Henna (Mehndi).

[Twotails]

I work with Henna's, for those who don't know its a paste made from Lawsonia inermis (henna, or Hina) plant, its made by crushing and powdering(after drying) the leaves. The powder is reconstituted with a mixture of an Acid, in this case Leamon juice(or stright citric acid) Strong black tea, Henna oil(herb oil: lavender, eucalyptus, tea tree, and possably Hemp(heard great results with useing the food grade oil), no musterd oils) a pinch of sugar(or jaggery an indian unrefined sugar candy) They normaly(if made right) stain dark but never black(closest to black is kimra henna powder, stains skin in 2min, as apposed to 30-60min for other hennas) The powder should be dark, but not brown, smell like cut grass/hay, and seems semifree flowing) it tastes very astringint(made the mistake of grabbing the aplicator tip in my mouth). there fun to draw and realy are a unique form of art. the mix i use is like this

 

100g Very high quality henna power(jamila, kimra, ect) sifted(most powders are pre-sifted)

1/4c lemon juice(lemon juice from consentrate works well)

1 1/2c strong black tea(boil tea in water untill it cant get any stronger) and a little lemon juice added during boiling

Henna oil, a few drops to a teaspoon depending on kind/prefrence

a pinch(1/4-1/2tsp) sugar(optional, but seems to work well at keeping the henna on the skin)

 

Boil tea, put henna powder in a bowl, add lemon juice, stir, add sugar, add the hot tea mixture little by little, should be silky smooth like yogurt. add henna oil, press plastic wrap to the paste getting out all the air bubbles you can, let rest in a warm/hot enviroment for 24 hours before use( 70F-80F) mix and adjust consistancy with tea/water/alcohol if it gets too thick. it will stay good in the refrigerator for 2 months.

 

I'll cover more when i get a chance.

[xetap]

Is this done on men? Is it... permanent??

 

http://www.indiavisitinformation.com/mehndi-design/images/mdesign2.jpg

[TheSidewinder]

It's not permanent. It does fade with time, but it can take a fairly long time. 6-8 weeks I'm thinking?

 

Some cultures used Henna as "war paint" (for lack of a better term) or as tribal identification marks.

[NightHawkInLight]

I gotta say, that's pretty cool. Come up a few nice fireworks designs and set up a booth at the PGI. I'd enjoy having a little fireworks warpaint to come home with. I couldn't stand so much on my hands as some of the pictures that google brought up. It'd give me motion sickness whenever I looked down at em.

[Twotails]

Well to clear things up a bit, Henna can be done on both males and females. The avarage life of a desine is factored by two main things: The quality and thickness of the lines, and how many times you get it wet. Somthing on your arm is going to be scraped off(or washed off) quicker than lets say your back. henna's when properly applyed and taken care of can last for up to a month, Kimra henas can stain almost black(but not black) and last for 2-6 months with proper care, that means rubbing it with oil after its dry, and before and after each time you get it wet.

The quality of the powder is highly important, its not uncommon to pay a large sum of money for high quality powder (im saying as low quality normaly go's it's about $1-2 per 100g, High quality goes up to say, $10-$15 for the like) I only work with High grade, Although despite the grading, the quality(and staining power) resides in the leaf of the plant to begin with, crops and batches vary as they are grown.

Normaly Hena is left on the skin for only a few hours at most, but its not uncommon to leave a desine on the skin for 48 hours(as long as its kept moist, dry paste isnt staining skin!)

Desines can be multi-layerd, although true henas are applied in one sitting. They are used in weddings, partys, ect. The FDA hasnt cleared henna for dyeing skin, so its often sold as henna for the hair in indan shops in bags of 20g, 50g, 80g, 100g, and 200g packs. Henas like to be kept hot, its good to keep the area of skin hot before, during, and after aplication, but dont sit in direct sun(degrades the dyes, and drys too fast) also keep out of cold weather and air conditioning for the first few hours after application.

I normaly like to apply hena freehand, a picture can be helpful, but i often find it hindering. Henna can dye the nails and hair as well(although the hair application is made diffrently and contains yogurt)

 

I'll post some pictures as soon as my paste is done releasing dye

Edited March 14, 2010 by Twotails

[Swede]

That's cool a very unusual and interesting hobby. Especially when a good looking gal wants a henna in a particular area!

[dagabu]

I really envy you all that have artistic talent, I can draw a bath and paint a floor but that is about as far as I go.

 

Twotails, do you have a web site that you recommend for the dies?

 

D

[jwitt]

That's is pretty neat. It would be kinda cool for someone picky like me to "proof" a tattoo before taking the plunge (so far a tat virgin, "one of these days" after I decide on something...something large)

[myartmehndi]

nice share nice mehndi designs Edited October 31, 2010 by myartmehndi

[Ralph]

cheek out the forum rules thread specifically

11. Signatures are allowed, but text only, with a three line maximum. You cannot not use your signature for attacks on others, or offensive comments. Avatars should be of a reasonable file size (under 30k) so they load quickly and animation is not allowed. Do not sign your posts, your username is in the top left corner of your post so we already know the author. The text under your avatar must also be short and appropriate.

 

those flashing things and flying avatars just p*ss people off when they are trying to read

[dagabu]

Hiya Anyka! Dead giveaway, I thought you would try harder to hide your ID.

[erid]

My sister does a lot with henna too. She does symbols and stuff, and a lot of her own art like this: http://s301.photobucket.com/albums/nn64/hi-imerik/?action=view&current=karly.jpg

[TheSidewinder]

Hiya Anyka! Dead giveaway, I thought you would try harder to hide your ID.

 

Doesn't look to be. But does look like a spammer of sorts. Mumbles already demoted him/her back to plain old Member, I see.

[Mumbles]

She had a bunch of animated stuff in the signature and avatar which I deleted as well. I have my questions as well, but we shall see.

[dagabu]

Ill spring for the next years chat room if I am wrong. There are a few markers that she does all of the time, she hit three of five.

[myartmehndi]

nice share

[dagabu]

Two markers...

[TheSidewinder]

Getting to this party late, but... that user, whoever it is, was banned.