- What is henna? Henna is a plant (lawsonia inermis) originally found in Australia, Asia, and along the Mediterranean coast of Africa. It is used for medicinal, cosmetic, and ritualistic purposes due to its astringent, antiseptic, cooling, conditioning, and staining properties.
- What is it you apply to the skin when doing mehndi? The henna paste is comprised of the crushed leaves of the henna plant and various other ingredients that provide a moisture base, acidity, binding, and stain boosting. There are as many henna recipes as there are henna artists. Marulanna Mehndi uses all natural ingredients such as water, lemon juice, black tea, cloves, sugar, and essential oil.
- How long does the henna stain last? There are many factors influencing the darkness and longevity of any stain. The area of the body upon which the henna is applied, amount of time paste remains in contact with skin, climate and temperature, hormones, amount of friction to and washing of skin, and many other issues influence results. Some mehndi will last one week, while some may last up to three or four weeks!
- What parts of the body take the best stains and why? The best stains are achieved on the palms and bottoms of the feet, then tops of hands and feet, though henna will stain nearly any part of the body in varying degrees. The palms and soles of the feet tend to be the warmest areas of the body with the thickest skin. Because your skin is thinner and exfoliates much more quickly, the face and chest are not the best locations for mehndi.
- Can I get different colored henna? True henna is reddish brown in color when it stains the skin. Some images of henna (like the one to the above right) look black because the paste is still on the skin and is drying. Beware of anyone offering "black henna", as the ingredients in this can be dangerous to the skin, causing allergic reactions, burns, and scarring. Question the authenticity of any "colored" henna - it probably contains hair dyes and other harsh chemicals. Marulanna Mehndi uses only natural ingredients and the stain you will receive is purely from the henna.
- How do I care for my henna to make it last as long as possible? To maximize your stain, leave the paste on as long as humanly possible before removing. Four hours is a bare minimum, eight hours or more is better! To protect the dried paste, apply a lemon juice-sugar solution which will help to boost the stain, to adhere the drying paste to the skin, and to keep it from cracking excessively. The dried paste can also be sealed with spray-on hair gel or covered with paper tape. Do not use water to remove the dried paste, but instead scrape it off with your fingernail or a butter knife. Using a cotton ball soaked in olive oil will remove any remaining paste. Avoid water as much as possible - if your skin must come into contact with water, cover your mehndi with a natural, water-repellant substance such as a beeswax balm, shea or cocoa butter, or a vegetable-based oil like olive oil.
- I just removed the dried paste. Why is my stain so light? The stain will initially appear a light or bright orange, but will darken to reddish-brown over the next 24 to 48 hours. Enjoy the transformation!
