Answer:
Did Cleopatra Manicure?
She sure did. Cleopatra's nails were painted red and Queen Nefertiti's nails flashed violet. The word manicure derives from Latin: manus for hand, cura for care. Believe it or not people have been manicuring their nails for more than 5000 years. Nobility in Babylonia used solid gold tools to mani-pedi. According to a Ming Dynasty manuscript, nail polish has a history dating back even further, to 3000 BC when nail color indicated one's social status. Royalty painted their nails black and red; the Egyptians used red to designate the highest social status; military commanders in ancient Egypt and Rome were known to paint their nails to match their lips before going off to battle. Before nail polish was around, people in India, used henna (a brownish red substance) for their manicure.
Over time, fashionable nails never lost popularity. In the 20th Century different styles of manicures came into existence. Artificial glue-on nails became a craze for people who did not want to or could not grow their natural nails long. Eventually, more permanent liquid, monomer and polymer, was applied to the nail bed to form acrylics. Soaking the nails in acetone is necessary to remove acrylics.
