Henna Art

I was so very lucky recently as to have been invited to an irish-indian wedding. Due to the amount and lacking maturity of most of my immediate family members my husband and I decided to enjoy this big event in turns. As it was spread out over two days, with a bridal blessing first and then the actual ceremonies the next day , we split it evenly into two and I decided I would go to the bridal blessing as I knew later on in the day there would be a henna artist present. I had not had a professional mehndi done for me before, but I dabbled in it myself about 3 years ago, before my youngest were born. So I was overexcited to go. 

I won't go too much into details about the blessing, suffice it to say it was very beautiful, and definitely an experience I am very glad NOT to have missed. 

Anyhow, this is the mehndi I got done on my palm by the henna artist. The stain got even darker over the next day, and I love how she used the thick dark border to make the petals stand out more.

But the queue waiting to be painted was very long, and I knew it was going to be a long time for my turn to come. Then some of the indian girls decided to go ahead themselves and paint each others hands, and as I was sitting with them I was basically given a henna cone and "offered a hand".  I was doing a few henna designs that night, and I absolutely loved, loved, loved doing it. I have only one picture of a design I did on my moms hand, and I know that someone took a picture of me getting my own left hand painted by the pro while I painted my mothers hand. I HAVE to have that photo, just gotta find who took it...

My moms design...

I can honestly say that that night has rekindled my dormant passion for henna mehndis. I have since found a source for ready made cones and am currently sourcing for clean, unadulterated henna powder. But in the meantime, this is what I have been doing to myself...

after paste removal...

and darkened overnight...

This was my newest on my left hand...

again after paste removal...

And my left foot, since my right foot is already painted...

... also a bit higher up the leg...

And both after darkening a bit. The one on the leg will not be as dark, because there are less skin layers to stain

All of the above designs where made with a ready made cone, left on until the paste was dry and then peeled off. I reckon that if I can get my hands on some high quality henna powder and essential oils, seal the stain after drying and dress the stain warmly I can improve the darkness hopefully significantly. Stay tuned, the henna is ordered and on the way. ;-)