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.

Where are you based?

I am based in Astoria, Queens, New York. I usually provide services within Long Island, New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut but occasionally travel outside the tri-state area as well.

When and How did you get started in the South Asian wedding industry?

I started doing henna on my own and not at a salon, about 7 years ago with mostly American clients. The first couple of years, I worked parties for bridal shower, birthdays, social events. Eventually I wanted to expand my vision and started doing bridal henna around 2004 and have had a consistent South Asian client base since 2007.

Courtesy of www.Akiyohenna.com

Why do you do what you do?

One of the reasons I do what I do is because I like henna’s artistic expression. I have a huge passion for art itself and henna, to me, is a very unique medium to express my love for pattern design.

Do you work exclusively on South Asian weddings?

My bridal client base is mostly South Asian women. However, I have served a lot of American weddings, as well as other occasions such as birthday parties, holiday parties, bridal showers, and social events.

Describe some of your inspirations.

When I do bridal henna, my inspiration usually comes from my clients’ sense of fashion. I always try to incorporate aspects of their bridal jewelries, saris, etc to create a custom design, unique to the bride only.

Courtesy of www.Akiyohenna.com

What are some mistakes you see most South Asian brides (and families) make?

I feel like often the brides make the mistake of not meeting with their henna artist beforehand to discuss what they actually want. A henna artist’s work in South Asian weddings is as important as the makeup artist or hairdresser.  Also, a henna artist may have a portfolio of pictures but not necessarily his/her actual work. More often than not, the bride may have contacted a salon or company providing the service and the actual artist doing the henna did not do the designs themselves.

Do you only cater to certain budgets only?

My rates are listed on my website. However, I do try to cater to my client’s financial needs

Tell us about your strongest area.

I think what makes my service unique is that I actually meet with the bride and discuss what they are looking for and be clear about what we are actually doing together. With an educational background in fine arts, I draw my ideas from the bride and take her fashion into consideration. I don’t just take a design and place it on the body. I create design thoughtfully to compliment the person and her body. 95% what they get is a custom design and unique only to them. I also mix my own mehndi, for which the powder comes from Morocco directly.

Courtesy of www.Akiyohenna.com

How would you describe your working style?

I think I have a very modern take to this very traditional form of art. I like to work with contrast and spacing and make sure the design flows.

Describe a particularly memorable wedding you’ve worked on.

At one wedding, the bride could not wear mehndi for personal reasons. As a result she motivated me to seek an alternative to mehndi, and got me started on working with gold and silver body glitter along with crystals and rhinestones. You can find examples on my website under luxe glow gallery.

My most memorable event would have to be for a cancer patient who had a double mastectomy and reconstruction surgery. She threw a “boob shower” after her successful recovery and allowed me to design around her new breasts.

What’s your number one wedding tip?

Weddings can be overwhelming but it is always good to meet with people providing services beforehand to get a better feeling of their work and express what you expect from them. Sometimes brides go by the prices but the work itself may not be great. Always check the quality of work and it’s worth it to pay a little bit more for something that you will love, especially for such an important event as your own wedding!

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:

• Try your best to NEVER use black henna/mehndi. Henna/mehndi is usually a shade of green. Black henna/mehndi has a chemical called paraphenylenediamine (PPD), which is harmful when used directly on the skin, especially if you have sensitive skin. You might react to it your first time or after several uses. It is best to avoid this type of henna/mehndi.
• Thoroughly wash and dry the area where you will apply mehndi, but do not moisturize using lotion or anything else.
• As the mehndi dries within several hours after application, you can wet it a number of ways so that it may release more dye and deepen the color. You can wet it with tea-soaked water. Take a tea bag and soak it in warm water and then squeeze it over your mehndi lightly. You can also put tea tree oil over it using a cotton swab. The best and most employed method is a mixture of sugar and lemon or lime juice gently poured or applied using a cotton swab or brush over your dried mehndi. Alternatively, you or your henna artist may mix the mehndi with the above mentioned items before applying.
• The general rule is that the warmer your skin, the darker the color will be. So if you have cooler skin then you can seal and wrap it to trap your body heat, which in turn will help the mehndi release the dye even more and deepen the color. You can also seal it by applying hair gel. Pump a little hair gel into a bowl and use a cotton swab or small brush to apply the gel over your mehndi work. You can use a liquid bandage instead of hair gel as well. Afterwards, you can use facial tissue or toilet paper to wrap over your mehndi work and then wrap a plastic wrap on top of it to keep it in place and trap your body heat. You can also wear socks or gloves over the tissue instead of using plastic wrap. Sealing and wrapping should be done after your mehndi has dried a little bit so that it doesn’t end up smudging.
• Alternatively, you can also apply light heat over your mehndi work to bring out the color. Use a clothing steamer, a hair dryer at low speed, or keep your designed hands or feet close to a heater, heated pot, or the stove if possible. Be careful not to burn yourself! You don’t need to do this for the whole time that you have your menhdi on – just when you feel it drying up and only to moisten it up a bit. We recommend applying heat every hour for several minutes until you see it softening up. Do not heat it to a point when it may turn liquid and run or smudge.
• You need to leave the mehndi on for at least 4-6 hours or overnight. The longer you keep it on, the darker it will get.
• What we learned from experience is that it is best to use oil to take off your dried mehndi and wait a while before washing with water. Mustard oil is a good option, but other natural oils can be used as well.
• Know that the mehndi color deepens even more within the first 48 hours of application. So even though the color may not be as dark as you would like after you take it off, you will see a darker effect within the next day or two.
• The duration of the mehndi stain on your skin depends on how long you keep it on and how much you wash the stained areas. Usually the deep hue stays 3-4 days and will fade slowly over the next week or two. A good mehndi mix can stay dark up to 7-10 days and fade over a period of four to six weeks after application.