What is Henna

Henna is a flowering plant used to dye skin, hair, fingernails, leather and wool. Natural henna only stains reddish brown or dark brown not black.
I use 100% natural henna and other natural ingredients like lemon juice, brewed tea, coffee, cloves, essential oils like eucalyptus and tea tree oil to make the henna paste.

Henna Leaves Crushed In To Powder

Whole, unbroken henna leaves will not stain the skin. Henna will not stain skin until the lawsone molecules are made available (released) from the henna leaf. Fresh henna leaves will stain the skin if they are smashed with a mildly acidic liquid (lemon juice). The lawsone will gradually migrate from the henna paste into the outer layer of the skin and bind to the proteins in it, creating a fast stain.
Since it is difficult to form intricate patterns from coarse crushed leaves, henna is commonly traded as a powder made by drying, milling and sifting the leaves. Artists get it in the powder form.

Henna Paste

The dry powder is mixed with lemon juice and /or strong tea, and essential oils to make a preparation with toothpaste-like consistency, which can be used to make finely detailed body art. The henna mix must rest for 8 to 10 hours before use, to release the lawsone from the leaf matter. Essential oils with high levels of monoterpene alcohols such as tea tree and eucalyptus, will help it to release dye.

Henna Being Applied With A Handmade Cone

The paste can be applied with many traditional and innovative tools, including resist, a cone, syringe, Jac bottle or fingers. A light stain may be achieved within minutes, the longer the paste is left on the skin, the stronger the stain will be, and should be left for several hours. To prevent it from drying or falling off the skin, the paste is often sealed down by dabbing or spraying sugar/lemon mix over the dried paste, or simply adding some form of sugar to the paste. It is debatable whether this adds to the color of the end result; some believe it increases the intensity of the shade. After time the dried paste is simply brushed or scraped away.