What is Henna?

The henna tree, commonly termed as Egyptian privet, and the mignonette tree are used to make henna, an organic hair dye. Henna is a natural dyeing pigment found in the leaves of the henna plant that can be used for temporary body art, hair coloring, skin dyeing, fingernail coloring and dyeing materials such as leather, cotton, and silk. The pigment in Henna travels from the paste to the upper layer of your skin. In this way, it results in a color of your desire. Henna is easily accessible in powdered form, obtained by drying and grinding the leaves because it is hard to obtain stains from leaves. After that, liquids such as water, lime juice, coffee and other substances are added to the dry powder.

Henna may be used to create temporary tattoo designs on your skin. Henna stains are not permanent, and if you bath every day, it will just go away in 3 weeks. If you have any allergic response to henna, attempting to remove the stain by yourself is likely to be unsuccessful. Therefore it is advised to do a skin patch test just before applying the henna on your skin.

Tip to make your henna stain darker:

Following are some simple and easy tips that will help make your henna stain darker:

Wash your hands before applying:

Before you start applying Henna, clean your hands well with soap and water. Keep in mind that you do not use any lotions or creams. Henna will be totally absorbed in and you will easily achieve a deeper color by removing any oily layers on your skin.

Apply eucalyptus oil on palms:

Apply a small amount of the above essential oil on your hands and feet after cleaning them. It not only smells beautiful, but it also helps to deepen the stain of henna.

Allow time for your henna to dry naturally:

Let the henna dry by itself on your palms. Do not use a blow dryer or wave your palms. The blowing air or movement might sweep the henna pattern and may waste all of the effort you spent on applying it.

Devote more time:

Leave the Henna on your palms for as maximum time as possible, ideally for a whole night. After it has dried, have someone lightly wrap your hands to keep the Henna in place and prevent particles from falling into your bed.

The smoke of cloves should be given:

The smoke produced from the heated cloves is said to help in the darkening of Henna stains. Heat up an iron pan and add some cloves to it. Allow the cloves’ smoke to come into touch with your palms on which henna has been applied. Keep your hands out up to the moment you can endure the heat, stopping only when your palm begins to sting.

Avoid contacting with water:

Give at least 12 hours for your henna to dry before exposing it to water. Water will wipe away the top layer of henna, preventing the color from penetrating deeply into your skin.

Apply sugar and lemon juice:

After the Henna has dried properly, rub your hands with a combination of sugar and lemon juice. With the help of a cotton plug, rub it on the palm lightly. Don’t go too crazy with it, because the liquid will lessen the stain.

Apply vicks or pickle oil:

Now comes the time to remove the dried henna after you have kept it overnight. Rub your palms to each other gently till all the henna is screwed off.  It will be good if palms should be rubbed with Vicks or pickle oil. It is said to provide you with a possibly darker henna stain.

No beauty treatments should be done:

Remember to keep all waxing, manicure and pedicure appointments prior to applying henna. Give at least 2 to 3 days if you have to do it afterward. Otherwise, you’ll wind up peeling the top layer of henna away and not getting the expected result. If you absolutely need to get clear your body hair, you may shave it off with razors that must be created specifically for ladies.  However, that would be a situation of absolute need.

Read More: How Often Can You Dye Your Hair – It’s less then what you think

Apply henna prior to the event:

Allow 1 to 2 days between the application of henna and your event. As we know that after a few days, henna generally reaches its deepest shade. You will get the best shade if you plan to apply henna in the correct session.

The above ten easy suggestions may enable you to take control of your own henna color by giving a darker henna stain.

Questions asked about Henna application:

How much time should I leave the henna on my hands?

You must wait at least it dries because doing this will result in a pale orange henna shade. To achieve a darker shade, leave it on for at least 8 hours and preferably the whole night, such that the color is accumulated in the skin and you get a dark brown shade.

What’s the best way to darken henna now that it has been washed earlier than usual?

As previously said, there is not much you can do once the outer layer of henna has been washed away. However, still, if you want a darker stain, you can mix some of the ways mentioned above. Yes, try using eucalyptus oil or Vicks for 3-4 hours or may even be overnight, but make sure it is firmly bandaged to avoid irritation. Later in the morning, start roasting cloves in a pan and place your hands over it. It should be done so that the smoke from the cloves helps to deepen the color of the henna. Please be cautious and avoid putting your hands too near to the hot pan

Is it true that lemon and sugar help to darken the shade of henna?

It certainly does! You have to apply this mixture when the henna paste is totally dry. When you apply this sticky remedy on the henna, the sugar will enable lemon juice to stick; as a result, it will darken the stain. You can only apply this if you have dried henna paste on your hands.

How can I get the henna stain off my hand? 

If you do not like the pale stains that henna left, you can just use lime juice to erase the stain color after the event. Lime juice is a bleaching agent that can aid in the decoloration of henna stains. Lemons, on the other hand, may irritate the skin, so be sure to hydrate before applying it.