Henna Tatto- tips & tricks to best color

KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa. - Sept. 2, 2013 - PRLog -- Henna stain will be light/bright orange at first and will darken to a deep brown over the next 48-60 hours. This gradual darkening of the stain is a sign that the henna paste is 100% natural!

I strongly recommend to get the Henna tattoo at least 2 days  before the Wedding or occasion so the stain reaches to its peak color.

It depends on you how well you take care of it to make it last longer.

With the high quality & pure Henna we use, a good stain is guaranteed but how dark the stain turns is greatly effected by how well care is taken.

Magic Formula:-        Time + Heat - Water= Dark & awesome Henna stain

Some useful tips to keep in mind:-

1. Leave paste on skin for at least 6-8 hrs. Overnight is even better.

2. Seal dried paste onto the skin by spraying lemon sugar syrup.

3. HEAT is a friend of henna. Warming your henna design with the henna paste still on your skin will help in achieving a dark stain. You can warm your hand/ foot over the stove, or in front of the fireplace or a space heater, or even use a heating pad.

4. Apply more sugar-lemon juice syrup. Heat again. Repeat process 3-4 times.

5. As long as the henna paste is moist, it will keep staining…heating makes u sweat and hence moistens the paste.

6. Unroll cotton balls and stick them onto the sticky henna design. Wrap with an old sock, toilet paper, or medical bandage…anything will work, to keep the henna paste on the skin and to protect the design from damaging & messing cloths & various households. If leaving on all night, be sure to keep your henna design WARM ALL NIGHT...the moment your skin gets cold, henna stops staining. You can wrap up your henna design with layers of tissue paper and then one layer of plastic wrap to retain heat.

Caution:- Do not sweat too much or the plastic wrap will cause your beautiful henna design to smudge.

7. After 6-8 hours, do not wash off with soap and water. Scrape the paste off gently.

8. Avoid direct contact with water for the next 24 hrs. Keep stain coated with olive oil to create a barrier.

9. You can just leave the paste on for 4-6 hours and not follow any special steps and still get a good stain.

What factors determine the darkness of henna stains?

1. Time Duration:

Natural henna MUST be kept on the skin for as long as possible. A minimum of 4 hours is suggested, while it is recommended to keep the henna paste on overnight (8-10 hrs) for a really rich stain. The longer the henna paste is kept on the skin, the more time it has to release its dye and go deeper  into the layers of skin.

2. Body temperature:

Henna and heat are really good friends! If your hands are usually icy cold, your henna stain may not turn out dark. Warming your hands over the stove or in front of the fireplace, while the henna paste is still on is a good idea.. For other body parts, sealing and wrapping works well in retaining body heat.  The palms are generally warmer than the rest of the body which is one of the many reasons why your henna stain will be the darkest on the palms.

Make sure that the room where the mehndi will be applied is comfortable temperature-wise, preferably slightly warm. Henna does not sink into the skin very well in cold temperatures. If possible, make sure to adjust the thermostat at least an hour before the appointment is to begin so that the room is cozy and ready, but not so warm that you are sweating.

3. Exfoliation:

Since henna stains the layers of skin, if you have exfoliated right before having henna applied, then henna may not have enough layers to be absorbed into and might result in a stain that is not optimum.  Therefore it is recommended to do waxing, shaving, massaging, etc. a day or 2 before getting your henna done. Your body sheds skin cells continuously, some people have a faster rate of exfoliation than others. Two people can have a henna design done on the same part of body, follow the same after-care, and still one person's stain may fade faster than the other's.

4. Body Part:

It is just not possible to get a henna stain to be as dark on the arm as on the palm. The reason is the difference in the skin composition. The palms of hands and soles of feet have considerably thicker skin (more layers of skin cells) than any other part of the body. That's why henna has more layers to dye and you will see that natural henna can go a deep mahogany or cherry black on palms and soles. Henna stains on the feet will last longer than on the hands. Also, the skin of the face/neck may not take the henna stain well as usually facial skin is oily, which may hinder in the absorption of henna dye into the skin layers.

5. Water Contact:

Keeping fresh henna stain away from water for the first 24 hrs is very important. Contact with water will hinder the stain from reaching its peak. The more you wash dishes, wash your hands, the faster your skin cells will exfoliate, hence taking the henna stain along with them. Chlorine in pool water will have an adverse effect on your henna stain. Avod swimming if you want longer lasting stains. If your henna stain was not very dark initially and had not stained deep into the skin, then it will also fade away very quickly.

Once your henna stain is deep and dark after 48-72 hours of application, To have a beautiful dark henna stain, and expect it to stay that way for the next 1 month is just not possible. We cannot stop our skin from exfoliating! So, generally when henna artists apply henna, they  give a time-frame of 1 to 3 weeks that your henna stain will last. By 3 weeks, your henna stain will either be gone, or become very light.