8 Hippie Nail Art Trends in 2024: Peace, Love, and Polish
It’s time for a retro revival of peace, love, and groovy nails. Let’s explore hippie nail art trends in all their tie-dyed glory. These psychedelic designs are mini mood-boosters that'll have you flashing peace signs all around. Trippy nails like these have a bohemian flair like nothing else. Today’s world could definitely benefit from some free-spirited counterculture right now. Let your inner flower child out to play and let’s have fun!
The Hippie Movement Rejected the Mainstream
Hippies did their own thing in every way possible. This movement blossomed among college age adults in the US in the1960s and 1970s. The term comes from “hipster” and jive slang words like “hip” and “hep”.
It wasn’t just love, trippy music, and drugs—hippies also protested the Vietnam War, lived communally, and rejected materialistic values and “regular” jobs. They experimented with holistic medicine and turned to vegetarianism. Some were very intent on creating a peaceful, pleasurable way of living for all.
Peace
Do you know how the peace symbol came into existence? British artist Gerald Holtom invented it in 1958 as a logo for the British Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. The sign combines the semaphore signals for “N” and “D”, representing “nuclear disarmament”, surrounded by a circle. Holtom said it also stood for despair, with the center lines forming a human figure with lowered hands at its sides against the background of the planet Earth.
Protesters against the Vietnam War and hippies also adopted the “V for Victory” two finger salute as a sign of peace.
These hippie nails feature both peace signs and psychedelic swirls. If you like the palette, check out our Retro Rampage Collection for the perfect colors.
Notice the natural shape with rounded tips and short length? That's actually authentic as the OG hippies weren’t typically into long stilettos or commercialized fashion.
LDS Gel Polish - Retro Rampage Collection
Flower Power
This design features happy Flower Power art with rainbows, ladybugs, and Earth. The poet Allen Ginsberg coined the term as a way of protesting war. At protests, flower children dressed in bright colors and handed out flowers to make a peaceful spectacle in favor of peace.
If you want a little bigger canvas to follow hippie nail art trends, try Lavis Soft Gel tips. They are straightforward to apply even for beginners. They come in assorted sizes to fit every finger and are pre-shaped to minimize the need for filing.
Lavis Soft Gel Tip
70s Retro
Are you familiar with these popular seventies fashion trends that hippies enjoyed?
Bell-bottoms were any type of pants fitted through the thigh and flared from the knee down. These funky pants were usually worn with chunky platform clogs with wooden soles. You can thank Sonny and Cher for making them so popular.
Colorful tie-dye prints were a hallmark of the hippie movement. Janis Joplin was the icon of this bohemian style with beaded necklaces and flower crowns.
Finally, wrap dresses were form-fitting, chic, and flattering compared to the mainstream dress styles of the time.
As for colors, ‘70s hippies started leaving the bright pastels of the ‘60s behind and moving towards earth tones instead. Rich brown, deep orange, and cozy yellow symbolized a connection to nature and the desire for a simple life.
Boho Style
Besides tie dyes and bell bottoms, you might also picture hippies wearing bohemian style clothing. Today's version is called Boho chic. It’s characterized by flowy, loose-fitting skirts and blouses with vintage and ethnic-inspired accessories. Boho also loves natural-looking hair and makeup and bold prints with floral, paisley, and tribal patterns.
Children of the Age of Aquarius were also aware of what colors meant. Purple, indigo, and lilac were linked to spiritual growth and intuition. Meanwhile, bright blue and turquoise intensified intelligence, imagination, and communication.
Green represented luck, healing, and abundance for attracting positive energy. It encouraged a connection to the earth. And sunny yellow like the nails below shows happiness and confidence. It’s connected to the solar plexus chakra to boost self-esteem.
LDS Jelly Nude Collection
Glow in the Dark
Ask someone who grew up in the 60s and 70s if they had black light posters or black lights in their room. Don’t be surprised when they say yes. Glow-in-the-dark stuff was especially trendy. There were some pretty psychedelic posters back then with secret symbols you could only see under a black light.
We admire the hand drawn VW Vanagon and batik-inspired art of this luminescent manicure.
LDS Glow In The Dark
Trippy Mushrooms
There was a subculture among the hippies called the psychedelic movement. They experimented with hallucinogenic drugs like magic mushrooms and LSD to alter their consciousness, escape reality, and become more creative.
Swirly Abstract
What colors are best for hippie nail art? In the beginning, it was all about eye-popping shades like lime green, lemon yellow, magenta, and tangerine. When hippies moved into the 1970s, the fashion shifted to earth tones like mustard yellow, olive green, and brown. Denim blue was also popular. But remember, free-spirited hippies go against the flow and do their own thing. Chill and be creative in your color choices.
Deadhead Nails
The most iconic hippie band of all time is the Grateful Dead. They played an eclectic blend of rock, jazz, blues, folk, bluegrass, reggae, and country. Their fans were known as Deadheads. Many of these diehard aficionados traveled from town to town following the Dead wherever they played.
Moreover, this band popularized vibrant tie-dyed clothing. The random patterns and beautiful chaos were ideal for expressing counterculture ideals.
While doing your tie-dyed hippie nails, pop on a playlist with the Grateful Dead, the Velvet Underground, the Byrds, Linda Ronstadt, Santana, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Fleetwood Mac, Jimmy Cliff, Janis Joplin, and the Beatles.
Conclusion
Right on! We hope this look at hippie nail art trends gave you far-out ideas for your next mani. Free your mind and get groovy!
If you’re into nail fashion, don’t miss what’s trending. We’ll keep you up to date with the best deals on nail supplies and polishes in the hottest colors and styles.
