Henna
Women have been adorning each other with henna for thousands of years.
Henna is a plant that grows throughout the dessert in the middle east. It’s leaves are collected, dried and sifted into a fine powder. I buy this powder online and mix it with lemon juice, eucalyptus oil and sugar.
After sitting for a few hours to allow the natural dye molecule to be released, it is applied to the skin. It sits on the skin for a few hours and the natural dye molecule sinks into the layers of skin. When you first remove the henna paste, the “tattoo” looks very light in color - it takes 2 to 3 days to oxidize and get to it’s darkest shade. It’s darkest on your palms.
The photo above shows the henna freshly applied. The lighter color of henna reflects that a very thin layer was applied.
The photo below is the same henna but 3 days later, when it is peaking in color. You can see it’s a little darker on her hand, because our skin is thicker and can absorb more henna.
