Henna (Mehndi) is an old tradition of women in India. Henna is used as a form of skin decoration and the favorite way of enhancing beauty amongst Indian women. Indian Henna is known worldwide for its complicated designs and bright color. Henna is used to dye skin, hair, fingernails, leather, silk and wool in India and other Middle Eastern countries.
Henna is made from the leaves of the plant lawsonia inermis which produces a vibrant red color. Fresh leaves of the henna plant are dried and crushed to a fine powder. There is no chance of allergy from Henna because it comes from natural plants. It protects skin from diseases and keeps your body and head cool. Henna has amazing conditioning properties when used on hair. It makes your hair soft, shiny and smooth.
Henna is also used by Indian women as a beautiful design on their hands and feet. It is used by women and children in various festivals such as Teej, Karwa Chauth, Diwali and celebrations.
An Indian wedding is incomplete without Henna. The beautiful designs are applied on the hands and feet of the bride before the wedding ceremonies. It is believed that young girls who get dark color from Mehndi will get a handsome groom and loved strongly by both her mother-in-law and her husband. It also denotes prosperity and good luck.
The Henna powder is combined with water, a natural acidic liquid like lemon juice, honey, and 10ml of essential oil high in monoterpene alcohols such as lavender, tea tree, cajeput, ravensara, rosemary, clove bud, or eucalyptus. Once the ingredients have been combined, the henna is covered and placed somewhere warm to sit for a couple of hours. After reaching the desired consistency, the paste is then applied to clean skin in various patterns. Henna paste is usually applied to the skin using a plastic cone or a paint brush, but sometimes a small metal-tipped jacquard bottle used for silk painting is used. The cone has a fine opening at the thin end which lets a thin flow of paste to facilitate intricate designing. Heat and perspiration will make the dye darken on the skin.
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