that they are not as hard wearing as the acrylic artificial nails.

Overall the dental industry is to thank for the artificial nails that we know today. They may have changed slightly has time has gone by, but they are here because a few dental experts decided to experiment with different materials to create a mixture to harden the teeth. So artificial nails definitely have an interesting history!