My brother gave me a henna kit as a late Christmas present. I think I might be addicted. Does anyone here practice henna body art that could give me some pointers. My biggest problem so far seems to be sealing the design (I’m using the pre-mixed paste that came with the kit for right now.) Sometimes when I use the lemon juice/sugar mixture on dry areas, the henna lifts off and floats away. Other times I accidentally wipe off the henna. And still other times, once the paste is off I can see where the sealent was. It’s like a shadow around the design.
Now if I could find people to practice on I could use up the end of the pre-mixed paste and move on to making my own.
I’ve played around with it a bit. I get the best results when I’ve made a thick paste, kept it moistened every 45 mins or so and covered with saran wrap. It’s not always possible to keep it covered due to the location, but if you’ve got a thick enough paste you may not have a problem. I’ve used lemon juice but not sugar, so I don’t know if that has anything to do with it.
Also, I noticed that I got a lot better definition and a darker stain when I used it and let it dry in the sun. Another tip for when you start making your own mix is to use some tea or coffee grounds. It will give the stain a slightly darker tint, and will last a bit longer.
Same here, I use only lemon, no sugar. However, I don’t put the lemon on until I’m ready to take the henna off. Flaking is normal - you can’t use whatever body part you have the henna on. If you have it on your hands, you have to have someone do everything for you – (that could be a clue why henna has been so popular for so many years )
But I don’t use wrap – I let it air dry. The longer you leave it on, the darker it will be. Also, warm skin (like the palms) will leave a darker stain than cool skin (like the arms). I’ve never gotten a ‘double’ line like you’ve discribed.
The above person also mentions using tea and coffee grounds when you start to mix your own; thats a good tip, it does help darken the stain.
I use henna sometimes for special occasions but I’ve never sealed it and wonder what thats for and why you seal it… dont you let it dry till it cracks off?
The book that came with the kit (The Art of Henna) said that you seal it with a mordant. The recipe she recomend is 2 parts lemon juice, one part sugar. She says to apply the mordant when the "henna is sufficiently dry and before it starts to crack. Does it work well without this step?
what I do is try to keep it damp by reapplying, my paste is usually dark as it is (mind you I only put henna on my hands) but I will try that one day sealant one day. I guess it depends on the complexity of the design and your personal preference.
For applying it, I’ve found the best way is to use a plastic baggie with a very small hole poked in one corner. Like those cake icing tubes, but smaller. I’ve tried kits that use squeeze bottles, but you can’t control the flow as well and usually get some air bubbles or clumps that will mar your design.
I’ve also tried re-applying, but that doesn’t work well for intricate designs. You get a much clearer, darker stain if you seal it and keep it moist for longer than it would take to let it dry naturally and flake off. I find that 4 to 6 hours usually gives me good results. Application time may vary though, depending on how dark your skin is naturally and the mixture of the paste. My skin tends to be a little on the olive side, so it takes a bit longer to get a good dark stain.
Thank you XJETGIRLX. I was wondering about the effectiveness of the squeeze bottles. I found a woman’s site this morning that said she used a blunt needle and an oral syringe and thought that sounded interesting. It certainly would allow you to do more intricate work.
I got a henna kit too and was sooo excited but the stuff didn’t stain my skin at all!! And I’m a very white child. Could I please get someone’s recipe. You say you use tea ~ do you mean wet tea leaves or the strong tea you squeeze out of a tea bag?
Is there a good website to describe all this to a beginner?
BTW, Leifsmama, the syringe is a great idea ~ thanks.
Oh and I might mention that it didn’t say to use a sealer or anything. Just squeeze it on, let it dry for an hour or so and wash it off. It didn’t stay on an hour but flaked off well before.
My ex did it, and I raised the roof. It came off with a lot of trouble and never reappeared, but it was just one more straw at the end that I could look to and say it was good we split.
Copper _moon I’m pretty white too and haven’t had much trouble getting a dark stain, just with the details smearing, cracking and floating away. Like XJETGIRLX said, I leave the henna on a long time, close to 6 hours. The sealer (lemon juice and sugar, or apparently just lemon juice) is to help prevent the henna from cracking off too early. The book also says to take the henna off with oil and not water. I’ve also read that you shouldn’t get your stain wet for 4-6 hours after you remove the henna.
WARNING:
I’m writing a book on henna. I will try not to write a book here.
For those whose henna cracks and flakes off- add honey to your mix. Works wonders!
For those who got little or no stain- use some decent stuff! Don’t even bother with imported premix. Premixes made in other countries are sometimes made with such traditional ingredients as kerosene, and in many cases are badly labeled if at all. If they don’t tell you about the eucalyptus, okay, but some include black walnut powder, which if you’re allergic to nuts could be deadly. Not only that, but it’s shipped slow to make it cheaper to sell and by the time it gets to the US, it’s often well dead. This applies to premixes as well as packaged powder. Henna is made from a plant, and like all plant material, it eventually dies. Grey bay leaves make crummy spaghetti, and grey henna makes crummy color. How do you tell if your henna is fresh? It will be some color of pale green, from almost golden to frozen-pea color. More importantly, it will have a strong smell, sort of like spicy hay. Henna for hair is not strong enough to use for skin, aside from being much less finely sifted than you’d need.
Where to get good henna- The Henna Page - Where to get henna and body art supplies has a list of people who sell guaranteed safe products. I am one of them.
Henna will stain best on thick or callused skin that’s warm and not oily. That means palms and soles are best. It will get less dark and last less long as you go in toward the torso. It’s usually not worth the bother to apply it above the neckline.
I apply with rolled mylar cones. They are very easy on the hand, easy to get a teeny fine line, clogproof, and come in pretty colors
Mix your henna with an essential oil containing a monoterpene alcohol and it will get much darker overall. You won’t need to leave it on more than two hours, less if it’s very warm out, and best of all in my book- NO SEAL. NO WRAP. NO BOTHER. Apply, let dry, and that’s it. Oils that are good are lavender, cajeput, tea tree, some eucalyptus, geranium, cardamom, frankincense, cypress, ravensara, clove, and a couple others whose names escape me.
Don’t use anything water-based to mix. Much US water is too alkaline, so tea and coffee are out. I use lemon juice (and the henna doesn’t care if it’s out of a fruit or a bottle) straight. Some people make an infusion of all sorts of stuff into their lemon juice and it works fine, but for me it’s too much bother.
For more information, I invite you to visit my website which has my actual step-by-step recipe, plus lots of other good info on how I use and apply henna, and a large gallery of my work. Yes, I will happily sell you stuff, too, but the info is free, and if you want to email me and ask specific questions, that’s free too I’m at www.hennadancer.com.
Another excellent site for henna info is www.hennapage.com, which is where I got a heap of good advice.
Back to book…
HennaDancer
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