Is henna safe?
Yes it is! Unadulterated henna is one of the safest cosmetics ever used, and allergies are rare. Although I have never had a customer report an allergy to henna, occasionally I meet someone who has sensitivity to the essential oils that I use. If you are sensitive to essential oils, please ask me which ones I commonly use or you can read the answer to the following question. A patch test is still a good idea if your skin is particularly sensitive.
Do you make your own henna paste and what is in it?
Yes, I do make my own henna paste. I purchase henna powder from an online supplier so that I can always be guaranteed in getting the freshest product. Stale henna powder doesn’t stain as well as fresh. My henna paste is made with 100% body art quality natural henna. I mix my own recipe of lemon juice, sugar and essential oils which may contain 2 or 3 of the following essential oils: geranium, lavender, cajeput, niaoli, eucalyptus, ravensara, rani, clove bud, or tea tree. If you have any plant allergies, please let me know so that I can advise as to whether or not you may be allergic to the oils typically used to make my henna paste. A simple recipe made only with lemon juice or even just with water is always an option. For mommies-to-be, I use only lavender oil. For hennaeing drums, tambourines, and riqqs, I use only the henna powder and lemon juice with no oils. After the paste has cured (usually around 16 hours in South Florida climate), the paste is then strained thru a nylon sock and filled in hand-rolled mylar cones. I either use the paste right away or keep it frozen until I need it. Freezing the henna will halt the demise of the paste.
Is henna a tattoo? Does it hurt?
No, a henna design on the skin is not a tattoo and it does not hurt. There are no useful words in English to describe a henna stain for ornamenting the skin, so henna designs are frequently called "henna tattoos". I prefer to use the term "henna design". Unlike a tattoo where ink is injected under the living dermis, henna only dyes the outermost dead layers of the skin. No needles are used. Henna is painted onto the skin using a triangular piece of mylar rolled into a cone, much like cake decorating. The process is relaxing and pleasant.
How does henna stain the skin?
The lawsone molecule in the henna dyes the outermost layers of your skin which are actually the dead layers of your skin. It takes time for the lawsone to bind with your skin cells, so the henna paste must remain in contact with the skin for as long as possible to achieve a dark and long lasting stain. I recommend at least 4 hours and overnight if you can do it. Longer than 10 hours doesn’t seem to yield different results. Heat also makes the dye darker so keeping your body temperature warm, drying the henna with a dryer or drinking warm liquids also helps improve the color of the stain. When you first remove the henna paste and expose the henna stained skin to oxygen, the resulting stain is a bright orange. As the stain continues to be exposed to oxygen, the color will develop to brown. Areas of thicker layers of dead skin (like hands and feet) will be darker than other parts of the body. See image below for demonstration of color:
How long will the design last?
Typically 1-3 weeks. The answer is directly proportional to how long you leave the drying paste on your skin and what part of the body you have the henna applied. Hands and feet take best because you have the thickest and driest layers of skin in these areas. The henna actually permanently stains the dead skin cells that it seeps into and the color will last until those layers exfoliate. I recommend leaving the drying paste on for at least 4 hours as a minimum. 6 is better and overnight is best. There are also quite a few factors that will affect the stain. Every person takes henna differently. A warm internal body temperature will result in a better color.
What colors of henna do you use?
I only have the color that results from the naturally occurring plant dye, which stains first an orange, then develops to a brown color. The stain of the henna will take the natural pigmentation in your own skin and build on that so the same henna paste on a fair skinned person will appear lighter than on a person with darker skin. I do not use products that are marketed as black henna or any other "colored" henna, as chemical dyes have been added to those products which I do not support. There is a particular henna powder from Iran called kimia which is next to impossible to get a hold of these days. This was used on brides and imparts a maroonish color to the skin on the palms. When most people think of red henna, this is usually the powder to which they refer.