How to mix and apply Henna

Henna( Mehndi) is basically  is a flowering plant whose leaves are made into a paste and then applied on various body parts like hands, feet, arms etc to achieve beautiful design.It can be used on hair too,  its used as dye and treatments on the hair.

Though henna is halal for muslimahs but moderation is key most especially when  applying to places that will be visible to non- mahram men.

You can get Henna paste by using
1. Natural henna leaves
2. Henna powder bought from stores.

Items needed to make Henna paste
✔Henna Leaves or readymade Henna powder
✔Sieve
✔Lemon juice
✔Water
✔Sugar(Optional)
✔Essential oil(Optional)
✔Bowl and Plastic spoon
✔Plastic wrap
✔Plastic cone or any other applicator

Here are the steps to get Henna paste DIY
1. Collect a bunch of Henna leaves from the henna plant. Wash them and let them dry in sunlight. When the leaves dry and become crisp, grind these leaves into very fine powder. Now sieve this powder twice or thrice so that no big piece remains in the powder. If you are buying Henna powder from the market then make sure that they have a greenish-brown tint.

2. Mix one part of lemon juice with three parts of water. Now add 1 teaspoon of sugar and some drops of essential oil and stir well till the whole sugar dissolves in water. You can also mix tea or tamarind paste in it (Optional).

 3. Put desired amount of henna powder in a bowl, take 2 tablespoons of the water solution and pour it into the Henna powder. Stir it using a plastic spoon till the water is soaked by the Henna powder. Then, put 2 table spoons of water and repeat the process again. This way, no lumps will form in the paste.

4. Keep repeating above step until a smooth paste is formed whose consistency should be like that of mashed potato, smooth and creamy.


5. Now cover the container with a plastic wrap and keep it overnight or for 6-7 hours

6. After 6-7 hours, scoop out the mixture from the container and fill it in the plastic cone, or any other applicator you are using.

 And you have your henna paste ready to use.

How to apply Henna
🔸Wash d body part you wish to apply henna.

🔹Hold the Henna cone in the same way in which you hold a pen or pencil. Squeeze the cone a little bit until the paste starts to come out. Do not apply too much pressure at once otherwise a large amount of Henna will come out at once. In the beginning, a black mixture will come out. Keep squeezing it lightly till the light colour mixture comes out.

🔸Clean the Henna which had come out with a tissue paper. During application the tip will keep on getting messy. So, keep cleaning the tip with the tissue paper.
When you are applying Henna on your own hand start from the farthest point which is the tip of your finger and keep on moving down. When you are applying Henna on someone else's hands, you have to start from the farthest place, i.e. the palms of the hand and then keep moving towards the finger tips.
Always begin with small designs. Simple Henna designs such as making leaves, veils, and flowers need to be practiced and mastered before going into the elaborate and beautiful ones
🔹Let the Henna dry for 6-8 hours to get the rich dark colour. For a very dark henna color, it is essential that you keep your henna on for a longer period of time before peeling, You can keep it on overnight for the darkest possible colour. When the henna dries off completely, peel it off naturally instead of using water. The longer you stay away from water, the better the colour will be. When you first scrape off the colour, you will see that the colour that has developed has an orange tint, but after a while this will get a darker, much richer brown hue. Hydrogen peroxide can be used to bring out the color quickly.

Useful Tips

• For your applicator, you can use this cone like nylon that is used to sell granulated sugar at the local stores
• Keep Henna paste in freezer when not in use.
• Keep some extra Henna powder so that if your paste becomes too runny then you can add the extra powder to it.
• The readymade Henna cones have some chemicals in them. So, always apply a little amount on your palm to check if you are allergic to it or not. If it starts to itch or burns then stop using it. In such case you can use henna leaves and directly make into Henna paste.
•  Homemade henna paste  gives better colour and stays longer.
• Baking Soda and Lemon Juice paste, Chlorine and hot water, Warm water, Olive Oil, Toothpaste, Lemon Juice and Hair Conditioner are natural products that can be used to remove henna from the body. However Henna color fades away naturally. So, it is advisable not to use any extreme method which may permanently damage the skin.
• If you’ve done waxing on your hands, then wait for a day or two before applying henna. As pores are opened and the chemicals present in henna might enter through open pores and damage the skin.
• The color of the henna is different on palm and on skin. While it is darkest on palm, it appears to be lighter on hands. It only get darker after one or two days
• Learning how to apply the Henna design takes time. So, it is best to at first try drawing it on a paper. Then you can practice by applying the Henna using cones on any glass surface. As you keep on practicing your hands will get steadier and the designs will become neater.
• Wash hand and feet to clean of any lotion applied to the body, Henna comes out darker when it directly used on the skin
• You can apply Eucalyptus oil before you use henna and it will give an extremely dark colour.
• Make a thick solution of lemon juice and sugar. When the Henna designs start to dry, apply the solution on the design using a cotton pad. This will give your Henna a dark colour.
• When it comes to going swimming, try and avoid as much as possible because swimming pools have chlorine, a bleaching agent, which will fasten the process of henna fading.
• When the Henna dries out completely and starts chipping then do not wash the hands with soap or water. It may lead to discoloration. It is best to let it chip off naturally and avoid any contact with water for at least 12 hours.

References
http://beauty.onehowto.com/article/how-to-remove-Henna-at-home-with-natural-products-2632.html#ixzz40MYfiSOS
http://beauty.onehowto.com/article/how-to-apply-Henna-for-beginners-2625.html#ixzz40MXTBStn
http://beauty.onehowto.com/article/how-to-make-Henna-paste-at-home-2798.html#ixzz40MWwdD1Z
http://www.fashionlady.in/how-to-darken-henna-on-hands-and-feet/25761
http://www.fashionlady.in/how-to-apply-henna-designs-step-by-step-tutorial/13629