As promised, I am back with a henna art DIY. The traditional henna art requires patience and practise. It begins with collecting henna leaves, drying them, cleaning them and grinding them into fine powder before making them into a usable paste. Other ingredients are added to add aroma and enhance the colour. I am not going to share with you the traditional preparation as it may not be as easy a job to find henna leaves first. So, let get on with easy to us henna cones easily available in market, making the DIY lot more easy, quick and fun. That doesn't mean that the art itself doesn't require patience and not to mention the waiting time after you've applied henna to a specific area in your body. Before you start with applying the henna, you need to know few things. Henna is like a temporary, herbal tattoo. That means, the art remains in your skin for at least a week, if not longer. Henna when touches your hair/nails or fabric may stay longer than if it was in your skin. A word of CAUTION: Finger print scanners in places like visa/passport application centres and other regulatory bodies do not accept fingerprints taken with henna prints on your hand. So, if you are planning to have some form of biometric, finish that before you apply your henna.
Now to the DIY. Here is what you will need.
- Henna paste in a cone
- A design template of your choice
- Sugary water (sugar mixed in water) or black tea
- Eucalyptus oil preferred. If not, some other oil like olive oil.
You can buy henna cones at Amazon. There are many varieties but I am going to share the product that I have used and has been successful. I am not sure about the other products. They may or may not work. If you think some other product is better, let us know by leaving a comment.
http://www.amazon.com/Singh-special-Henna-cone/dp/B003XKKENW/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1349456187&sr=8-9&keywords=mehendi+cone
So, once you have a cone, all you need to do is nip the tip of the cone. Nip it really small, so that just a thin line would come out of the tip. Now it is just like decorating a cake with cone and nozzle. The design is upto you but if you want something traditional, here is a beautiful peacock design by Sowmya Ranganathan, you might want to try.
Of course this requires practice. You may want to try out small patterns like flowers and motifs before you get into a full fledged design. If you are just learning, then you may end up creating wrong patterns or may have smears of henna here and there. Keep a wet paper towel near you and wipe the smears before they cling to your skin. Also remember that henna dries up and the cone may become unusable after the henna in the cone dries. Try to finish the cone once you cut it open.
Once you've applied the pattern to your hands/feet, leave the henna to dry. My daughters usually have their henna done after supper. That way, they can give their hands a rest. Once you apply henna to a body part, feet/hand, you'll have to keep them dry and unused for a long time. My girls always let their henna dry in their body overnight although some people say a couple of hours should be enough. After about one hour of leaving your henna to dry, apply a thin coat of sugary water (mixture of sugar and water) over the henna design. Do not add to much of sugar water as it may ruin the design. Some people use black tea instead of sugary water. Leave another one hour for the henna to dry and then you can sleep with your henna on. Remember henna stains may happen even after they dry so you might want to take precautions to protect your expensive pillow and blankets. If you think you cannot sleep with your henna on, then try this. Let the henna dry couple of hours before you go to sleep. Once the henna in your hand is dry and flaky, remove the dry henna by rubbing your palms against each other or by scrubbing them with your fingers. DO NOT wash them with water. After you've removed the flaky henna, apply eucalyptus oil to your empty palm. The colour by now could be orange to a darker orange in shade. Don't worry. Since you haven't washed your hand, the residual henna will work on your body overnight. The henna will be dark orange or deep maroon by morning. In the morning, add a lit bit of eucalyptus oil before you shower or bath. Basically, the colour stays longer if water exposer is lesser. Adding eucalyptus does just that. Eucalyptus is preferred for it's aroma and it's non staining property. I think it also enhances the colour. Ideally, the henna should stay at least a week.
By the way, Indian henna art was intended for hands and feet. These days for commercial purposes the henna is applied to other body parts like how tattoos are used. They are not traditionally Indian and the above tips may not work for other body parts due to varying skin texture.
Now to the DIY. Here is what you will need.
- Henna paste in a cone
- A design template of your choice
- Sugary water (sugar mixed in water) or black tea
- Eucalyptus oil preferred. If not, some other oil like olive oil.
You can buy henna cones at Amazon. There are many varieties but I am going to share the product that I have used and has been successful. I am not sure about the other products. They may or may not work. If you think some other product is better, let us know by leaving a comment.
http://www.amazon.com/Singh-special-Henna-cone/dp/B003XKKENW/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1349456187&sr=8-9&keywords=mehendi+cone
So, once you have a cone, all you need to do is nip the tip of the cone. Nip it really small, so that just a thin line would come out of the tip. Now it is just like decorating a cake with cone and nozzle. The design is upto you but if you want something traditional, here is a beautiful peacock design by Sowmya Ranganathan, you might want to try.
Once you've applied the pattern to your hands/feet, leave the henna to dry. My daughters usually have their henna done after supper. That way, they can give their hands a rest. Once you apply henna to a body part, feet/hand, you'll have to keep them dry and unused for a long time. My girls always let their henna dry in their body overnight although some people say a couple of hours should be enough. After about one hour of leaving your henna to dry, apply a thin coat of sugary water (mixture of sugar and water) over the henna design. Do not add to much of sugar water as it may ruin the design. Some people use black tea instead of sugary water. Leave another one hour for the henna to dry and then you can sleep with your henna on. Remember henna stains may happen even after they dry so you might want to take precautions to protect your expensive pillow and blankets. If you think you cannot sleep with your henna on, then try this. Let the henna dry couple of hours before you go to sleep. Once the henna in your hand is dry and flaky, remove the dry henna by rubbing your palms against each other or by scrubbing them with your fingers. DO NOT wash them with water. After you've removed the flaky henna, apply eucalyptus oil to your empty palm. The colour by now could be orange to a darker orange in shade. Don't worry. Since you haven't washed your hand, the residual henna will work on your body overnight. The henna will be dark orange or deep maroon by morning. In the morning, add a lit bit of eucalyptus oil before you shower or bath. Basically, the colour stays longer if water exposer is lesser. Adding eucalyptus does just that. Eucalyptus is preferred for it's aroma and it's non staining property. I think it also enhances the colour. Ideally, the henna should stay at least a week.
By the way, Indian henna art was intended for hands and feet. These days for commercial purposes the henna is applied to other body parts like how tattoos are used. They are not traditionally Indian and the above tips may not work for other body parts due to varying skin texture.
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