|
What is Henna Anyway?
- Henna is a flowering plant that is native to Africa, Southern Asia, and Australasia.
- Henna is cultivated, dried, ground, and mixed with lemon juice (or other acidic liquid) to make a paste.
- Once activated by the lemon juice, a chemical reaction occurs that releases dye.
- The dye is able to temporarily stain skin and hair.
- Henna on the skin can last from a day or two to several weeks; it all depends on the individual's skin, where the design is, how it was prepared, how it's maintained, and even the temperature on the day it was applied.
- NEVER allow someone to apply "black henna" to your skin - it's not really henna, but PPD-based, and can be very hazardous to your health.
- Always ask your henna artist what ingredients are in the henna (usually some combination of henna powder, lemon or other citrus juice, tea, coffee, cloves, cardamom, essential oils, etc.).
- Wikipedia has a great page on henna if you want to learn more.
- My favorite web resource for henna information is The Henna Page.
|
|
