How to Use Henna for Skin

Once you make your henna, you need to apply it properly. This article will show you how.

photo credit: Henna Bee
Steps :

1. Make the henna.
2. Make sure hands are clean. Then wipe them with a sugar-lime/lemon juice mixture. This will make the color darker later on, since it lowers the ph level of the skin. *edit- Wiping with lemon sugar will only make your skin sticky and not significantly effect the quality of your stain. To remove excess oil or lotion from the skin, swab the area with rubbing alcohol.
3. Apply! Make sure the henna is all touching the skin over hairs, and that all larger areas are fully filled in.
4. Leave on the skin for as long as possible, keeping the area as warm as possible. Moisten periodically with a cotton swab dipped in sugar-lime/lemon juice mixture. Be gentle, try not to remove the henna ! You can gently squeeze out small amounts of the liquid from the cotton swab onto our hand.
5. Allow to darken. The henna will fall off on its own. Keep it out of water for as long as possible to allow it to darken (keep it dry for 12 hours after paste removal if possible, then apply a non-petroleum based water barrier such as Burt’s Bees lip balm, olive oil or cooking oil over the design before bathing or showering for the next few days. This will help protect the design.) The starting color will be pumpkin orange and will darken over the next day or two to its final color.
6. Seal your henna with sugar/lemon or hairspray before it falls off, as most henna designs need to stay on the skin 4-8 hours. You can wrap the design in tissue or paper tape to hold heat in. If you’re cold-natured or in a cold place, wrap your henna in toilet paper, then saran wrap and leave it overnight.
7. To further darken the color, apply oil on the design after you have removed the dried hena. Mustard oil is optimal, but you can use other oils as well. Reapplying oil on the hand throughout the day will further darken the color, and will also protect the color from water. *EDIT* MUSTARD OIL CAN BE EXTREMELY IRRITATING TO SKIN AND MUCUS MEMBRANES AND SHOULD NOT BE USED, also applying oil for long periods of time over a fresh stain can actually inhibit the darkening process (as it darkens by oxidizing) and speed exfoliation, which shortens the life of the stain. Oil should only be applied before showering and should be gently blotted off (pat gently with towel after bathing, don’t rub!).

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Choosing a tattoo should be a thorough process. They are intended to be forever, and removal is expensive. The more planning that goes into your design of choice, the more likely that you will enjoy your tattoo later in life.
Steps

1. Be happy with what design you have on your body. As long as you like it, that’s the most important thing. Thatbeing said, there are factors that can make you love or hate your tattoo.
2. Find a design that has meaning for you. Even if you cannot draw, a little practice and patience can get you a goodoutline, at least. Most tattoo artists will help you redraw and redesign a tattoo.
3. Find an artist or designer and ask them to make a custom design for you. Many tattoo artists are also conventional artists, or can at least reproduce a traditional drawing, sketch or painting onto your skin.
4. Find a style that you especially like, and an artist that works in that style. Most artists will do what you want, but also excel in certain “looks.” Check portfolios, and compare old school, new school, naturalistic, asian, B&W, etc.
5. Writing, in any form or language, should be thought over twice as long. Check and recheck the meanings of any words or idiograms of a language you aren’t fluent in. Choose quotes carefully. Search for a font you like, or create your own.
6. Consider carefully what body part you want your tattoo on. Some places you’ll look at it every day, some almost never. Consider how likely it will be that you will need to cover it with clothing or otherwise at some point.
7. Try to get a printout of the design, and see how the design will fit against your skin.
8. Use henna to get a temporary version of the design. You won’t be able to see different colors, or certain looks, but you will be able to judge the feeling of a tattoo. Henna lasts a week to a month.
9. Think about it a lot. When you are certain, wait some more just to make sure.

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