Asia Bloodworth discusses how Black culture has had an influence on nail trends over time.
I’ve interviewed more than 160 nail artists on my YouTube show, Nails and Beauty Talk, and I ask the Black nail artists I interview to share their perspectives of Black people in the beauty industry. Sky Somalia, owner of Sky Nails International in New York City, once told me, “I’ve always given my respect to Black beauty icons for their creativity, resilience and willingness to learn as the industry changes.” As Somalia put it, “Throughout the years, Black culture has been a huge influence in fashion and art.”
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Nail tech and content creator Asia Bloodworth (@asiathabird) discusses the impact Black culture has had on nail trends over time.
I’ve interviewed more than 160 nail artists on my YouTube show, Nails and Beauty Talk, and I ask the Black nail artists I interview to share their perspectives of Black people in the beauty industry. Sky Somalia, owner of Sky Nails International in New York City, once told me, “I’ve always given my respect to Black beauty icons for their creativity, resilience and willingness to learn as the industry changes.” As Somalia put it, “Throughout the years, Black culture has been a huge influence in fashion and art.”
From Mansa Musa to Madam C.J. Walker to André Leon Talley, Black cultural icons have long made style a staple, and nails were never left out of the equation. In the Black diaspora, dressing and decorating the hands has always been a means to show charisma and status.
For more than 2,000 years, eastern Africans have dyed their hands and fingertips with Mehndi designs during celebrations and to signify one’s virtues. But not all hand designs are celebratory; Sudanese women have been known to dye their fingertips in protest of female genital mutilation, a horrid practice that said to affect 98 percent of women in Somalia and 89 percent of women in Sudan.
In ancient Africa, working with your hands was a necessity. Africans discovered organic means to hand care, such as baobab and moringa oils and shea butter, which are still used today to promote healthy skin and nails.
African hands created sculptures and masks that would go on to inspire artists like Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso, pioneers of the Cubism art movement.
Nails played a modest role for most of the modern era with French tips at the high-end of the nail design spectrum — that is until a bold and ostentatious sound emerging from the Black neighborhoods of New York City forever changed the game.
Hip-hop’s inherit ultra-arrogance and “it’s all about me” attitude encouraged young Black kids to express themselves in the most extravagant and gaudy means financially possible, nails included. Alongside fresh sneakers and gold chains arrived long, curved nails that would emerge as a centerpiece to young black girls living in the hip-hop era. "Arguably the most popular display of Black nail culture occurred at the 1984 Olympics, where Florence Griffith Joyner, Flo-Jo, earned two silver medals. Despite her feat, headlines focused on Joyner’s hands — specifically, her four-inch fingernails that expressed a bold, Black femininity."
As the sounds of the genre expanded, so too did nail trends, as long acrylic nails provided the canvas for self-expression. Nail bling and charms popularized, as did money nails and intricate and abstract designs representing fashion brands.
Generations later, African hands that once inspired the likes of Pablo Picasso now sported nail art representing their respective countries and cultures, and oils that Africans used for thousands of years found themselves in global demand.
Arguably the most popular display of Black nail culture occurred at the 1984 Olympics, where Florence Griffith Joyner, Flo-Jo, earned two silver medals. Despite her feat, headlines focused on Joyner’s hands — specifically, her four-inch fingernails that expressed a bold, Black femininity.
In the US Sports History article “Star Spangled Fingernails: Florence Griffith-Joyner and the Mediation of Black Femininity,” author Lindsay Pieper writes, “Flo-Jo’s nails and outfits inspired a variety of public responses, from admiration to disgust.”
A 1988 Chicago Tribune article about Joyner read, “The glamorpuss who once wore 4-inch, curved, tiger-striped fingernails simply broke world records as if they were going out of style.”
Flo-Jo was a game-changer, and her impact is evident in modern-day track phenomenon Sha’Carri Richardson, who is known for running in stilettos (nails).
Black nail artists continue to shape the industry, and the future of nails is bright in their motherland. Melody Nyakio, owner of Golden Bliss Spa in Nairobi, Kenya, recalls there weren’t many salons in Nairobi when she was a child, but she looks forward to establishing more locations and services as the region’s supply of nail products struggles to keep up with increasing demand.
From a millennia ago to today, Black women and men have expressed bold statements wearing and creating nail art. We can be certain that Black nail professionals will continue to trailblaze the progression of nail expression for millennia to come.
About the Author:
Asia Bloodworth is a licensed cosmetologist, illustrator, graphic artist, podcaster and native Washingtonian that lives in the DC Metropolitan Area. She earned her Cosmetology License in 2015 and her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration from the Savannah College of Art and Design in 2019. She has her own podcast, Nails and Beauty Talk, on YouTube, where she interviews nail professionals and covers topics ranging from nails and fashion to crypto and Web3.
