We love Henna designs, they’re beautiful, intricate and offer a stunning way to express your personality and individuality. The ancient body art has been popular in parts of India, Pakistan, Africa, Egypt and the Middle East for over 5,000 years, and the temporary brown dye is well-known for its decoration of hands, feet arms and legs ahead of important celebrations. In South Asia, it forms an integral part of the mehndi party for brides ahead of their wedding day, where it symbolises good health and prosperity, plus a deep bond the deeper it goes. But aside from looking pretty, how much do you know about Henna?
What is henna?
“Henna is actually a plant,” explains Pavan Dhanjal, CEO of Pavan Henna. Traditionally, “the leaves would be crushed up into a powder and mixed with water,” she says. The combination creates a dye that’s been used for generations to create temporary designs on the skin.
“Henna is a form of adornment for women almost like jewellery on special occasions,” adds Nissa Hussain, director at Fusion Henna. Generally, these designs symbolise “prosperity, wealth, new beginnings, and celebration,” confirms Pavan.
As for how henna designs have evolved, “henna designs are often a combination of repetitive designs such as flowers, vines, mandalas and so on. However, in more recent years henna has been adapted to more contemporary styles and applied more simply such as henna rings on the fingers or applied in a bracelet style as a temporary tattoo,” says Nissa.
The history of henna
“Henna was used centuries ago in warmer climates to cool down the skin. It would be spread on the palms of the hands and feet,” explains Pavan. “This would cool the skin down and at the same time give a vibrant colour and fragrance. Over the years this became decorative, and designs often would reflect on the region people lived in and the fashion style at the time. Today, big bold designs are Arab style, intricate designs are from India, thick floral designs from the Punjab and tribal designs with symmetry are from the African region,” she adds.
Is henna safe to use?
As with any dye or any plant extract, it’s important to do a patch test to see how your skin responds. But natural henna is considered generally safe to use for temporary tattoos.
However, watch out for black henna ink (also known as PPD), a chemical version that’s banned in the UK for use on skin. It creates darker designs but can cause harm and burns to the skin. Natural henna should be brown or olive in colour and smell of plants. Natural henna is never black.
Make sure you go to a reputable artist with good reviews. Or, if you’re interested in having a go yourself, choose a reliable stockist. “We have our Henna Bar in Selfridges and we also sell our henna there. We’ve launched online with them, too,” says Pavan. It’s the first time Selfridges has stocked henna. “You would only be able to get it at your local Indian grocery store, so this is a big deal for us,” says Pavan.