| Henna FAQ |
|
What is henna?
Henna is a small shrub called Iawsonia inermis, and is found in Iran, India, Pakistan, Egypt, and North Africa. The young leaves are ground into fine powder, then mixed with water and applied on the hands and feet. Henna/Mehndi is a decorative art form used for ceremonies and different rituals for centuries among these areas. Henna is used to stain the skin w/ beautiful designs or dyeing the hair. Henna designs are usually drawn on hands and feet, which are the area henna stains darker than the other areas of body. In India henna is used in important ritual for wedding, dark stain on bride’s henna is believed to be long lasting love between the husband and wife. In northern Africa henna is believed to bring good luck, protect from black magic. Pregnant women get hennaed in their 7th month of pregnancy to protect them from bad sprit. How is henna applied on skin? Henna powder is mixed with lemon juice, sugar and essential oil into a paste like consistency. The paste is put into a cone (used in India) or syringe (used in northern Africa) and the designs are drawn on the skin. I use small plastic squeezed bottle with thin metal tip. How long does it take to stain? Once the henna is drawn on the skin, it takes about a half and an hour to dry. However the henna paste must stay on to stain the skin for few hours. It should be left on at least 4-6 hours on the palm of hands and feet, 6-8 hours on back of hands and around wrists. Other area such as back, chest, stomach will take much longer to stain. The longer you leave the paste on the darker it stains and longer it lasts. How long does it last? Henna stain usually last for 2-3 weeks on the hands and feet and 1-2 weeks in other areas on the body. However it depends on how long you leave the paste on and how well you take care of it. For the best result, leave the paste on for the suggested time or longer and keep off water for first 12 hours. Henna stains differently on different surface of skin. Thicker the skin is the darker it stains, the ideal areas are hands and feet. It usually comes out much lighter on chest and back. *** The stain will start out bright orange but change to reddish brown in 48 hours. Does it only come in Brown? Natural henna only comes in brown, on the palms of hands come out dark and it almost looks black but it's never black. "Black henna" contains a toxic chemical PPD that could leave you with a chemical burns. If you want to find more about black henna please see www.mehandi.com/PPD/PPDintro.html |