Henna tattoo
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Henna tattoo
You have already heard something about henna but still don’t know what it is good for and how it is used?
Or you know the traditional henna for hair and now you are wondering where it came from and what it consist of?
Are you interested in tattoos but would only like to try a draft drawing first?
Have you already bought henna but not sure how it is to be applied?
We will try to answer all your questions sufficiently and perhaps entice you to buy henna yourself.
Henna possesses a long history which is related to the traditions and rituals; nevertheless, lately it has rather become a hit. This is in part due to Madonna who once took to it and thus enhanced its popularity.
Most of us have already come across henna during our holidays at the sea where the locals offered its application on body for a charge. All the same, it is not difficult to buy henna, apply it and make a simple drawing at home. After some experience you will be able to draw more difficult motifs as well. If, for any reason, you don’t have courage to do that, there are many tattoo parlours where you will get a nice service.
1. What is henna at all?
Henna is a tropical shrub ( Lawsonia inermis or Lawsonia alba) which grows in the areas with dry and hot climate such as the Middle East or India. Henna, as we know it here, originates by grinding dried leaves or young outgrowths of this shrub. The plant reaches to about 6 metres, has white or yellow flowers and smells sweetish.
What makes henna dye?
Henna consists of many pigments such as carotene (orange), xanthophyll (yellow) or chlorophyll A and B. When mixed with water, henna transforms into paste and pigments dissolve. When a contact with skin occurs these pigments connect with cells and for a longish time (up to a month) the paint remains on the skin. There are many other assets of henna as well. Apart from being able o dye skin or hair henna proved its ability to cure mycoses, blisters or eczemas. Henna chills the skin, makes hair stronger and contributes to its sparkling glamour. Also, henna doesn’t transmit sun rays UV (that’s why the skin with henna drawing on doesn’t tan)
2. History of henna
This might be the first time you hear about it but henna has been used, primarily by women, for thousands of years now. The tradition of henna is much stronger in Asia and Africa since it only got to Europe much later. Henna is still far from widely spread here.
Henna was used in Egypt for mummification purposes or wig dying. Body adornments played an important part on all significant occasions in one’s life such as birth, coming off age or death. Also, it was used as a part of other important events, for example hunt or war.
The same applied for India where drawing of ornaments on body used to have a deep meaning and hidden symbolism. The most important motifs that Indian women drew on the bodies were birds, flowers and others. A so called Henna night is being celebrated in the Middle East – a bride has her arms, hands and ankles adorned, believing not doing so might bring misfortune to her marriage. Furthermore, the ornaments drawn stand for beauty and when else should a woman want to be beautiful than on her wedding day.
It is by no means unusual that women in the Middle East decorate themselves with henna every two weeks. In order to get as dark shade as possible, women put a cooked lemon into henna for its verjuice causes the paint to be more durable and darker.
Since there are many styles of ornaments a differentiation on account of motifs exists. I’ll mention here some of those:
Rajasthani – flower motifs, refined links, tattoo looks like a lace
Gujarati, Marwari – a favourite motif depicting peacocks
African mehndi – geometric figures (tradition in Morocco)
Mughlai, Khujaraho – flower motifs
Arabic – arabesques, Arabian ornaments
3. Applying henna
3.1. What to adorn at all?
Even though in India girls and women predominantly adorn their hands (all palms to the wrist) and ankles, henna is used in western countries rather as a substitute of classic tattoos. Virtually, there are no boundaries – you can have ornaments made by henna placed anywhere. As opposed to the classic tattooing henna possesses a great advantage – tattoos made by henna are absolutely painless and do not cause any harm, implying you can have places with sensitive (thinner) skin tattooed as well.
3.2. Types of henna:
Hand in hand with growth of popularity of henna market with henna products blossoms as well. Henna is divided on account of the place where it’s grown (Egyptian, Arabian, Moroccan, Indian, Iranian or Indonesian) and the way it is used.
In short, henna can be distinguished as follows:
Red henna powder – dyes the skin red, suitable for wedding tattooing or kathak dancers. It is best for light
Brown henna powder – is used when applying henna on hands, legs, body or modern tattooing.
Black henna powder – is a mixture of henna and chemicals. It contains many synthetic ingredients in order to dye black. Some people suffer from allergies caused by this powder Vegetal henna powder – is most commonly used for dying hair. It is a mixture of henna and herbs, great for hair regeneration
Neutral henna powder – manufactured from various kinds of henna leaves. It is used as a symbol on tombstones as a blessing.
Henna paste – is sold in aluminous tubes with a plastic point designed for immediate application. Make sure you check the sell-by date because these pastes are often stale.
3.3. How to do that?
The first possibility is going to a professional parlour where you will be charged for the drawing. The prices has dropped recently, so if you want to have henna applied only occasionally there is no problem to search the internet for a parlour to fulfil your wishes. Nonetheless, you lose the pleasure of creating a template and applying the drawing. Furthermore, not everyone comes from the capital and has at his or her disposal dozens of studies. For those of you who want to draw on you body yourselves, we have pieces of basic advice. You need patience because henna painting is very much about exercise. The first picture will not probably do 100% but believe this: it will definitely bring you more pleasure than the picture made in parlour. It is almost useless to say that henna tattooing is painless because no skin pricking takes place. Furthermore, it is of course harmless and you don’t need to be afraid that you won’t be able to get rid of the picture until the end of your life. The first step is getting the paint – henna – which is, however, easily accessible on the internet or specialized shops.
For example, you can choose from the following:
Henna Penna – this pen is designed to be used for body tattooing. It will endure for about 7 days, in order to increase its effectivity you can rub the motif with lemon juice or, while the picture is drying (which doesn’t take a long time), you can blow the skin with hair dryer. Tattoo endures longer if you avoid chlorinated water and do not unnecessarily mechanically chafe (which means you should avoid peeling etc.)
Henna Lips – represents a contouring lips pen which, as opposed to common contours, doesn’t consist of any chemicals. After application you needn’t avoid food or kisses, it will endure all day.
Henna Eyes – see henna lips, the only difference is it’s used on eyes
Henna Lipsize – is an innovation on our market! It will contribute to your lips´ full shape, being a natural alternative to collagen injections. It is, of course, much healthier as it consists of orange extracts and pure oils; your lips will be perfectly fine and moisturized.
All of these products are 100% natural, without any preservatives or artificial ingredients; the products are manufactured with respect to the environment and are not animal tested. Internet shops you can purchase henna products are:
www.hennaking.com
www.mehandi.com
www.radicomall.com
If you don’t have henna pen at your disposal but have bought the classic small bag with henna it is more suitable to use a toothpick or a match (for more refined motifs in the Arabian style). If you only want a classic tattoo there is nothing easier than making a template on adhesive paper, trace it on your body and colour it. It is important that your skin is tense all the time so that the picture is not deformed by wrinkles or skin bends. It is possible to put strong coffee or tea into henna (as well as lemon juice or eucalyptus oil); this depends on what kind of smell suits us and what kind of fragrance we like. Prior to the application make sure the spot you want to adorn is not creamed and peeling is done so that the skin is smooth. Then, you are free to start with drawing. After everything is done, let henna dry for at least three hours (the longer the better), you can rub it with lemon and subsequently peel the mixture off. It is advisable to start with fairly big, not so difficult motifs because your hand must be sure hence wait until you are able to do pettier motifs.
3.4. How long does the tattoo endure?
This is influenced by many factors. If you have a henna tattoo done on your holiday the tattooer will probably tell you it will be a whole-summer adornment or at least one that will endure for a month. If it really endures such a long time you are a very lucky person. In my experience such a tattoo doesn’t remain for more than 2 weeks. What this depends on very much is also the kind of skin you have – generally speaking: the people with swarthy skin enjoy henna longer than the flaxen and also have a more distinctive (darker) shade.
If you are buying henna in a shop there you can ask the local operators whether they have any experience with this or that particular paint. Moreover, there is a label on every product saying how long will henna approximately remain on your body.