Mehendi or henna as more commonly known across India is used for decorating ones hands / legs .It is like a temporary tattoo.
The basic colour of mehendi / henna is reddish brown (or) maroonish.
The black-henna / blue henna uses chemicals added to the original henna. So this is CHEMO-HERBAL mixture.So get any allergy test done before using them.
My personal advice is never use any of those henna-types with even 0.5% chemical, whatever the attraction it provides in the aspect of asthetics – cool look-in thing.
Donot belive anyone who says…no problem .. the allergic reaction will go away as soon as the henna fades off.
So for all those Tattoo lovers.. if you are not sure as to how the design might turn up on your skin..do a little home-work….find out your nearest mehendi artist and get the tattoo drawn.
If u like the way it looks and the pople’s reaction to that design, then you can get it done permanently
or else.. nothing is lost .. it will fade away in a couple of weeks and you can decide over a new tattoo
Few Facts:-
Botanical name:-Lawsonia inermis
How Henna came to India:-
The henna plant is thought to come from Egypt where it was called Egyptian Privet. Later henna was brought to India as a state gift from the Egyptians. Queen Mumtaz who ruled in the 1600’s was the first Indian queen to be decorated with henna
What gives Henna its color to our skin:-
LAWSONE, the chief constituent responsible for the dyeing .
…more historical facts…
Added Advantages of Henna
This is used as hair dye and is a great conditioner
Henna applied to hair on hot summer days actuallt cools you off
For achiveing best colour on the skin:
Henna usually gives out its best colour on those pople who have comparitively heigher body heat. So intially just try out the ordinary procedure
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Test the color intensity |
Procedure for enhanced colour |
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Wash hands |
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Apply henna |
if cone is prepared personally add few drops of Eucalyptus oil |
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Allow to dry naturally |
If they seem to fall sooner.. then |
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Henna flakes will fall off due to lack of moistrure |
Add pinch of sugar in a cup of water, dissolve well, smuge this using cotton over the henna. This will stick the flakes |
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Scrape off the remaining flakes using the back end of a spoon |
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WAIT !!! DONOT WASH IN WATER |
MUST NEVER wash immediatly |
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Donot allow contact with water for next 4 hrs |
IMPORTANT |
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Dont feel disheartened..the colur is yet to come |
PATIENCE |
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Use cotton ball dipped in coconut oil and smear over the design |
MUST DO THIS |
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Let it dry for min 4 hrs |
Now you shall be seeing the perfect color of henna over your skin-type
Its due to this lenghty time-consuming “waiting” period henna is usually applied at night
In case where you have to come in contact with water with your mehendi’ed hands, apply lots and lots of coconut oil. This will act as protective layer.
So get your designs ready and spend 5/- for a cone over this weekend.