Henna/mehndi is a temporary body art form made with a paste from the henna plant. Designs are applied to the skin using the paste, and the paste stains the first three layers of your skin-- the stain develops from orange, to light brown, to dark brown over time. 

Henna is culturally indigenous to the Middle East, Africa and South Asia and has been used for thousands of years to celebrate weddings, holidays, births and joyful occasions. 

I like to share henna with my community to celebrate the diaspora of cultural practices that I belong to and to consistently practice the art. I treat it as celebrating our personal joy, our joyful memories, and the beauty of who we are as people. 

Henna lasts one to three weeks on average depending on placement and aftercare.

Henna, both the plant and the tradition of providing henna, is indigenous to the Middle East, South Asia and Africa. 

Yes, it does! The stain might last longer on some people than others due to genetics more than anything, but henna works on all skin stones. Darker skin tones might see less contrast, but will still show up. Henna on the palms is also a great timeless and traditional option for all skin tones! <3 

I provide full aftercare instructions at appointments and events, so I gotchu, don't worry!

I encourage you to leave your paste on as long as possible, apply lemon-sugar when available, and wrap with a bandana, breathable tissue paper, breathable bandaging, or Mefix medical tape, if you are leaving your paste on overnight. The longer your paste stays on the skin, the better the stain. 

When removing the paste, scrape off with a card or butter knife and then apply a cooking oil, such as olive, coconut or avocado. Apply oil before washing the area to prevent water contact for the first two days. 

Don't exfoliate! Stay hydrated! 

For henna that looks good at events, I would get the design done two-three days ahead of the event for maximum stain affect. 

One-two days ahead of the event if you're okay with a lighter brown stain.

One day before if you want an orange/light brown look.

The henna I mix is free of any synthetic dyes or additives! It is an all-natural paste made from body art quality organic henna powder made from the crushed leaves of the henna plant, as well as lemon juice, and body-quality essential oils. 

Henna itself is a rare allergy! I do offer skin tests for those inquiring for them to determine if they feel comfortable. We just place a dot on the palm or wrist and observe it for 10-20 minutes or as long as you feel comfortable. 

If you experienced irritation or discomfort from receiving henna in the past, it is likelier due to the following possible factors: 

• lemon juice acidity causing skin irritation for sensitive skin

• allergy to the essential oils in the paste (ask your artist if you are uncertain about essential oil allergies)

• additives or dyes in the paste, especially if the paste is store-bought

I normally do not work with red or black henna! I only work with the natural henna that I mix myself. Both of these cones tend to have hair dyes which can be extremely harmful to the skin and can cause allergic reactions, swelling and chemical burns.

A safer alternative to black henna is jagua! It is gel-like and belongs to the strawberry family, so beware for those with fruit allergies! Jagua initially stains blue and develops to black. I do not currently provide jagua but intend to do so soon. 

You should absolutely get henna even if it is a cultural thing, but please get henna from artists who are from the Middle East/South Asia and Africa! Not only is it cultural appreciation in that circumstance, but you are then making a big difference in the lives of these artists who have to fight harder to retain access to their own cultural artforms than those with fewer barriers. 

Let's get into it.

A major challenge my community is going through in henna is the loss of our regional patterns due to colonially-influenced cultural erasure, as well as the bombing of our villages whose inhabitants still practice henna. This makes it even harder to preserve our knowledge, between the death and displacement. 

When you get henna from an artist who is from the cultures that practice henna, you are making sure that people can pass down their own cultural practices and maintain their integrity over time, upholding our cultural legacies. For us, henna is not just a cool and gorgeous artform-- it is something that is supposed to be passed to us from our mothers and grandmothers before us-- that when we practice it, honors our ancestors who gave us this art. I say "supposed to be," because for some of us, our access got disrupted due to war and cultural erasure, as we were affected by imperial nations.

When artists from the culture lose access to the culture, a lot of traditional elements get lost and what is left is something diluted, something appropriated and taken from the original. 

As our community becomes increasingly attacked and our numbers dwindle, it becomes more urgent and important that is not just our traditions that need to be respected, but also the people from whom we have received these traditions to begin with.

So please always prioritize supporting artists from the culture first and foremost whenever they are willing to share it with you! 

When you approach an artist who is from the culture with respect for the culture, you're doing so much more than just paying for beauty art. You're making a difference in a person's life who was told that they should abandon their culture in favor of being practical. You are sustaining the dreamer in them so that they can pour all of their dreams into art that sees and recognizes the beauty in you. You are honoring that someone desires to maintain a connection to their ancestors through the art they share. You are supporting someone's healing and reclamation of those traditions, if they were lost.

You'll be standing up for something great, and looking beautiful while doing it! <3 

Nope! Your baby will be fine! For our maternity sessions we use henna with lavender essential oil only-- this is the only essential oil guaranteed to be safe for those who are pregnant. The henna plant itself is completely safe for maternity use! 

I get this question often at events, and I'd like to point out that as it is a cultural artform, it is against diversity inclusivity for a workplace to prevent its employees from engaging in a cultural artform. I cannot advise one way or another as everyone's situation is specific, but I personally am always appreciative of those who are willing to share cultural artforms within the workplace. 

The henna stain is a stain, and  the stain on your skin cannot contaminate any surfaces,  unless you're not keeping that area disinfected. 

I don't use store-bought cones for henna with clients. For one, I can't always guarantee what is in the store-bought cone.

While there are a few brands known and reputed to sell all-natural cones free of dyes, the other factor is shelf-life. The longer a cone sits out at room temperature, the further along it gets in the dye-release process. You cannot be guaranteed a high-quality or long-lasting stain from a store-bought cone. And some cones, particularly black and red henna cones, may have chemicals from hair dye that can cause chemical burns and allergic reactions. 

I highly recommend buying henna from an artist directly and following their directions for storing the paste. You'll be happy you did. 

Additionally, please note that my pricing factors my time, my skills, my travel costs, my supply costs and my taxes :) I try to make things as affordable as I can, but I do have other costs I need to consider. Thanks for understanding! 

You're okay! Everything is as it should be!

Your stain will first be orange, then light brown, then dark brown! 

After about a week or so it will start to flake away, and gradually do so over the next few weeks.