The quest for beauty for some women does not stop with weaves, eye shadow mascara and blush!
These women also incorporate their hands, particularly their nails to complement their beauty. Nail art, a trend that began almost a decade ago, still dominates the fashion circles and is more advanced than ever.
Though I can never refer to myself as being a staunch fashionista myself, I cannot stop myself from marveling at the intricate designs I often see on real fashionistas’ nails on occasion, more often than once the nails matching worn outfits!
The use of nail art, according to published research, was first recorded as used by the Chinese, Indians and Japanese as early as 3000 B.C. It is purported that the Chinese used a type of enamel on their fingers that once applied, after leaving for several hours, would turn the nail to a reddish/pink colour.  In India, dye derived from the Henna plant was used on the fingernails, and this left a type of reddish brown stain.
It is also believed that the colour used on the nail was significant of social class! In Egypt, higher classes were denoted by deeper shades of red, while the lower classes were only allowed to wear pale shades. Chinese royalty often choose gold and silver to enhance their nails. A fifteenth-century Ming manuscript cites red and black as the colours chosen by royalty for centuries previous, according to an online source.?
Nail polish started being used by the 19th century-with the orange wood stick being developed, and this replaced the acid, oils and herbs that were used in manicures, by 1920 when automobile paint was manufactured, a basis for nail paint was found.
In 1925, nail polish entered the popular market in a shade of red. When this happened, the “moon manicure” became wildly popular. This manicure method involved painting the middle of the nail, but leaving the moon of the nail, at the bottom, unpainted. Sometimes the tip was left unpainted as well. ┬á?
Fast-forward, many decades later the trend is even more advanced than it was then. From using embellishments such as jewellery, glitter, nail stickers fancy drawings and piercings on the nails, it’s a certain craze for adventurous women who wish to make a fashion impression and even make a statement.
Another trend marbling, involves using different nail polish colours and dropping them into a dish and allowing them to spread, “one drop inside another, then swirled with a fine-tipped instrument, creating a marbled effect. Water is then added to the dish. The nail or nail tip is dipped into the mixture, transposing the marbling,” says an online source.
Nail Salons are currently sprouting in and around Gaborone, with the French clean manicure having popularized over time and now making way for the more impressive fancy art. Manicurists charge anything from P35 to P300, depending on the style.
With beauty schools now popularizing, the trend is set to go even further if and when more people enroll to learn the art. So far, there is not enough evidence to suggest that people are enrolling in large numbers, but the growing rate of the business could suggest that more people have either enrolled at an institution to learn the art or learned from tutors while employed.
The Telegraph has also discovered a whole host of manicurists who run a personalized and individual business, making house to house calls to offer the service.
