The tradition of the henna art tattoo goes back thousands of years. It can be found in the Middle East, North Africa, and India. This form of body art is also known as Mehndi. It is commonly seen at weddings and celebrations. The night before the wedding, the bride and her party gather together and have their hands and feet tattooed with temporary henna paste creating delicate and intricate designs. It is done to bring good luck.
The tradition of the henna art tattoo has now spread to the Western world and has become very popular. Many celebrities have embraced this tradition and can now be seen displaying their reddish brown designs and patterns. The traditional designs are still used but the art form is evolving with new contemporary ones. The artist's canvas is no longer limited to the hands and feet but is now seen on visible body parts like the back, wrists, shoulders, stomach, and legs.
Henna in a henna art tattoo is all natural. It is made by grinding the dried leaves of the henna plant into a powder, then add eucalyptus or clove oil to make a paste, and then apply with an applicator bottle or cone to the skin.
Applying the paste to the skin is easy and painless. The paste needs to stay on the skin for hours to produce a dark stain. When henna powder is made, an organic compound called Lawsone is released. Lawsone is what creates the reddish brown stain by binding with the protein in the outer layer of the skin. The longer lawsone has time to bind with the skin, the darker the henna art tattoo will be. It is recommended to leave the paste on the skin for 8 hours or longer.
A henna art tattoo will last anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 months. It all depends on how long the paste is left on the skin and how it is maintained.
