Decorating Hands with “Mehndi”

“Mehndi” is an ancient and traditional form of body painting that hales from India, and the Middle East. “Mehndi” is made from the paste of powdered henna leaves and any number of other ingredients. This paste, when applied to any body part stains the skin with beautiful orange or bright auburn color. It is also said to have a cooling therapuetic effect. It is used to create natural, temporary tattoos on a persons body. The Indian name “Mehndi” designates the process, the dye, and the stain of henna.

Note: The stain of “Mehndi” varies from skin to skin, the greater the body heat, the darker and long lasting will be the stain.

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Here is a simple recipe for “Mehndi”. Which works fine when I use it. Start with simple patterns and then go for intricate designs.

Fig. 1:Three days after applying Mehndi.

Materials Required

To start with, you will have to gather these things.

·  Finely sieved henna powder(one ounce will decorate six people's hands)

Note: You can get the henna powder at any grocery store or at Indian, Pakistani, and Middle Eastern stores. Make sure that you get fresh henna powder. Because it tends to weeken the staining power as it gets older.

·  Lemon juice or lime juice(citric acid makes the color take faster)

·  Strong, dark, hot coffee or tea

·  “Mehndi” oil or Eucalyptus oil

·  Ceramic or glass bowl

·  Cones, brush, or a toothpick

·  Sugar

·  Paper towels (to clean the mess, if you make any!).

·  Lots of patience

Warning: Never use copper or any other metal bowl while mixing henna; because it might tarnish.

How to make the paste

Finely sifting the henna powder is very important, you can do it over a fine nylon cloth or using a tea strainer. It will remove the course fibers from the powder, and will be easier to apply if you are using a brush or a cone. With this method you will get fine, thin lines and no clogging! Following are the steps for making the paste;

1.  Take the sifted henna powder in the glass bowl.

2.  Put a little lemon juice and mix till it looks like a cookie dough .

3.  Add hot tea or coffee and mix till its smooth like toothpaste. Do not beat the mixture.

Note: Do not make the mixture to dry or to soupy

4.  Add a teaspoon of sugar to the mixture(it sets the mixture nicely)

5.  Also add a few drops of Mehndi oil.

6.  Set aside for at least one hour, to make the color set.

The next step is to decide which tool to use for applying Mehndi. If you are using a brush use thin brush and wet the bristles often with lemon juice. A toothpick is good for drawing thin lines and lacey patterns. A cone is also used for making intricate patterns, ease of application with it is wonderful and makes it faster.

Making a squeeze applicator (cone)

A cone made of a piece of freezer bag plastic is a good tool for applying intricate decorations. Heres how to make cone

1.  Cut a square of 5”x5” out of a plastic, freezer bag. Have ten, 1” to 2” pieces of adhesive tape ready.

2.  Put one tbs of Mehndi paste on the center of the plastic square.

3.  Fold up one side, then the other side to make a cone shape.

4.  Roll the tip of the cone between thumb and forefinger until the hole at the tip of the cone is about the diameter of a sewing needle, then wrap the plastic around the sides of the cone neatly.

5.  Secure the sides and firm the cone tip with tape. Fold down the top and tape it. Tape every spot of the cone that is likely to ooze Mehndi all over your hands when squeezed.

6.  Use the cone as you would a cake decorator.

You can store the filled cones in refigerator for about a week for your next project.