You must to have the freshest, best quality  henna powder you can find. The acids and oils that make henna stain your skin are sensitive to light and air, and become tired and useless when sitting on a store shelf over weeks and months. If you are purchasing henna at a store, look at it and sniff it if you can.  The color should be a rich olive green and the smell should be richly fragrant.  The fresh henna smell is like particularly sexy, musky, new mown hay.   If your henna powder is going khaki tan, and has no smell, the dye will not stain as well as fresh henna.  There are many retailers of good fresh henna on the internet. There are some really bad ones. Try a few to see what suits you best, and who serves you well.

I use the henna that I  e-order from Castle Art and Imports,  or the  equally excellent  Jamila henna from Abid and Company.  They are both kept fresh until shipped.  When I get a shipment of henna from Castle Art or Abid, I put it in a ziploc bag, and  in a light proof paper bag in the refrigerator.  Henna powder will last longest, even a year, if kept secure and dry in a tight container in the freezer.

Castle Art and Imports is a good choice  for those who do not wish to bother with importing from overseas to the US.   Castle Art is an outstanding, reliable reasonably priced source for all your henna needs. Excellent henna in kilo or greater  quantities can also be imported  from Syed Abid Ali, Abid & Company (Pvt.) Ltd., Email: abidco@brain.net.pk .  Both of these hennaes make the color you see in the picture above, and the other pictures linked on this page.
 
 

The henna powders for hair generally do not work on skin. They're usually not very well sifted, not very fresh, and not of the best quality.   Some contain ingredients that you should not have directly on your skin for hours.  Black henna powder may contain ingredients that may be very harmful to you, your clothing, or may work very poorly on your skin.  Purchase only fresh pure 100% henna powder for your skin!
 

If you want very fine lines in your henna patterns, you will have to sift your henna. If you're sifting henna frequently,  use a filter mask.  There are a few companies that sell triple sifted henna, and Castle Art henna will need little or no sifting.  Henna from Abid and Company needs no sifting at all. If your henna needs sifting, sift it first through  a tea strainer, then through two layers of panty hose.  To do this, put henna powder in a clean coffee can and stretch two layers of pantyhose over the top, and secure the pantyhose to the top of the can with a few rubber bands.  Then, turn the can upside down over a bowl and bang on the can with a big spoon or stick until the henna has been sifted out of the coffee can into the bowl.  The Fred-O-Matic 2000 is an outstanding henna sifter from Castle Art and well worth the money spent if you are sifting 100g or more at a time. With the Fred-O-Matic you won't need a filter mask.

One of the best tools for achieving fine lines is the Carrot Bag:
 
 

Mix your henna paste before it's time to use it!  It takes time for your henna to release it's dye.  If your kitchen is 95F or warmer, your henna may release dye in 3 hours or less!  If your kitchen is 65F or cooler, the dye release may take 48 hours.  24 hours is usual at 75F.   If you see a little brown clear liquid separating from your henna paste, or the surface of your paste that is exposed to the air has turned dark (like an apple slice left out in the air), your paste is ready.
 
 

A heaping tablespoon of sifted henna powder will make enough henna paste to henna your hands.  50g of henna will make enough paste to henna many people's hands.  100g of henna powder made into paste is enough for a professional henna artist to henna all day long.   Leave extra henna powder in an airtight container in your refrigerator or freezer.  
 
 

You will need to add something acid to your henna powder to make it release the dye.  Henna will not release hennotannic acid unless it is ph 5.5, or more, sour.  Lemon juice and lime juice are fine for this. Strain your juice, if you are squeezing it fresh.  Stir enough juice into your henna powder to make a paste as thick as mashed potatoes or cookie dough.  Let that sit, covered, overnight at about 70F. If your kitchen is much warmer than that, don't let it sit so long, or keep it  in the fridge.   You can use vinegar, tamarind, red wine or other acidic things to the henna powder, and they'll work just fine, but might not smell as nice as citrus.  Rainwater, if acidic, works well when your kitchen is over 90F. 

The next morning, stir in just enough of your morning coffee or tea into the henna paste  to thin it out just a little softer than toothpaste, but not quite as thin as stirred yogurt.   Stir your paste enough to smooth out all the lumps. If you have very high quality henna, lemon juice is all that you need to make your henna release dye and be beautiful.

There are other things you can add to your henna  at this time ... most of which will make very little difference in the  resulting stain color with the wrap technique, but many henna artists enjoy using them.  They are certainly helpful if your henna is not the best.  Simmering cloves with your  tea or coffee will help, straining that and adding the liquid to the paste is helpful though!  Cloves have gallotannic acid, which is  similar to hennotannic acid, and will give the resulting henna stain a darker color. You can add other things to your paste for fragrance or silkier texture: rose water, orange flower water, or other fragrances will smell nice.  Grapeseed oil, eucalyptus oil, and other oils are often added for texture, but generally have little effect on color.  Pomegranate syrup and sugar may be added to make a silkier paste.  Fenugreek seed or okra may be simmered in the coffee, strained off and added for stringier texture. Tamarind juice, lime juice or cider vinegar may be used instead of lemon juice.

Some people swear by eucalyptus oil, but most eucalyptus oils don't make a difference. For specific results of a test using eucalyptus oil, see Opener of Doors.  Why do some people have good luck with eucalyptus and some have no luck?  When you buy eucalyptus oil, there's often no indication of the amount of cineol in the oil.  Eucalyptus oil with 85% cineol will darken henna because it is a monoterpene alcohol.  There are about 700 varieties of eucalyptus oil, many ways of distilling it, and no labeling or regulation requirement.  So .... you may not know what you've got.  You can get better, more reliable results with Tea Tree Oil or Cajeput oil.  Why?  Those two and several other essential oils have reliably high levels of monoterpene alcohols!

Many people try adding things to henna paste to make it go black. Some of these things are useless, and some are dangerous. Many recipes include turpentine, benzene or gasoline, and these will make the stain darker, but absolutely should not be used on the skin! 

Mehndi oil, henna oil, and mehlabiya oil may or may not be safe to use.  Their ingredients are often not listed on the bottle, so you don't know whether you're putting something on your skin that will make a rash or not. If you use a wrap, they don't make a difference in the resulting color. 

Adding ink or paint will do absolutely nothing to  help your henna color.  Those molecules are too large to penetrate a  skin cell, and they won't bind with it either. Beet juice is useless for henna. Rit dye won't help. 

Hair dye is potentially very dangerous to add to henna.
 
 

When you're ready to henna, wash whatever skin you're hennaeing with hot soapy water.  If your skin is very warm and clean, it will take the henna stain much better.  Be especially careful to remove any oil or lotion completely from your skin. If you have extremely oily skin to henna, clean it with an astringent.
 
 

The henna dye will stain the darkest and last the longest  on your palms and soles, because the skin there is the thickest and most absorbent. Where your skin is thin or very oily, the henna will not become as dark, and not last as long.  Henna on your palms should last 3-4 weeks, and may go deep burgundy, dark brown or near black.  Henna on your soles can last 8 weeks or more, and will also be very dark. Henna on your chest is rarely darker than a potato skin, and it can vanish in 3 days.

You can apply the henna with a cone, brush, toothpick, or any other tool.  The  tiniest lines can be made most easily and quickly  with a cone.  See Carrot Bags, or learn to roll your own at Mehandi.

When you've hennaed, let the henna dry on your skin.  It should dry to the point that it is completely, crusty dry, but not cracking and falling off.  Try to be very still while your henna is drying, so there will be no smearing or smudging.  If it is a very hot, humid sweaty day, dry your henna by a fan.  If you wish to dry your henna quickly, you can use a hand-held hair dryer to dry your henna.

You can use New Skin spray to secure your henna to your skin, and deepen the color, but it is not absolutely necessary to do this.  New Skin spray will help you get the darkest most precise henna lines and will prevent any smudging or smearing. If you choose to spray New Skin on your henna, do so when the henna is dried on your skin, and just spray it on lightly.  Again, it is well to patch test the New Skin if you have sensitive skin.  There are many other sealers for henna: lemon sugar and  facial masks are very popular. Use whatever seems most appropriate to your technique and situation. If you are hennaeing at a festival, New Skin is the most durable and the least likely to attract bees, yellow jackets and ants. 

If the day's temperature is less than 85F, you will need to wrap your henna to get the deepest color. If the day is 95F or over,  and humid, no wrap is necessary. If the temperature is between 85F and 95F, use a lighter wrap, or liquid latex, described below. 

New Skin spray is a product in the band aid section of US pharmacies and drug stores.....it is made by MedTech, and is not the product  of the same name sold in the UK by Smith, Kline and Beecham
 
 

When the henna is dried on your skin, and you have sprayed it with New Skin (if you have chosen to do that) wrap it very carefully to your skin with toilet paper.  Be careful not to dislodge the henna from its pattern.  If the day is very hot and humid, use several layers of toilet paper.  Wrap the toilet paper firmly to your skin with plastic wrap. Secure that firmly with tape. Pictures of this wrap are at Mehandi.  The henna wrap should be as firm as the wrap for a sprained ankle. It should not shift at all.  There are two purposes of this wrap: one  is to protect the henna from being disturbed at all, and to keep the henna in contact with your skin. The other purpose is to make your skin warm and moist!  The wrap will make you perspire slightly, and your sweat will rehydrate the henna, make it much darker, and make the henna soak into your skin as deeply as possible.  Sleep with that wrap on overnight.  If you live in a very hot climate, you may need a lighter wrap to prevent too much perspiration ...  too much perspiration may smear the design!  If you live in a very cold climate, or have naturally cool skin, put a heating pad on the wrap and to make your hennaed skin as warm as possible.  Added heat really helps henna color!  You can greatly improve the color of your henna with a hand held garment steamer, heating and moistening the henna while on the skin with blasts of steam!  Especially if you chose not to wrap your henna, heat always really helps the darkness a henna stain! Do anything you can to heat and slightly moisten the henna on your skin.

Henna pictures at the Reverend Bunny's Clandestine Henna Gallery show  the way my henna usually comes out with a wrap .
 

The next morning, cut off the wrap. You can intensify the henna color, and  help loosen the New Skin and henna by holding your hennaed hand over a pan  of simmering water, or steaming it with a hand held garment steamer, and letting the steam penetrate the henna and loosen the New Skin. When the steam has significantly loosened the New Skin and henna, it can easily be scraped off the skin with a butter knife.  Then, rinse  off the henna and toilet paper. Tap water will be ok if you are certain your city water is not heavily chlorinated. Chlorine will greatly affect henna just after it is unwrapped.  If you are not sure of your water supply, use distilled water, or rain water.  If you've used New Skin spray, rub oil into your skin to remove the clinging New Skin.  Your henna will begin to  darken during the day, and will continue to darken for about 24 hours.   You may find you need to oil your skin to help the very dark color look  its best.

 Celtic patterned hand is the way my henna comes up with extra heat, extra steam  and a wrap.

If you have used a very good fresh henna, the henna stain will develop  into a dark burgundy or deep brown henna pattern on your hands using this technique.  In ideal conditions, in hot weather, the burgundy will be nearly black on your palms, and the browns on your arms will be from deep bittersweet to soy- sauce color.  Every skin is a little different, so there is variation in the henna color.  The technique up to this point is very safe and very reliable.  The deepest color will remain for several days, and then fade out slowly to terra cotta colors over about a month.  The fading is due to the gradual exfoliation of the hennaed skin.

Henna done with my technique will last 6 - 8 weeks on the sole of the foot, and 3-4 weeks on the palms of the hands.  It will last 3-4 days on the chest or back, 4 - 7 days on the upper arms, 2 weeks on lower legs and arms, and 2-3 weeks on the backs of hands and tops of feet.  Where your skin is thinnest will be the poorest henna color and where it will fade the fastest.  Where your skin is thickest will be the darkest henna color and where it will stay the longest.
 
 

It's difficult or impossible to wrap backs, tummies and chests. For these, dry the henna, spritz on New Skin lightly, dry that, then paint on liquid latex (if the person is NOT allergic to latex!). Blow dry the latex and then dust on baby powder over that. You can pull your clothes back on over dried, powdered liquid latex!  Just peal it off the next morning.  Liquid latex is very convenient and just as effective as a heavier wrap, but cannot be used in places that bend, (ankles, fingers) or on hairy places (lower arms). Liquid latex is available from Mehron. 
 
 

If you immerse your sole or palm in ammonia, 10% strength, for a few minutes, you can precipitate the acidic henna stain to espresso  brown or pure black. How to do the Ammonia Trick:  Honestly, it's lousy for your skin,  but it works and it's traditional.
 
 

NEVER use "black henna" products that contain PPD. For more information about this extremely toxic and dangerous product, see PPD "black henna warnings"  and  Henna Page Black Henna Warnings  . Also visit PPD health hazards info for the precise description of the toxic effects of PPD on liver, kidneys and skin; also Center for Disease Control PPD warnings  .  Never, never use Bigen Hair Dye or any other black or dark brown hair dye on your skin or in your henna .  Virtually all black and dark brown hair dyes contain PPD.  PPD is a transdermal toxin that will ruin your kidneys and liver, and will blister and scar the skin of many of your clients.
 

You are welcome to come to a Serious Henna Conference!  

Visit Mehandi and the Henna Page for more information, and ask questions about henna  at the Henna  Forum 

Catherine Cartwright Jones is available for classes in henna history, traditions, techniques, chemistry and related arts such as Rangoli and Harquus. Email her for details.

For more more information on  henna, visit Catherine's FAQ   at the Henna Page.
 
 

Get The Reverend Bunny's Free Patterns ,   Mehandi, and more of my henna patterns from around the world  at the Henna Page.

I also greatly recommend the Mehandi books from Navneet! Get all of them! They're the best examples of contemporary Indian henna art and a great addition to any henna artist's library!
 
 

I use henna from Castle Art and Imports, an internet retail provider in the US

and  Jamila henna from Syed Abid Ali
Abid & Company (Pvt.) Ltd.
Darbar Market, Ganj Bakhsh
Road, Lahore - Pakistan
FAX:   0092 42 5837453
Email: abidco@brain.net.pk for wholesale export quantities.

Other great henna suppliers are:

Mendhi Muse  http://www.mehndi-muse.com
Villa Sant'Angelo http://www.villa-santangelo.com
Everyday Henna  http://www.everydayhenna.com
East on West http://www.eastonwest.co.uk/

I've used henna from all these people and they're all good folks with great henna!
 
 

Many other henna retailers  are listed on the Henna Page:
 

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