By Sabrina Ali

Red henna, black henna, Arabic henna, Moroccan henna, the list of all the mehndi terms you’ve ever heard could go on endlessly. Every South Asian bride wants her hands and feet to be hennaed perfectly for her big day, but not knowing some very important fundamentals can not only cause your plans to backfire, it could be dangerous! Know what your henna artist is putting on your skin before you hire—it could make the difference between a bridal debut and a bridal disaster!

photo: IWP Photography

Preparing for Your Bridal Henna
As you start looking around for a good henna artist, make sure she knows her stuff. Henna artists should be able to show you pictures of their own work without a problem so you can get an idea of what styles they’re capable of. Talk to your henna artist before hiring to see if they would be comfortable with new designs, or ask if they would mind sketching the design they’ll be doing on you. Once you’ve booked an artist, pick a date. Many brides make the mistake of applying their henna the night before the wedding, as tradition dictates. We freak out the day of the wedding because the henna hasn’t darkened as much as we’d hoped. If you want your henna to be the darkest possible, have it put on two days before the wedding—this way, it has 24 hours to darken to maximum capacity.

photo: Sephi Bergerson Photography

What’s In Your Henna?
Henna is created from ‘Lawsonia Inermis’, a flowering shrub native to the subtropical regions of Africa, Southern Asia, and some parts of northern Australia. The word “henna” comes from the Arabic name for this plant. The leaves from the henna plant are dried and ground into a fine powder and are packaged to be sold, or mixed with various natural ingredients and sold in ready-made cones. Be careful when buying ready-made cones, because many companies add cheap chemicals like gasoline into the paste to speed up the staining process, but this can be potentially harmful to your skin! The allergic reactions that people may have from henna most often result from unknown chemicals that were mixed into the paste before it was applied. Your henna artist should always be able to tell you exactly what is in the henna going on your skin. If she can’t, don’t use her henna! Make your own, or find an all-natural brand that lists ingredients on the cone or container.

photo: Serendipity Photography

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Courtesy of www.Akiyohenna.com

Who are you?

www.Akiyohenna.com

Email: akiyo@akiyohenna.com

Phone: 917-607-6897

What do you do?

I am a professional henna/mehndi artist in the business since 2002. I have a degree in fine arts and specialized in pattern design. I also worked in the textile industry for the past 10 years. Besides henna, I design using body glitter as well as crystals and rhinestones.

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Henna/Mehndi

Henna or mehndi (if you already didn’t know) is a dye used for skin decoration. This is done by applying a paste made from the leaves of a flower plant also known as Henna, Hina, or Mehndi plant. The dye can be bought in a paste or powder form. Although it can be worn for any occasion, it is a century old tradition for the bride-to-be (and sometimes even the bridegroom!) to wear mehndi. For wedding ceremonies, it is usually worn on the hands and feet but sometimes extended over the forearms and legs. Here are a few essential tips that you must consider before putting on your bridal mehndi:

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