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Mehendi is an ancient Indian Body Art. It is used in creating intricate ethnic or contemporary designs and exotic patterns on various parts of the body, though traditionally applied to the hands and feet of women preparing for special ceremonies. Once thought only for women, men are finding it a nice alternative to permanent tattoos. But now both men and women enjoy the "temporary tattoo". The process of applying henna in this manner is called 'Mehendi', an ancient ritual and art form dating back 5,000 years and is considered good luck in India, Middle East and North Africa. No Indian wedding is ever complete without the mehendi, whichever part of the country the bride may be from, her hands are adorned with the lovely red hue of the mehendi. |
The appeal? Painless temporary tattoos. Cutting edge. Cool. Painless. Fun. No needles, just a paste. What was in this month might be out the next, so with Mehendi a lifetime commitment (like real tattoos) is not necessary as the designs fade within a 1-4 weeks. |
Ingredients… the coloring thing in Henna.. Henna is a natural product, a plant, growing in size from 3 to 5 feet and can vary slightly from region to region. Its leaves are then dried and ground to make the henna powder. The ingredient in henna that makes up the dye properties is called lawsome (lawsonia inermis). Since it is a natural product, there are no known side effects. Henna's dye component, hennotannic acid, does not pass through into the dermis, it only stains the dead cells in the epidermis. Hennotannic acid naturally makes the brick/red/brown stains; it usually takes many hours to get a good henna stain on the skin, and that stain is quite harmless. |
Pure, 100% henna, with the help of heat, moisture and time, leaves a reddish brown stain on skin, first light, then darkening during the next 24 hours. The shade various according to the quality of henna used, the ingredients of the paste and the methods used when applying, and sometimes the colour can darken to almost black, but basically the colour is brown. |
What's a henna tattoo? |
Henna, also known as Mehendi, is the ancient art of bodypainting. |