Forums > Social Chat > Mehandi

Posted: 12th Jul 2005
Ohh, ohh me me me please

My sister did it in swirly patterns up both of my arms a couple of weeks ago and it looked SO cool.

How much are you charging?

(I kinda had it like a vine with thorns pattern. It's gone now, otherwise I'd take a picture)

After much consideration, I find that the view is worth the asphyxiation.
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Posted: 12th Jul 2005
oooh sounds cool

Maybe you could make some additions to my wings (see my gallery )

Posted: 12th Jul 2005
oooooooh i want a go they look really cool
but only if it's free

UCOF "evolution: Poi -> stick -> hoops -> devil stick -> juggling club -> juggling ball -> crayons."

Supergroovalsticprosifunkstication
In other words, it's the thumps bump

Posted: 14th Jul 2005
Bumpety bumpety

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Posted: 14th Jul 2005
coool funky [censored] man... well for Yoni's party I shud be taking some glow paint... could be very interesting if some of us go wandering off because of dire need of blacklights

Posted: 14th Jul 2005
I've done Mehndi (mehendi actually refers to bridle designs specifically, and henna refers to the plant) for years at festivals and gigs for pay. I've even taken classes from a woman who is studying the art as a cultural history for her phd. It is amazing.



I really enjoy sharing it but must offer a word of warning in doing it on other people, depending on the ingredients you use it can cause a nasty allergic reaction in some. Make sure that whomever you do it on is aware of what is in your paste first.



Make certain you use green henna. Black henna is the one that causes the nastiest reactions, including blisters and open sores.

Oils such as lavender as a mordant are also recommended against because of the amount of people allergic. I use Cajeput with *alot* of luck...and the smell is exotically divine.

You can also mix the lemon juice solution into your henna to help reduce the amount of dabbing you have to do later, but be sparing, you don't want it too runny.



Natural food dyes do work to a limited degree. They wash off much faster than the henna fades.

Try Turmeric. Mix it with water into a thick paste and apply it to the design after the henna has been removed. It is a technique called "The Golden Touch". It turns the skin a lovely gold shade that lasts about two days (or less depending on the freshness of the turmeric).



As soon as I find it on PWB's computer I'll put a couple photo's of what I have done in my gallery. I am particularly proud of my pheonix.



If you want to find books on it I suggest "The Art of Mehndi" by Sumita Batra and "The Art of Henna" by Pamela Nichols to start with. Both have great design ideas and loads of information.
EDITED_BY: Pele (1121361270)

Pele
Higher, higher burning fire...making music like a choir
"Oooh look! A pub!" -exclaimed after recovering from a stupid fall
"And for the decadence of art, nothing beats a roaring fire." -TMK

Posted: 14th Jul 2005
https://www.homeofpoi.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=5239

It's my pheonix. It lasted about two weeks and I was sooooooo happy about that.

Pele
Higher, higher burning fire...making music like a choir
"Oooh look! A pub!" -exclaimed after recovering from a stupid fall
"And for the decadence of art, nothing beats a roaring fire." -TMK

Posted: 14th Jul 2005
Pele, you are a font of all useful knowlege

Yes I have heard about 'black henna', that has an ingrdient in it that will not safely go on the skin! I think i am corect in thinking it is for use on hair ?

I like the idea of turmerick , I also found by accident today that mulberrys make a nice purple colour, but as you said it will only really last a day.

The product i have is as follows

Jani kone henna paste, for use on occasions of eids, marriage, and other ceremonies.
Ingredients: Mehndi,Terpineol, CMC Sodium Hydroxide, Deionised water and Fragrance
Made in Pakistan

Shelly - MEHANDI OIL Ingredients:Citronella Oil, Tamarind extract.

Any tips on how to get a nice even coverage? with no light and dark patches?

Is it best to use templates?

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Posted: 14th Jul 2005
Black should even be avoided for hair as well, because the scalp is porous and sensitive. A henna client once told me that she had henna-hair done with black henna and went into a hot tub, her skin erupted into blisters and her hair fell out in clumps!
Also, word of warning to anyone out there...if you want to color your hair with henna make sure you have unprocessed hair (no chemical dyes, bleaching, perming or straightening). Possible outcomes are broken hair, bald spots, patchy spotty color, black instead of red (and not a good black btw), etc. It is a really strange thing. I've had a couple friends not heed my warnings and only one escaped with something useable.

Careful with the citronella oil as alot of people have asthmatic attacks to that. It is why it is recommended that we don't spin with citronella lamp oil.

So you purchased a pack? If this is something you wish to persue, you might want to think about just buying the ingredients and make it yourself. I find that soooo much nicer, easier and cheaper. For the price of one pack I can purchase enough ingredients to last me several months of design work.

Clumps sometimes cause dark patches while bubbles (even if you don't see them) cause lighter ones. Do not put your tip on the skin. Let it hover just above the skin and guide it to where you want it to lay by applying even pressure to the cone or bottle you are using.

I use green henna from Morocco (sp?) but getting ahold of my supplier can be dodgey at best. When I need to I also order from www.kenzi.com , a *wonderful* resource and her henna is absolutely *lovely* and a very fresh, bright green.

I mix the henna powder with sugar.
I boil cloves and lemon juice together, and add the liquid to my henna mix to make a thick paste. Then I add cajeput oil (however, only add this if you intend to use the paste after 12 hours. It is an activator, so it causes the stain to release later, but after that it stains faster). I mix this together well until I get a consistancy rather like toothpaste.
I line a small coffee mug with a sandwich bag and place some clean pantyhose over the top of that. I then press the paste through this. It helps to mix the paste further and it helps to sift any clumps out. When it is in the bag I can just cut the tip of a corner off and fill my bottles or can even use it from the bag (though I prefer the bottles with the different tips).
Let sit for 12 hours and use.

Other oils such as lavender can be substituted for the cajeput if desired, but as I mentioned before be careful of this.

Making your own is soooooo easy and all natural. With fresh henna no fragrance is needed and it stains longer.

You can henna dye anything really. Try it on wood, on leather or canvas, drum heads, clay...it is very versitile!
Also try coloring the insides of your designs with colored body paints or even the glitter make-up. The results are really pretty.

It just takes practice, a steady hand and steady pressure.
Best of luck and happy mehndi-ing.

Pele
Higher, higher burning fire...making music like a choir
"Oooh look! A pub!" -exclaimed after recovering from a stupid fall
"And for the decadence of art, nothing beats a roaring fire." -TMK

Posted: 14th Jul 2005
make sure you leave it on for quite a while, and don't let it dry out too much

here's some henna playing i did a couple weeks ago

Posted: 15th Jul 2005
Like Pele warns, don't use or let anyone use on you anything that claims to be black henna: henna is not black

I've only really played about with henna once, but I've been told that although the shade and strength of colour produced varies according to skin tone, different powders from different places (not those with additives) will produce varying shades of orange to dark brown, so maybe you could look into different tones within a monochrome range for your designs? (Pele? Opinions based on you greater experience with the stuff? )

I've also been told that you can dry slices of limes for later use, and boil them in a little water to use instead of lemon juice (the idea is that it keeps the henna wet on the skin, and is acidic, I believe) and that you should always sift the henna powder before mixing to reduce risk of clumps (although I think some powders come ready-sifted)

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Posted: 15th Jul 2005

Written by: polythene

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I've only really played about with henna once, but I've been told that although the shade and strength of colour produced varies according to skin tone, different powders from different places (not those with additives) will produce varying shades of orange to dark brown, so maybe you could look into different tones within a monochrome range for your designs? (Pele? Opinions based on you greater experience with the stuff? )

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There are way too many factors involved in the coloring to rely on anything being consistent for gradients. Skin tone, how long it is left on, thickness of application, how dry the paste is and how old the henna is all play a role. I've used Henna from several different countries, and even Henna from the same country but different batches, or different periods in the harvest cycle can effect the results. And if you are white, achieving that lovely red only happens with additives. It is how I had first heard and experimented with different hennas. I was hoping so much to get the red on my white skin.

To achieve consistent monochrome gradients you only need to thin out the henna. A nice solid covering for bold, and something thinner (I use a cotton swab to do this) to add shading. A little bit of that can be seen in the Pheonix photo, on the wing.

Just for general knowledge, *usually* the whiter the skin, the more orange/brown the coloring will be. The more natural pigmentation in the skin the redder it will become.

Written by:

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I've also been told that you can dry slices of limes for later use, and boil them in a little water to use instead of lemon juice (the idea is that it keeps the henna wet on the skin, and is acidic, I believe)

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Just from my experiments I find that Lime doesn't work as well as lemon for a couple of reasons. It is not as acidic. The acid helps the stain soak into the skin and to deepen the color. The sugar and lemon also help the powder to stick together and not become dry and flakey and peel off before the stain is set. Lime, especially dried, is not as sticky as lemon juice.

There are alot of things you can add or change, depending on whom or where you learned from.
In India black tea is used in the making of the mordant to add extra richness and acid.
Instant coffee and/or Tamarind paste can also be added to the mordant to darken the stain.
Eucalyptus oil can be used instead of Cajeput or Lavender.

I experimented and researched/studied for years to find what worked for me but the entire time, I had alot of fun doing it! Hell, I still change things sometimes, just to see if something new or different will work. I always going back to what I found works for me.

I forgot to answer that I am not so fond of stencils, only because whenever I have peeled them off they muss up the edges of the design. Someone else might have better luck than I do though.

Pele
Higher, higher burning fire...making music like a choir
"Oooh look! A pub!" -exclaimed after recovering from a stupid fall
"And for the decadence of art, nothing beats a roaring fire." -TMK

Posted: 15th Jul 2005
Thankyou so much Pele and poly for you help, what would I have done without you?

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Posted: 15th Jul 2005
One last thing I forgot to say...I was always taught to not use metal when mixing your henna or simmering your mordant. There is a reaction between the heat, the metal and the ingredients that will effect the staying power of the henna. I tried it once to see what would happen and my design washed away in less than a week.

Pele
Higher, higher burning fire...making music like a choir
"Oooh look! A pub!" -exclaimed after recovering from a stupid fall
"And for the decadence of art, nothing beats a roaring fire." -TMK