New to using henna? No worries. Desert Shadow's Boho Organic Henna Kit, is beginner-friendly and contains everything you need to kickstart your journey into henna body art.
We are absolutely thrilled to provide you with a vegan, natural and organic product that is kind on your skin. Read along as we talk about what henna is, why it's used, the different recipes you can create and of course some more in-depth information on how to use it.
Image: Canva
What Is Henna?
Henna is made from the leaves of... you guessed it, the henna plant. Henna is actually a healing plant at that, and carries a natural dye, making it perfect for hair colour or creating beautiful and temporary body art.
Historically the plant was used for healing with its natural cooling properties. When it was discovered that the plant could stain the skin, it was then used as a decorative. Henna art is a century old tradition of body beautification, dated as far back to ancient Egypt times. More recently, certain cultures and religions have adopted these body decorations for cultural celebrations like weddings or birthdays.
Now henna is becoming even more used, due to the belief that, it carries with it goodluck, and so whoever wears this art will always be in good fortune.
Henna Recipes
- Recipe #1 - The simple recipe
- Henna Tent Organic Henna Powder 50g
- Lemon Juice
- Pure Certified Organic Essential oil (20 -30ml/100g)
- Recipe #2 - The Traditional recipe from Rajasthan, India
- Henna Tent Organic Henna Powder 50g
- Black Tea Brew (1 cup water, 1 tsp black tea, 4 dried cloves, 2- 4 cardamon pod). Boil, then simmer for 10-15mins.
- Pure Certified Organic Essential oil (20 -30ml/100g)
- Recipe #3 - The Traditional recipe from Bahariya, Egypt
- Henna Tent Organic Henna Powder 50g
- 1/4 Black Tea Brew
- 1/4 Lemon Juice
- Pure Certified Organic Essential oil (20-30ml/100g)
Method
- Mix your 50g of Organic Henna Powder with 100ml of liquid and 10ml to 15ml of organic essential to make a paste that looks similar to mashed potatoes.
- Cover with Cling Wrap and leave to sit at room temperature (20- 28 degrees) for 4 hours. If the weather is cold leave for 8 hours.
- Uncover your paste and scrape a little off the top. If the surface is brown and underneath a greenish colour, this is good because it means that the natural dye is being released from the powder.
- Mix your paste well and squish out lumps with a Spoon.
- Add 20mls more of liquid, a little at a time then mix well so that you have a paste that looks like yoghurt.
- To check that the paste is ready put a little bit on your skin and wait a couple of minutes before wiping it off. If it leaves a nice bright orange stain, it's ready!
- Use a spatula and scrape your henna into a ziplock bag ready for the applicator bottle.
- Get designing!
Unlike tatoos, henna is not permanent. The dye is likely to last on your skin for around 2 weeks before starting to fade.
If you want to add a bit of art to your body, whether it's for a celebration, as part of your cultural practice or simply for goodluck, we highly recommend Desert Shadow's Henna Kit.
We can't wait to see your beautiful art designs, so don't forget to tag us @floraandfaunaau if you share on socials.
Be sure to check out our Hair & Body category for more explanations to our unique products here at F&F:
