Please visit The Henna Page before attempting Mehndi! http://www.hennapage.com/Please make sure you are familiar with Mehndi before attempting to apply henna to yourself or others! Henna application, if done incorrectly, or purchased incorrectly, can be dangerous, fatal, or can stain skin incorrectly. Henna tattoos typically last for anywhere from two weeks to a month, so be careful in your choices of design. IT IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS TO APPLY HENNA OVER BROKEN, CUT, OR SCRATCHED SKIN! If you apply henna over broken skin, the henna will get under the stratum corneum, and will last forever! This is permanent and cannot be altered, so please research Mehndi before attempting!
KSAD's About Mendhi & How To's
1. You can find good henna at your local Indian or Middle Eastern grocery store. If you order from The Henna Page Suppliers, you can be more certain of getting fresh body art quality henna!
2. When mixing henna, first be sure to sift it! This is very important! Henna powder (Jamilla) and lemon juice is all you need to get started. Mix your paste in a ceramic or plastic bowl, and use a PLASTIC spoon! The mixture is highly acidic and will tarnish metals! Then you will need to strain your henna by placing a nylon stocking/hose over a cup, poking the toe into the bottom of the cup, and spooning the henna paste into the toe of the stocking, then using a carrot bag, squish and squeeze all the paste out of the stocking by pulling the stocking out of the carrot bag while you hold a firm grip on the top of the carrot bag.
3. You can apply henna designs using a jac bottle, which is slightly easier as it mimics the natural and instinctive pen-like motion. You can apply henna designs using a mylar cone, by rolling mylar gift wrap into a cone and filling it with henna paste, and squeezing the taped, folded over end of the cone as you work. You can apply henna designs using a paintbrush, which may be more comfortable if you are skillful at painting. You can apply henna designs using a syringe, which is similar to using a jac bottle. You can apply henna designs using a carrot bag, which has many different techniques and variations associated with it, it can have a metal tip to make bold, firm designs, or it can have a tip and a coupler. There is also the speed-sling technique that is typically associated with the carrot bag. You may use stencils with your henna as well. In addition, it is beneficial to know how to apply the other variations of henna, such as stringy and chunky.
4. There are many different ways to seal and wrap your henna, but the typical strategies are using hairspray, pump hairspray gel is the most recommended, a mixture of lemon and sugar is effective but attracts stinging insects. The watered down mixture of white glue and body glitter is an attractive alternative to the insect drawing sugary mixture of sugar and lemon. Henna artists even experiment with peel off facial masque, liquid latex, and New Skin Liquid Bandage, it depends on the situation and the artist’s preference. If you are going to wrap your henna, start by stuffing tissue between your fingers (to keep things simple, we will assume you have done a design on someone’s palm) then wrapping the arm and hand in thick, generous tissue/paper towels. Then wrap in saran wrap and cover with a loose sock. Wrapping creates a super intensified stain, be prepared!
5. The secret to fine lines is to sift your henna powder super thoroughly.
6. The best way to get super dark henna stains is to seal and wrap your henna carefully, however there are “magic mixes” as well. It is important that you abstain from adding these harmful ingredients into your “magic mixes”:
v India Ink
v Magic Marker
v Grape Juice
v Black Paint
v Walnut leaves
v Powder, husk, or root *Many people have nasty allergies to walnut. Camphor may make you and your client dizzy, nauseous and intoxicated!*
v Commercial Hair Dye, black or any other color
v Bigen Hair Dye
v Kali Black Mehndi
v Anything with para-phenylenediamine in the ingredients
v Anything with negrosine in the ingredients
v Any dye product with an ingredient that ends in -diamine
v Synthetic textile dye
v Anything with the word "AZO" or Azine Dye in it
v Turpentine
v Gasoline
v Lighter Fluid
v Dry Cleaning Fluid
v Kerosene
v Lamp Oil
v Citronella Oil
7. Thin henna lines make a pale stain, smears make a pale stain, thick henna lines make a dark stain. If you work with thick and thin henna by making wispy lines and smears contrast with thick henna lines, you can create depth and shading in your pattern. You can also use the double application techniques.
8. To achieve different colors, such as Persian gold, which is Turmeric, a member of the Ginger (Zingiberaceae) family, or crimson by mixing turmeric with pickling lime and water. However, BLACK HENNA IS NEVER OKAY!
The History of Mendhi
1. Henna is the act of painting the body with preparations of the henna plant, whether it be in preparation for a special occasion or in celebration of a particular event.
2. The Henna plant grows in the desert areas of northern and western India.
3. The newborn baby, who is about to be named, the young boy who is about to be circumcised, or the young child who at the age of seven will be allowed to join in the ritual of fasting, usually for one month at daytime, will have their hands dipped in henna. Red palms signal a young person’s graduation to a new and important chapter in his or her life. Henna is also thought to ward off evil, and is considered a lucky charm or a blessing. It protects against black magic, harmful genies, and all other dangerous supernatural forces or entities. “If I don’t speak the truth, I won’t present my hand for henna.” Henna is used as a staple in Indian wedding ceremonies, as the story goes, the deeper the color obtained on the skin, the longer the love lasts between the couple.
4. The practice of mehndi evolved as a need for air-conditioning in the desert, as the henna plant has natural body-cooling properties. When it grew unbearable for the people of Rajasthan, Punjab, and Gujarat, they began searching for botanical suffice. After the discovery of these cooling properties, they dipped their hands and feet in a mud or paste made from crushed henna leaves.
5. Henna has many medicinal properties. Henna can be used as a coagulator for open wounds, and a poultice made with henna leaves can be used to soothe burns and certain cases of eczema. Applied to bodily extremities (hands, feet, fingers, toes…etc.) to soothe nerve endings.
6. Some physical properties of the fresh henna plant are
v No odor whatsoever
v Flower is petite and four-petaled, with a profusion of slender and elongated antennas bursting from the center. Can be red, rose, white, yellow, cream, or pink
v Flowers have a scent reminiscent of jasmine, rose, and mignonette, hence the name Jamaica Mignonette, as it is called in the West Indies
v Grows on a bush or shrub approx. ten feet high with small bright green leaves and a thorny barkRarely grows over 15 ft. because of the henna harvest, which the bush is capable of at 1
