Nail Culture
by Alexa Tapia
Beauty culture does not mean one definitive thing. The deeper you dive into something, the closer you get to the roots. However, only some care to look past the surface. While acrylic nails may seem like a simple trend, there is a rich history behind them.
Bold nails are an artistic form of self-expression. They are a part of black and brown culture. Acrylic nails gained attention as far back as the 1980s. Florence Griffith Joyner, also known as Flo Jo, was a famous black American track and field Olympian who often sported long curved acrylic nails.
Joyner’s nails often gained plenty of attention in the media, but not always for the best reasons. Her nail sets were often criticized by media outlets. Paddy Calistro of the Los Angeles Times had called Joyner’s nails “flamboyant”. Her boldly decorated nails were not easily digestible for a mass audience. Her nails were considered unconventional to people, especially to white people. The nails were an indicator of cultural difference. However, that did not deter Flo Jo from wearing her nails proudly, and it certainly did not stop future trailblazers.
In the 1990s, African American hip hop artist Lil’ Kim wore an acrylic set that would carry a legacy. Lil’ Kim’s “Money Nails” were designed by nail artist Bernadette Thompson in the 1990s. Thompson cut up a hundred dollar bill and incorporated pieces of it into the nail design. This made a huge impact on the beauty industry and further popularized acrylic nails. The set of nails was featured at the Museum of Modern Art.
Mexican-American singer Selena Quintanilla often wore acrylic sets that were adored by her fans. She wore traditional square-shaped nails that were often a beautiful deep red color. She also wore them in white or sported a French tip style. This classic style of nails are worn today by chicana and black women. The influences of these nails are often loved by women in older generations. However, young women wear them to honor the style their mothers and grandmothers wore “back in the days”.
These trailblazers are often not credited for their influences on nail culture and the styles have long been culturally appropriated.
While most trends are birthed out of one viral moment, faces behind the moment keep them going. Most of the time, those faces do not represent all people. Especially people of color.
The reason for this goes back to the twentieth century beauty market in the United States. To understand the history of acrylic nails, an understanding of the history of beauty culture is needed. As many know, nail aesthetics are not the only part of women of color’s beauty history.
Dr. Elisabeth Ritacca is a history professor at Citrus College. She teaches History of Women in the United States. Ritacca’s knowledge sheds light on the beauty market and the impact it had on women of color, and later vice versa.
Dr. Ritacca said that the beauty market in the United States has always catered to white women. Since the beauty market in the U.S. had a focal lens on the aesthetics that catered to white women for so long, women of color had developed their own styles independently.
“Women of color—who were ignored by mainstream publications and beautify companies—developed their own styles and fashion standards somewhat independently from the market,” Dr. Ritacca said.
The lack of representation is what allowed women of color, especially black women, to consistently be the blueprint for trends that later occur. While the history of women of color’s contributions to the beauty world are well documented, the stories are just not widely told. Finding the true deep history of something is often a great labor. The ignorance surrounding this topic is what leads to people wearing aesthetics from certain cultures without giving credit. That is what is called cultural appropriation.
Cultural appropriation has been occurring since the beginning of the twentieth century. When beauty companies ran out of inspiration within the white community, black and brown communities became something for white creatives to exploit.
“These communities became wells of new ideas for white designers, musicians, celebrities, and now, influencers who could pluck a style from its origin and present it as new to a mainstream (white) audience,” Dr. Ritacca said.
Aesthetics that were once ignored or shamed, become viral trends once white women become the face of them. Once a white woman wears something, it becomes palatable and acceptable for the white community to partake in.
“The nails or hairstyles now become something for women outside of the culture to try on for a few days, often without realizing its origins,” Dr. Ritacca said.
Today, decorated nails of various shapes and styles are shown off daily on social media by the thousands. Trends on social media dominate the fashion cycles, beauty standards, and aesthetic popularity. There are 20.6 million posts under the nails hashtag on TikTok and 241 million posts under the same hashtag on Instagram.
Though acrylic nails have long been denied their origins. Young black and brown people carry the legacy, like these two students at Citrus College.
Janyla Thomas is a 24-year-old business major at Citrus College. She started getting her nails done at 16-years-old. The first time getting her nails done was for a trip to Las Vegas. Thomas had been inspired to do her nails because she had witnessed girls around her get their nails done. “(I was taught) a woman keeps up with herself and part of keeping up with yourself and getting your nails and your feet done,” Thomas said. “It makes me feel complete when my nails are done.”
Sofia Loza is a 20-year-old cosmetology major at Citrus College. Loza has her own independent business as a nail tech but loves everything revolving around beauty. Taking cosmetology courses at Citrus has allowed Loza to evolve her talent and love for all beauty mediums. Coming to Citrus was her first step to professionally beginning her beauty career. However, Loza’s experience in the beauty world began amid the COVID-19 pandemic when she started experimenting with her mom’s makeup products and watching YouTube tutorials.
Loza’s mother serves as a major inspiration for her cosmetology career. She had started getting her nails done at 14-years-old because her mother had practiced doing acrylic nail sets on her. A shared love for nails between her and her mother is what led to her career path today. “At the end of the day their smile and happiness makes me love this career,” Loza said.
