Why Do We Love Ruby Red Nails For Manicures And Pedicures?

One of the greatest benefits of manicures and pedicures, besides the utterly lush feeling, total relaxation and the glass of bubbly, is that there is so much freedom to express yourself through the style and colour of your nails.

Nail polishes and shellacs are available in essentially any colour, and depending on how boldly you accessories, you can be free to style your nails in a way that matters to you, without relying on nude shades, browns, pinks or reds.

However, red nails are exceptionally popular for a reason, to the point that in 2022 an entire red nail theory trended on TikTok that highlighted just how popular the shade is.

The reason why people love red nails, both to wear and to look at, might come from ancient history.

Specifically, Ancient Egypt was one of the first civilisations to have a profound nail art tradition, particularly when it came to toenails rather than simply fingernails, and whilst many different nail colours were available, they all came to convey a particular social status.

To the Egyptians, red nails were said to belong to the highest social class, to the point that not only was the colour red important but the shade was as well.

Queen Cleopatra, the last ruler of Ancient Egypt before it was conquered by the Romans, was claimed to prefer a particularly deep shade of red to convey her status at the top.

Meanwhile, the earlier Queen Nefertiti was said to prefer a brighter shade more reminiscent of the precious stone ruby instead.

Much like how other colours have exceptionally strong associations, it is possible that red is still seen to this day as a particularly royal colour, and so people wear red nails to add a bright touch of class to their outfit and their day. After all, the colour goes with almost any outfit.