Why do men paint their nails

Colored manicure has always been considered the prerogative of the female. There were odious personalities like Mick Jagger who deliberately stood out among their own kind by choosing outrageous nail polish for this. Such people have always behaved defiantly.

Not so long ago, it became clear that men's painted nails have become another trend among artists, athletes, fashion designers, and photographers. I would like to know why men do it. Joke? Draw? Unconventional views?

Reasons for staining nails

• Way of self-expression . Some believe that tattooed hands do not look impressive enough without the addition of varnish. Representatives of subcultures depict skulls on their nails and choose black shades with white images.

• Certain mood . Remember the song performed by Philip Kirkorov "Mood Color Blue"? Men also have emotional outbursts and inner experiences, which they express by certain actions. One option is hair and nail coloring. Actor Neil Patrick Harris often walks around with blue nails, especially after the public recognized and did not condemn his passion for members of the same sex.

• The desire to express one's extravagance . Once it was considered a "female show off", however, men are not averse to flattering their pride. Therefore, the varnish is chosen not only in black or white: color options are actively used, as well as coatings with a silvery and golden sheen.

• Treatment . Reporters, seeing Cristiano Ronaldo with a black tint of a pedicure, immediately made information news out of this. It turned out that the legendary footballer restores his nails in this way after his injuries. That is, this is not a varnish, but a therapeutic composition that reduces the effects of finger bruises during games on the field and training.

• An interest that has grown into a habit. Mark Ribeiro, a fitness trainer to whom eminent “stars” sign up, once tried to draw several stripes on his nail with varnish. He liked it so much that the man began to experiment with colors and images. He believes that a new manicure is like a successful shopping spree when you buy good shoes or clothes. And now he does not even appear outside the house without a colored manicure.

• New tricks for beauty bloggers who want to get tens of thousands of subscribers. They agree to the most unusual adventures with their appearance. Someone braids his beard into unthinkable pigtails, changes the color of the pupils with lenses, is fond of facial piercings. And others are happy to dye their hair in acid shades, do makeup or experiment with nail color.

• In memory of the event . Elliot Castello (Australian volunteer) once arrived in Cambodia. In one of the social rehabilitation centers, he met the girl Theo, who got there due to regular physical violence in the family. She really liked painted nails, but she was not allowed to do this at home. She asked Elliot to provide a hand for training, as she wanted to become a manicurist in the future. The man did not refuse the girl and promised that in memory of the meeting he would always paint one nail on his hand. Returning to his country, he continued to fulfill this promise. People constantly wondered why one of the nails on his hand was painted red. The volunteer told the story and asked others to join the cause, also painting one nail. It symbolized opposition to child abuse. The action quickly spread on the social network, and a Financial Support Fund for children who received violence from their relatives was created. Monetary donations are still coming in today, celebrities have joined the global action.

Where did the male manicure come from

The ancestors of well-groomed nails were the Egyptians. Representatives of noble families wanted to be different from the rest, so they polished their nails and painted them with natural substances. Then the fashion moved to the Middle Kingdom: the Chinese emperor introduced this tradition for rich people. The explanation was simple: the person who owns the servants did not do physical work, so the nails were brought into perfect shape. For these purposes, forced people were trained, who, becoming masters, could count on payment for their labor.

In Europe, acquaintance with manicure for men occurred in the 19th century. The courtiers had long nails, which were cleaned, trimmed and strengthened with decoctions of herbs every 2 weeks. The owners of manufactories, large merchants, after securing a cooperation agreement with a wax seal, began to use a handshake. Dirty nails and bumpy, rough skin spoke of the neglect of a business man. Old merchants paid little attention to the appearance of their hands, while young businessmen wanted to have gloss and look presentable.

In the 20th century, the artistic beau monde, in addition to treating nails, painted them with transparent varnish and began to use hand creams. Toward the end of the 20th century, heads of large firms, famous lawyers, couturiers began to visit nail and beauty salons to make a full-fledged male manicure, as well as pay attention to their appearance. Some have adopted healthy American fitness habits.

Today, the beauty industry is developing separate lines for Malepolish. For unusual nail-art, they take ideas from foreign celebrities, and also ask specialists to develop a separate pattern for decorating nails.

Italian male fashion expert Marco Berardini divided men who use manicure with varnish into 2 types. Those who have a transparent coating on their nails or have a color, but without patterns, are successful people who have money and power. A bright, eccentric tone, unusual drawings will be chosen by men who put themselves at the forefront and are not at all interested in generally accepted norms and morality.

What do you think about men's manicure? Support, indifferent or categorically against? What would you say if such a manicure appears in your father, husband, brother, grandfather?