All About Henna Tattoos
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About Henna Tattoos
Henna has been used for body art for thousands of years. It is said that the ancient Egyptians used henna to decorate the bodies of the dead for their journey to the afterlife. There are even mentions of henna in the bible.
Henna tattoos are an important part of many customs in the Eastern world, especially in Africa, India and Arab countries, where henna is used for many holidays, weddings, and other rites of passage.
Using henna for body art is relatively new to the Western world, but gaining in popularity right along with the popularity of permanent tattoos.
One of the funnest aspects of henna tattoos is that they are temporary, so you can use henna to see how you would like a tattoo before you get a permanent one, or just enjoy having different tattoos every couple of weeks with henna!
Henna tattoos are an important part of many customs in the Eastern world, especially in Africa, India and Arab countries, where henna is used for many holidays, weddings, and other rites of passage.
Using henna for body art is relatively new to the Western world, but gaining in popularity right along with the popularity of permanent tattoos.
One of the funnest aspects of henna tattoos is that they are temporary, so you can use henna to see how you would like a tattoo before you get a permanent one, or just enjoy having different tattoos every couple of weeks with henna!
Why I made this Lens
My name is Bambi and I am a ICNHA certified Henna Artist.I love everything about henna and henna body art in particular. Henna is an excellent medium for creative artists, and can be used to create beautiful stains on skin, wood and fabric.
I've always loved tattoos and have 7 permanent ones and have a great respect for all types of tattoo artists. Tattoo art is an amazing and wonderful world.
I learned of Henna only a few years ago, when I worked at a job where I had a lot of Somali co-workers. The girls would come to work with these incredibly intricate and beautiful tattoos on their arms and hands. As an artistic person I just had to learn more.
Now Henna art is a really big part of my life and I'd love to share my love of everything henna with you today!
My First Henna Kit
This was the first henna kit I bought.
Henna Tattoo Kit
Amazon Price: $12.02 (as of 02/15/2012)
This is a nice little kit for trying henna for the first time or if you just want to use it for a personal henna party. It also makes a great gift for those hard to shop for teenage girls! This kit has very easy to use instructions and makes really nice stains.
Photos Of Henna Tattoos
A picture is worth a thousand words!
Henna designs are beautifully intricate and fun!
automatically generated by Flickr
Henna's Secret History
The History Mystery and Folklore of Henna
Henna's Secret History: The History Mystery and Folklore of Henna
Amazon Price: $20.59 (as of 02/15/2012)
How much do you know about this incredible botanical? Was it sensual Mehndi body adornment or Cleopatra's favorite perfume? An aphrodisiac or treatment for leprosy? An ancient Roman currency or a last right for the dead? This book takes a fascinating look at one of the most popular botanicals of all time. Never before has a book been devoted to henna as a whole.
Try Henna yourself!
Even though you can't get the nice dark stains you would get if you visited a certified henna artist, you can still have fun with some of the DIY henna kits out there.
I tried my hand at henna for the first time with a DIY henna kit and was very happy with the results. It was easy to use, fun and got me hooked to where I wanted to learn more.
I think the kits are fantastic for people who just want to try it out and find out if it's something they want to explore further.
I tried my hand at henna for the first time with a DIY henna kit and was very happy with the results. It was easy to use, fun and got me hooked to where I wanted to learn more.
I think the kits are fantastic for people who just want to try it out and find out if it's something they want to explore further.
What is Henna?
Henna is actually a natural plant, but the henna that is used for body art is really a paste that is made of powdered henna leaves, and a variety of other ingredients.Every henna artist has their own personal recipe for henna paste. All you really need to make henna paste is fresh henna powder and rain water, but most henna artist use a combination of fresh henna powder, lemon juice and sugar as a base for their henna paste.
There are lots os secret ingredients and magic mixes that people claim makes their henna stain darker, but I find that as long as you use fresh quality henna, you really don't need to add magic tea brews to get a good staining paste.
I do use high quality essential oils to "Terp" or make my paste stain darker.
It is important that you learn about essential oils before working with them so you know which ones are safe for skin contact and such.
A great place to learn everything there is to know about henna and how to make the paste and every other aspect of henna is the Henna Page, a really informative and helpful website for anyone interested in henna.
Just click on the helpful henna page link below to get there and check it out!
Books that will come in handy!
How Henna Works
Your skin is made of a protien called keratin and henna has a dye molecule called lawsone that is small enough to penetrate our skin cells.When the henna paste is applied to our skin, the dye molecules penetrate down into our skin cells and create a stain that lasts until that skin is exfoliated.
Henna doesn't stain right away as soon as it is applied, no it takes a little time for those dye molecules to get absorbed down into our skin, that is why a henna tattoo is darker when you leave the paste on longer.
I find that the paste really does need to stay on the skin for at least 4 hours to make a nice stain, but the best stains are ones where the paste is kept on around 8 hours and kept warm and slightly moist.
I use a hair blow dryer with my clients and then seal the paste to their skin with a gel hair spray and recommend that they leave the paste in place at least 6-8 hours.
One of the ways you can tell if a henna tattoo vendor is using dangerous "black henna" paste is if the paste they are using makes a fast dark stain on the skin. I've had clients that ask when I'm going to scrape off the henna, only to find out that they had previous "black henna" tattoos, where it's common for the vendor to scrape off the paste almost as soon as they finish applying it.
Real natural henna stains take time to penetrate the skin, please stay away from any henna tattoo vendor that offers quick "black henna" tattoos.
These are before and after photos of some of my clients henna tattoos that I did. See how the wet paste is black and shiny. That paste needs to stay on the skin long enough for the dye molecules to penetrate the skin. Then after the paste is removed it leaves a beautiful reddish-brown stain that usually lasts a couple of weeks.
Which Tattoos are better?
Henna or Permanent?
What do you think about it? Are henna tattoos better because they are temporary and go away, so you can get lots of different designs? Or are permanent Tats better because they last forever?
So...Which type of tattoo is cooler?
Fetching blurbs now... please stand byHENNA...no needles...no pain...temporary...that is cool!
bassetmonkey says:
Designs can change ... you can mix and match ... lots or little. Plus ... no career-ending bold tatoos that will bag and sag when age sets in! LOL Love the lens!
Posted August 11, 2011
M_Leigh_Hood says:
Henna all the way! It doesn't instantly wash off, but it fades soon enough for you to have a plethora of different designs in a short amount of time. They also don't hurt.
Posted July 22, 2011
meryem says:
Arabic Moroccan Henna
Meryem
henna.arabic@ymail.com
Lynn MA 01902
Posted July 14, 2011
PERMANENT TATS Rock!...henna is for girls and wimps!
janizzle says:
permanent becuz it go hardder than temporary
Posted November 15, 2010
Henna is a big part of Muslim culture
Pakistani Girls Show Their Hands Painted with Henna Ahead of the Muslim Festival of Eid-Al-Fitr
Cool Henna t-shirts!
My Henna Designs
As an artist, I love the the delicate beauty of traditional henna designs.These are some of my henna tattoo designs, that incorporate traditional henna art with my personal flair.
You can basically use henna to make any type or style of tattoo, and the fun part of henna is that it is temporary, so you can change your tattoos often.
Just about and design you can imagine can be used as a henna tattoo design.
There are even natural ways to create shading and depth to the tattoos that the artist puts on the skin.
I only use natural henna for body art, which creates a beautiful reddish brown stain.
There are ways to add a little color naturally with other plant products like beet juice or tumeric, but those do not actually penetrate the skin surface, so the colors don't last for very long.
I get a lot of people who want "Black" or colored henna tattoos, but I explaine to them that there is no safe "Black" henna and that colored hennas are mostly food dyes that don't really last the life of the henna tattoo.
I do offer body painting, which I can do safely in any color, but again body painted tattoos only last for a couple of days, but are a lot of fun for special occasions, clubbing or parties.
I think henna designs are beautiful on skin, wood and fabric.
I also use a lot of my henna designs on mt cafepress and zazzle stores, I think they look great on t-shirts, buttons and even greeting cards.
THE DANGERS OF BLACK HENNA
Always beware of anyone offering Black Henna Tattoos There is no such thing as a safe black henna tattoo. Black henna paste contains dangerous hair dyes that can cause permanent damage & scarring to skin.
Fun Henna Kits
Henna Art on Wood
Henna paste is a really versitile medium for artists.I do a lot of henna art on wood. I just love the way it looks and feels and I think the end results are just stunning.
Henna can be used a few of different ways on wood. It can be watered down and painted on, or the paste can be applied, then scraped off later to reveal the stain.
I personally like to just leave the paste on.
I love the textured effect and I can then paint the wood around it or just apply a poly finish to adhere the henna to the wood and to seal both the wood and the henna.
There is just so much a creative person can do with henna artistically and it's just fun to experiment.
I like to do a combination of henna and paint on wood also.
It's really pretty and has a cool textured appearance.
My best advice for anyone who wants to decorate wood with henna... is to just go ahead and try different things on some scrap wood to see what works for you.
Henna Blog Posts from Google
- Five Things You Need to Know Today, Feb. 16
- Henna Body Art: If you're interested in the art of Henna Body Art, stop by a workshop for adults and teens at 6 pm at Artbeat on Massachusetts Avenue. There, you can get basic techniques for applying henna to your hands and arms, along with pattern ...
- Henna taunt drives woman to suicide
- BANGALORE: Upset over her husband refusing to allow to apply henna (mehendi) on her hands, a 21-year-old homemaker allegedly hanged herself at her residence in Mico Layout late Wednesday night. Suraj Tonar, a native of Gujarat, married Raju Singh, ...
- 12th annual NonCon brings unique talents
- NSO has confirmed three special guest for NonCon: real-life superhero Dark Guardian, webcomic creator and self-published author Peter Tarkulich, and henna artist and belly dancer Lauren Grover. Michelle Lessard '13 had the idea of inviting a ...
- Second quarter honor roll, Old Town High School
- Seniors, highest honors: Emily Barnes, Rachael Callaway, Ileana Castro, Haley Comeau, Meagan Cousins, Kristen Gaudet, Mary Hamilton, Danielle Harrington, Emily Jackson, Henna Johnson, Robert Keane, Gaelin Kopec-Belliveau, Evan Lane, Kathryn Letourneau, ...
Start Your Own Henna Business
Beachcombers! Salon Professional Henna Tattoo Body Art Kit
Beachcombers! Salon Professional Henna Tattoo Body Art Kit Start Your Own Henna Business
Amazon Price: $59.99 (as of 02/15/2012)
If you are charging clients for henna tattoos, you should be making your own henna from our henna powder. This kit provides enough henna powder to experiment and learn henna basics while giving you plenty of henna for applying to your clients. It gives you all the henna tools you need (transfer paper, applicator bottles, and a design book) so that all you need to do is reorder the henna itself when you run out. Our Design book will give you all the needed instructions to become familiar with the best techniques in mixing, applying the best, darkest, longest lasting tattoo's. You can even develop your artistic skills with basic techniques found in the book. Included Henna Products:200 grams of high quality Shweta brand sifted henna powder,(ten 20oz individual bags of henna to keep your henna fresh),10 empty disposable henna cones for filling, 1 bottle Myrtle mehndi oil (6 ml), Included Henna Tools and Accessories:2 one ounce and 2 half ounce Moroccan Syringe Applicator Bottles with5 syringe tips (gauges 19,18,17,16, & 14 -smallest size to largest size) and 5 stainless steel tips, 3 Sheets of transfer paper with activator, 1 Beachcombers! Henna Design Book (8 1/2" X 5 1/2" - 36 pages)with complete easy-to-understand instructions.
Find Henna On eBay
How to Start Your Own Henna Business
If you're interested in being a henna Artist, I highly recommend this book.
How to Start Your Own Henna Business
Amazon Price: (as of 02/15/2012)
I personally own this book and it is a must have for every Henna Artist.
Erika Harrison is a henna artist with a Bachelor's Degree in Business, and working towards her Master's Degree in International Business. She runs her own successful henna business, and her book will help you begin and run yours! This book is 48 pages of solid, sensible, easy to understand information on running a henna business successfully.
Great Henna Links
- Mother Henna
- Full of henna info and fun!
- Henna Tribe
- A fun group of henna loving people
- The Henna Page
- The most comprehensive henna site on the web!
Please Sign my Guestbook
thank you for visiting my lens
Noe please let me know how you liked this lens, what more you'd like me to add or just say hello and let me know who you are!
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cmadden
Dec 13, 2011 @ 2:16 am | delete
- Interesting lens. Thanks.
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M_Leigh_Hood Jul 22, 2011 @ 7:51 pm | delete
- I love using henna! The pattern books and business book recommendations are incredibly useful!
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Jewelsofawe
Jun 14, 2011 @ 4:48 pm | delete
- Wow! I love your designs! I have always thought it would be cool to get a henna tattoo
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dotpattern
Apr 24, 2011 @ 7:55 am | delete
- It seems like #Maternity henna painting - prenatal, pregnancy, or baby bump Henna - is a really popular topic. I love the paisley designs for henna tattoos, and the patterns remind me of "Zentangles" (which I had never heard of until I checked out Squidoo). Your henna designs on wood are just beautiful.
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CCGAL
Apr 5, 2011 @ 9:33 am | delete
- I read one time that in some cultures the bride gets henna designs on her palms and she doesn't have to do any housework until they are all gone. If I lived in that culture, I'd be thinking "permanent tattoo = no housework EVER" LOL Very nicely done lens, by the way.
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miaponzo
Mar 6, 2011 @ 2:18 am | delete
- Thanks! What a great lens!
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awelldressedbullet
Feb 23, 2011 @ 8:08 pm | delete
- Totally interesting, gorgeous pictures and looks like so much fun! Your designs are so beautiful!
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artbymichelle
Jan 20, 2011 @ 10:44 pm | delete
- Great lens! I am going to show it to my teens!
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littestranger
Jan 4, 2011 @ 3:31 am | delete
- I really like to try henna on my hand., your lens makes me impressed :)
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Dec 27, 2010 @ 1:56 am | delete
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Tipi
Dec 20, 2010 @ 10:13 pm | delete
- I really like that you warn against black henna here. Beauty without danger is the way to go and you demonstrated that very well here.
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CelebStyle
Dec 11, 2010 @ 1:06 pm | delete
- neat idea...thanks!
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supermom_in_ny
Dec 10, 2010 @ 3:29 pm | delete
- These are beautiful!
This year my daughter is going to college. After reading this lens, I decided I'm going to surprise her with henna tattoos for both of us. She's a vegan and loves everything nature. (She is going to major in sustainable energy.) I think she's going to totally love it!
Thanks for all the info and the great idea!
;)
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_Joan_
Nov 18, 2010 @ 8:24 am | delete
- Love the designs, and I had never seen henna done on wood before! That really beautiful, too.
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sukkran
Nov 18, 2010 @ 6:43 am | delete
- ladies in our country are using this art in marriages, festivals and special occasions. well presented lens.
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Margo_Arrowsmith
Nov 16, 2010 @ 6:16 pm | delete
- Beautiful lens!
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Cammily
Nov 2, 2010 @ 11:55 am | delete
- Don't like tattoos, but I love henna for colouring the hair. What should be mentioned: If you let someone do a henna tattoo for you, be sure about the ingredients used. Especially to black henna paste some people add ingredients which are harmful.
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solidmanxyz
Oct 6, 2010 @ 5:09 pm | delete
- Love the information on tattoos. I'm really into new tattoo designs ideas so check out chinese tattoo designs this is v-good ;)
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cindylee10
Oct 2, 2010 @ 12:55 am | delete
- I love your lens! the tattoos are amazing.. i do Face painting cheek designs and i can certainly get a bit of inspiration here.
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bellawoods
Apr 7, 2010 @ 8:02 am | delete
- We are both alike because I'm into henna tattoo as well.
I like it because It's a safe outlet for artistic expression, its relatively cheaper and painless.
But, what I like the most is the fact that it's temporary, so you dint have to be stuck with it for the rest of your life, you can be in fashion and have the latest of design every time..
Fantastic job!
visit my lens for more ideas on henna tattoo at- henna tattoo design
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sls1365
Dec 4, 2009 @ 7:13 pm | delete
- Hi there. Great lens. Thanks
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missbat
Oct 24, 2009 @ 9:19 pm | delete
- Henna is a beautiful art form. I've been fortunate to have a few henna tattoos done. Great lens on a beautiful subject!
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HorseAndPony
Sep 22, 2009 @ 11:17 am | delete
- Wow! Great lens. I love henna tattoos. Your section on Henna Art on Wood is amazing. Never thought of that. I am going to give it a try. Thanks for the great info.
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mukunda22
Aug 26, 2009 @ 6:58 pm | delete
- My niece is a Henna artist--I need to share with her immediately!! She did a henna tattoo on my upper arm which lasted at least 2 weeks because I refused to wash it off!!
Great lens! Very informative and beautiful examples!
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hlkljgk Jul 30, 2009 @ 9:04 am | delete
- love the designs
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About Mystic Mama
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mysticmama
My name is Bambi. I have Aspergers Syndrome, a type of high functioning Autism. I am a professional writer & artist. I have 2 cats that I adore. I run... more »
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