How long does henna mehendi last?

• What is mehendi and what is its history
• Benefits of mehendi designs
• What do mehendi designs mean?
• What is mehendi and how to do it at home

Even if you are wondering what mehendi is, this does not mean that you have not seen such designs before. Exotic patterns on the hands and wrists of oriental beauties have captivated with their grace since ancient times. And therefore, this exquisite body art, performed with ordinary henna, began to appear more and more often in the images of girls around the world.

However, you should not consider mehendi only as henna designs. Eastern beauties put a certain meaning into each curl. In this article you will learn what mehendi is, how to interpret its patterns and how to make them part of your image.

What is mehendi and what is its history

What is mehendi or mehndi is known to many. This is the art of decorating your body with designs made with natural henna, which came to us from the East. The word “mehndi” is translated from Hindi as “henna”. Researchers have not yet been able to establish exactly in which country this trend was born. According to historians, it could be India or Ancient Egypt. Centuries have passed since those times, but the technique of applying mehendi (in other words, camphor or coffer) has remained unchanged. Compared to classic tattoos, which are common in European countries, this painting does not damage the skin and cannot cause any disease.

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There are several reasons why this cultural tradition has become widespread throughout the world. Some girls see this as a way of self-expression, a chance to stand out from the crowd, a fashion trend. Others who have studied the matter more deeply know that with the help of fantastically expressive drawings you can protect yourself from negative influences.

Today you can find four styles of mehendi - Arabic, Asian, Indian and North African (Moroccan):

1. Moroccan style is characterized by many geometric strict lines and floral motifs. Henna is a natural antiseptic, so in hot countries you can meet women with completely colored feet and palms.
2. Arab mehndi artists use floral themes. Usually the body is decorated with patterns and scenes, the basis of which are small flowers.
3. Indian traditional paintings present a wide variety of symbols and images, into which the masters attach a certain meaning, since they are usually performed to participate in some ritual or holiday. In the drawings you can see animals, interlacing geometric shapes and floral motifs. Often the feet and hands are completely covered with painting, and then they look like socks or gloves.
4. Asian style is reminiscent of Indian. The difference is that henna is also applied to the tips and pads of the fingers, as well as to the sides of the hands and feet.

The version of the origin of mehendi in Ancient Egypt is the most popular. There are many facts that among rich and noble ladies it was customary to decorate various parts of their bodies with henna patterns. Men subsequently liked this tradition too. In addition, it is known that the mummies of Egyptian rulers were also decorated with sacred patterns that protected them on their journey to the afterlife.

After some time, representatives of the lower strata of Egyptian society began to paint their bodies with mehendi patterns, since acquiring henna was not difficult. Then this technique began to be used in the Middle East, North Africa and Asian countries.

In Central Asia and India, ordinary natural henna is more often used, so the designs come out in brown or reddish shades. In Morocco and other North African countries, henna is used with the addition of coal or ash - the patterns on the skin are darker and even black. In many countries where mehendi is popular, during pregnancy women have patterns applied to their ankles and stomach to protect the fetus from evil eyes.

According to Islamic traditions, only brides and married women could decorate themselves with such painting. Muslims were forbidden to put tattoos on their bodies, since after the procedure the body was no longer the same as Allah intended it to be. This was especially true for women. They could demonstrate the exquisite beauty of mehendi only to their husbands. Gloves and socks hid patterns applied to the hands and feet, which were considered too intimate decorations and were intended only to intensify passion in the marital bedroom.

Indian women love mehendi. In this country, three-year-old girls already decorate their arms and legs with bright patterns. More often than not, girls wear designs made with henna, but you can also meet men with body paintings.

For girls who were destined to become brides, applying mehendi to their skin took on a special meaning. Symbolic images on the arms, shoulders, legs and feet, made by experienced older relatives, were supposed to initiate the future wife into the secret knowledge necessary in marital relations. This ritual could last five hours or longer, sometimes even taking two nights, as they tried to make the painting as dense, sophisticated and bright as possible. If the henna remained, it had to be buried in the ground so that the husband would never cheat on his wife.

Step-by-step instructions for applying henna

Experiment with color before diluting the working solution. Lime (lemon) juice will give the tattoo a radiant depth, and coffee (tea) will make the color warmer and darker.

Stage one. Preparing the mixture

The finished mixture can be stored for a week in the refrigerator or a month in the freezer. If you need to update the drawing, you can prepare paint with a reserve.

Stage two. Applying pigment

The paste for the drawing should be homogeneous, with a consistency similar to sour cream. If the mixture is too thick, you can dilute it by adding one of the ingredients: lime juice or coffee. Then we begin the drawing process:

• We make a cone-shaped bag from polyethylene or foil and unload the mixture into it. We make a hole in the thin part of the cone with a large needle;
• If you are not sure that the drawing can be done “by eye,” we take a stencil. It can be purchased or printed from the Internet;
• Wash the area for the drawing thoroughly and remove the hair. You don’t have to touch the hairs, but keep in mind that they will also be dyed, and the dye will take longer to fade from the hair than from the skin;
• apply pigment. The principle of action is similar to decorating a cake;
• let the paint dry for an hour, and then carefully remove the excess mixture and rinse the area with running water.

To secure, wipe the pattern with essential or other oil. It is better to take oils with a moisturizing effect, as henna dries out the skin.

If you fail to achieve the desired result, all you have to do is wait until the pigment is washed out and try again. It is useless to look for how to remove henna tattoos in one day. You can wash the drawing with soap and a sponge or apply a scrub. This will make the color fade, but will not completely remove it.

Benefits of mehendi designs

The explanation why women and men in different countries love mehendi lies in its benefits. It’s not for nothing that this type of art only becomes more popular with every century. Before you decorate your skin with painting, it won’t hurt to learn more about what a mehendi tattoo is, what its advantages and features are.

Advantages:

• It has a hypoallergenic composition. Henna is a natural substance, it does not irritate the skin, there is no itching or redness. At the end of the procedure, natural oil is applied to the dermis.
• Hides skin imperfections. Girls are especially sensitive to looking their best at an event that is significant to them. An openwork large mehendi pattern helps to hide birthmarks, acne, pigmentation or a scar.
• Comfortable conditions when creating a drawing. For the client, performing mehendi and removing patterns is absolutely painless. During the session, the master does not use needles or painkillers. No discomfort. Body paint can gradually come off on its own, without outside intervention, simply by being peeled off during bath procedures.
• It's easy to change your look. The good thing about henna painting is that, compared to classic tattoos, the design can be changed every two weeks. The main thing is to follow the rules for caring for mehendi. Preparation for replacement does not require long-term recovery with expensive procedures.
• Henna has a beneficial effect on the skin and the body as a whole. We have already talked about the antibacterial properties of the dye. In addition, application of the product promotes the healing of minor damage, cracks, and cuts. It contains beneficial components that nourish the skin, so henna is used to treat skin diseases, and its smell soothes headaches.

The features of mehendi skin decoration include the following:

• Short term. The image lasts three to four weeks and then gradually wears off, no matter how carefully you follow the care instructions.
• A small number of shades. The natural colors of henna are brown, dark brown and black. In some cases, for example, on a wedding mehendi, the design can be made with white hypoallergenic acrylic paint, but this is more of a body art rather than a classic option.
• Mehndi requires careful care. The drawing is made with natural paint, a natural preservative is also used for fixing, so some effort must be made to ensure that this beauty lasts as long as possible.
• Limited choice of places on the body to create mehndi. It is best to apply images on areas with rougher skin that are in less contact with clothing, for example, on the ankles, back, wrists, back of the head and shins. Making high-quality jewelry yourself will probably be inconvenient, so it’s worth finding a good specialist for this purpose.

What is used to make mehendi?

The paint used to apply the drawings is made from a shrub called lavsonia. The leaves of this plant are collected immediately after it blooms, then they are ground to a powdery state, obtaining the well-known henna.

The higher the leaves are on the bush, the higher the coloring ability of the powder obtained from them. Body powder is prepared from such foliage, and hair dye is made from the leaves growing below.

Henna has a wide range of uses and is used for:

• hair coloring;
• applying drawings to the body;
• scalp treatment;
• restoration of damaged hair structure;
• body care;
• preparation of medicines used in the fight against diseases of the skin, mouth, and head.

There is a belief that mehendi on the hand can attract happiness to its owner, give love and a successful marriage. Some are of the opinion that the design created on the body with henna can cleanse the aura.

What do mehendi designs mean?

How to do mehendi at home

So, we have looked at what mehendi is and how long the pattern lasts on the skin. In order for the decoration to be completed flawlessly, you need to carefully prepare for the session. What needs to be done before applying painting to the skin?

Let's look at all the required procedures one by one:

1. Using depilation, get rid of all unwanted hair in the part of the body where the image will be made. This is important because the hairs will also be dyed, and the pigment will remain on them longer than on the skin. The hair creates an obstacle to the penetration of the coloring paste into the dermis, so a high-quality and clear pattern will not be obtained.
2. Cleanse the skin of dead cells using a scrub (peeling), and for degreasing, you can use special preparations used for waxing.
3. Perform an allergy test. Henna is considered a hypoallergenic substance, but individual intolerance still occurs. Fresh wounds, cuts and injuries are also recommended to be treated before applying mehendi.
4. Collect on the desktop a set of necessary materials, tools and equipment:

• Different shades of henna that you will need for creativity. Ready-made henna packages are available for sale, from which the paste is squeezed out through a narrow spout.
• A tube of oil, which is used to fix the pattern, and several lint-free napkins to blot dry paint.
• A set of stencils or ornaments with a sticky layer on one side for selecting a design.
• Cleansing cosmetics (spray, lotion, gel) that allow you to deeply cleanse the skin.
• Disinfectants that prepare the skin for mehendi.
• Peeling (scrub) that thoroughly cleanses the selected area of ​​skin.
• A small piece of film that will be needed to cover the area of ​​skin with the mehendi pattern applied for deep penetration and fixation.

If you have everything ready, then you can start creating the decoration!

It is necessary to take into account the property of henna to be absorbed almost instantly into the skin, so to remove imperfections, prepare cotton swabs and lemon juice. You only have a minute to fix it, otherwise marks will remain. The paint will come out of the cone evenly and you will get an even line if you gently press on the henna package without touching the skin with the nose. To obtain a lighter shade, apply a thin and wide layer. And to get a thick and bright color, apply one layer first, and after it has absorbed a little, make another line on top.

What to do immediately after the procedure?

After the drying period for the paste has been met, it must be carefully removed from the surface of the skin. A scraper, which can be purchased at professional cosmetics stores, or the blunt side of a knife, a toothpick, or your own medium-length nails, is perfect for this purpose.

If the henna does not separate well, you can additionally treat such areas with vegetable oil, the main thing is not to apply water to the design.

After removing the paint, experts recommend treating the entire pattern with almond oil, which will saturate the paint with bright shades and add shine to the pattern. If you apply eucalyptus oil to your skin, you can darken the base shade.

In order for the mehendi to last as long as possible, you should initially adhere to the following rules:

1. Do not allow water to come into contact with the painted area of ​​the body for at least 4 hours, and ideally 24 hours after applying the pattern.
2. Avoid contact of the pattern with water as little as possible.
3. Do not wash off henna residues from the skin with water to prevent damage to the surface structure of the skin.
4. Apply special oils to the skin to consolidate the results.

If you follow all the rules, then 2 days after applying henna, the mehendi will change its original brown color to a rich dark chocolate color.