Henna tips

We saw in previous articles some particularities of henna temporary tattoos, and the meaning of some of the main basic patterns.

Proceeding in the Summer season, we feel like leaving most of our clothes behind to uncover wider skin areas. Why then not to decorate it, perhaps with henna, in order to have our Summer tattoo (which we can replace with a permanent one at the end of Summer if we fell in love with the look and feel of it)?

What is henna?
It's a reddish natural substance extracted from a plant, Lawsonia inermis. Other substances are often added, especially in order to get the black color which is often erroneously associated to henna (pure henna is red only). These substances can cause alergic reactions in some people, so we strongly suggest to use body-art pure henna. Its drying time determinates how dark the color will become.

How to make it last
Here are 5 tips aimed to have your temporary tattoo look best and last longer:

• Wash the area to be tattooed avoiding oils or lotions which will leave your skin "oily"
• wax your skin well and manicure, to eliminates potential layers of dead cells
• after finishing henna application, let the past dry out for 7-8 hours. This way you will get a quite strong red-brown color which will last almost for a month.
• remove dry exceeding henna using a dry spoon or a spatula, avoiding to use water on the first day
• apply a mix of lemon and sugar on the dry skin. Some cultures use olive oil instead to make colors brighter

Now you can go out and proudly show your new tattoo, which will last just the length of a Summer holyday.