The word henna has become interchangeable for the paste, the plant, the powder and the stain. Let's start with where it all begins, the plant. The Lawsonia Inermis plant is what henna powder comes from. The leaves (henna leaves) are ground into a fine powder(henna powder) and mixed with catalyst ingredients to form an herbal dye(henna paste) which is applied to the skin to create a temporary stain (henna "tattoo").

It's best to start with a high quality powder, and you can find a list of suppliers on my links page. There are many different varieties grown in different places with different properties. Some suppliers will let you order samples so you can test them to find out which powder you like the best. One thing to consider is if it has been sifted or not. Lesser quality powders contain leaf parts and stems which make application tricky if you don't plan to sift your powder yourself. Personally, I'm lazy and would rather spend a few extra dollars for someone else to sift for me! But it's totally up to you.

The next step is adding ingredients to create a paste. I've seen recipes for henna with all manner of ingredients - from herbal tea, coffee, and vinegar as activators to black walnut paste, cajeput essential oil, and tamarind paste as color enhancers. What paste is made of differs from artist to artist and sometimes from supplier to supplier. IF you're buying premade paste there are a couple of things you should know. Pure henna paste has NO preservatives. It lasts 3-4 days, less in warm environments. If you're buying paste in a kit or a tube off a shelf, there will be preservatives added which will change the chemistry of the paste and can make it unpredictable. Pure henna powder and the ingredients to make your own paste is WELL WORTH the extra few dollars you'll spend to have a more consistent paste. We'll get into that more later. There are suppliers that send GOOD premade paste, usually frozen and shipped only overnight, see my links page for options. I usually only ever mix henna with room temperature lemon juice and the occasional batch with cajeput to make the stain darker. And for larger outdoor events, sugar to help it stick. I'll add some links to recipes on the links page but if you'd like more information about mixing your own or have questions, feel free to email me.

Paste is then applied to skin to create an temporary stain that can last several weeks. There are a number of variables here so knowing how to get the best out of your paste helps. First, the quality of the paste matters. If you're having it done professionally, this isn't going to be an issue. If you're doing it yourself and you've opted for the cheap off the shelf five dollar tube with a stencil inside paste, it's really a gamble, know this going in. The chemistry of how the henna stains is Paste + Personal Body Chemistry + Temperature + Placement. Each person's skin color and personal chemistry are different. Your friend may get a darker stain than you just because they absorb the paste better. There are things you can do to amp your stain, some of them will lessen the time your stain last though. Cajeput essential oil can be applied to the area that is being henna'd just before paste. Caj does shorten stain time by half or more, depending how much you use. I've read you can also improve quality by cleaning the skin with alcohol, which clears away dirt that can interfere and helps open the pores. Being warm is a really huge factor in stain quality too. Living in Wisconsin has taught me that! IF you're cold and you apply henna to yourself, you're going to be even COLDER! Get warm and stay warm. Drink warm beverages, stay close to the heater, whatever it takes. Also, wrapping the area while the paste is on and leaving for AT LEAST 8 hours improve your chances greatly! Wrapping when your hot, like in the summer months can lead to a huge mess if you're not careful. Moist henna paste can shift and cause your design to blur and moosh and just be overall yucky.

Placement is another factor in the color and longevity of your end result. The best places for darkest stains are on the palms of hands and soles of feet. As you move away from these areas, stain get lighter. So belly and lower back henna designs will be lighter unless you take steps to darken your paste or heat the area. I've heard that tanning booths are a good idea, but that seems tricky to me. If you're sweaty, paste will shift, so the moosh factor is to be considered. The blowdryer might be a better option, but I have never actually tried that myself. If you have any tips or tricks that you'd like to share, I'd love to hear them - email me!

The longer you leave henna paste the darker your stain will be and the longer it will last. Four hours is really a minimum, but if it's warm, that could be enough to get a stain that will endure up to a couple of weeks on an area that isn't exfoliated frequently. When you're ready to remove paste, remember this is an herbal dye and will stain clothing, rugs, cloth furniture, etc, and can be messy. IF you can do it over a trashcan or outside bonus. IF not, try to lay some papertowels down somewhere and flake paste off as gently as possible. If you've henna'd an area with hair, be prepared, this can be painful! Once you're done getting the paste off you can then just fold up the papertowel and toss it in the trash. Your stain will most likely be a bright orange color at this point, it will get darker over the next few hours. Although stains are usually darkest on hands, it is one of the areas we wash constantly and the more you rub the stained area, the quicker your stain will break down and fade. The stain is just on the top layers of the skin so try to wash it as delicately as possible, as little as possible. I'm not saying don't bathe, but don't scrub if you can possibly avoid it! Chlorinated water will fade your stain, so try to avoid pools if possible.