Henna body painting or “mehndi, ” as it is called in India, is experiencing a stir in the European part of the planet. Most have already appreciated the benefits of such a temporary tattoo: henna pattern does not violate the integrity of the skin and holds on the skin for about 2-3 weeks. It’s easy to draw henna on your skin, try it!
You will need
Henna for the body, a glass cup, a wooden spatula, ground coffee, black tea, lemon, eucalyptus or lavender essential oil, sugar, toothpicks, cotton buds, a syringe bag, olive oil.
Instruction manual
1
The easiest way to use ready-made henna paint in special tubes. Such tubes are sold in specialized stores and on the Internet. But it is better to use freshly prepared pasta.
2
Henna for body painting is different from henna, which dye your hair. It is prepared from the upper leaves of the bush of Lavsonia, gives bright colors and smaller. Make sure you use henna for body painting. You will need 40-50 grams of henna. Sift the henna powder through a fine sieve 2-3 times, it should have a powder consistency. You cannot cook henna in a metal bowl, so keep the powder in a glass or ceramic bowl.
3
Boil 0.5 liters of water, add 2 teaspoons of ground coffee or black tea to it. Boil the broth over low heat or in a water bath for about an hour. Remember to stir constantly. Then strain the broth through several layers of gauze.
4
Pour the hot broth in small portions into a cup with henna powder. Rub and stir thoroughly with a wooden or glass spatula so that there are no lumps. And do not pour the whole broth, you can get too thin paste. Such a paste will not stick on the skin and spoil the pattern with streaks and stains.
5
In the finished paste, add a teaspoon of lemon or lime juice, a teaspoon of sugar and a few drops of lavender or eucalyptus essential oil. You should get a plastic, homogeneous mass with the consistency of toothpaste.
6
Cover the pasta container with cling film and leave it in a warm place for 6 hours. During this time, the active dye is released from the powder.
7
Now prepare your skin for drawing. It is better to do hair removal in advance in those areas where you are going to make a picture. The fact is that small hairs are painted more intensively than skin and the paint stays on the hairs much longer. Also, the skin must be thoroughly washed with soap, and areas with rougher skin should be treated with a scrub. After a shower, do not apply a moisturizer to the body, the skin should be absolutely clean.
8
The paste is applied to the skin with brushes, wooden sticks or a syringe package. If you do not have a special syringe for applying paint, make it from a regular dense plastic bag. Fold the bag with a bag, glue it with adhesive tape at the seams, fill with two-thirds of the paste. Fold the top edge of the bag and glue it with tape too. You should get a small cone. At the bottom of the cone, pierce the hole with a needle. Practice applying paint on a white sheet of paper to understand how hard it is to squeeze the paste onto the skin.
9
Apply a pattern of the future pattern to the prepared skin. This can be done with a pencil for tattooing. There are also special paper stencils with holes. Lightly grease the place of the picture with olive oil, this will make the color of the picture brighter and prevent the paste from drying out quickly.
10
Apply the paste from the bag along the outline of the pattern or randomly. Squeeze out the henna evenly, smoothly, if the opening of the bag is blocked by a lump of henna or air - clean it with a needle. If you accidentally ruin the drawing, wipe the paste with a damp swab, a toothpick or a cotton swab and repeat again. From time to time, moisten the drawing with a solution of lemon juice with sugar. Gently moisten with a damp cotton swab, but try not to grease the finished drawing.
eleven
Dry the drawing. It is possible to supplement drying with the influence of infrared radiation, a Minin lamp with a blue bulb or a hairdryer. The longer you hold the paste on your skin, the brighter the pattern will be. After 5-6 hours, brush off the remaining paste from the skin. Wipe the skin with almond or olive oil, this will add depth to the color of the picture.
note
Make sure you are not allergic to henna. Dilute a small amount of henna powder and apply a smear at the bend of the elbow or under the knee. If after half an hour there is no skin reaction in the form of redness, itching and or swelling - you can prepare henna for a picture.
Useful advice
After drawing henna, it is not recommended to take a hot bath or shower often. Active sports contribute to increased sweating and also reduce the duration of the picture, it becomes dimmer and lighter. Before swimming in the sea or pool, apply a waterproof sunscreen to the drawing, it will help maintain its brightness and protect against exposure to chlorine and sea salt.
