Henna is a temporary body decoration that looks like a tattoo but isn't. It is fast, easy, and painless, and most importantly, it is a beautiful form of natural body decoration. It lasts for about 12 days, and then slowly fades away. When used as a temporary tattoo, the henna is applied to the skin and then left to dry.

Henna, also known as Mehandi, is a small shrub called "haw Sonia inermis" found in Iran, India, Pakistan, Egypt, and Northern Africa. It is known for its medicinal values. According to ancient Sanskrit literature, henna is called 'keshya' and 'medhya'. It means, that it is a very good conditioner for hair and also helps in improving the intellectual skills, It is an effective remedy for skin diseases, eye-problems and to some extent leprosy. Another important property of henna is its attractive red color, which is due to the presence of coloring pigments in its leaves.
The powder is prepared by grinding the leaves and twigs. It is sometimes mixed with black tea powder to get a darker tinge.

On order to decorate hands and feet, henna is processed in a special way and packed in a cone for ease in decoration. During hot weather, henna acts as a cooling agent when applied to the hands and feet, in addition to leaving a deep reddish-brown color on the skin.

Lots of women put henna on their hair. Some use henna for it's conditioning effect others use it as a natural dye (hair turn reddish-brown). The color lasts for over a month. Conditioning adds body, texture and shine to the hair. It leaves hair healthy-looking and easy to comb.

Henna or black tea included in the paste may produce allergic reactions in some. Therefore, it is suggested that a 24 hour skin patch test be performed before the henna is applied.

After the tattoo/design is completed, which may take anywhere from 10 minutes to several hours, it is coated with a solution of lemon juice and sugar. The lemon and sugar tincture must be reapplied during the drying process. The stickiness and acidity of the solution create heat, which allows the satin to deepen in color. After drying for a couple of hours it is flaked off. The color left behind will darken over the next 12 hours. For darker shades, apply Mehandi oil "Eucalyptus oil" after paste is removed from the skin.

Email : jladdha@yahoo.com
Location : I do Henna in NJ, North PA, parts of NY
Phone : 908 787 2049