Wedding Special - Awesome Tattoo Designs With Henna

This post was in response to a special request by a viewer. She loved by post on weddings here and suggested that I do one on Henna as well.

Henna Tattoos have evolved from ancient Indians and Egyptians.The earliest use of this plant dates back to the Pharaohs in Egypt, some 9,000 years ago. Cleopatra, the last reigning queen of the ancient Egyptian civilization is said to have used henna to adorn her body and beautify herself. Yes, you heard it right..........CLEOPATRA ladies!

In ancient India, the art of tattooing your skin with "Henna" is called Mehendi. It is a temporary tattoo, doesn't hurt and you can change the designs once you're bored of them!

Experiment with different essential oil for better aroma!

It is thought that Mehandi originated in the deserts of India when the people living there discovered that covering their hands and feet with colored paste from the Henna plant helped them to feel cooler. It wasn't long until a creative individual began making intricate designs with the colored paste instead of just smearing it on. The complexity of designs grew and began to take on meaning. Eventually brides began to decorate their feet and hands with henna as part of their wedding rituals. Now, it is a symbol for occasions and festivals and a "happy feeling"!!!!

The Henna plant is actually a herb. It has a lot of medicinal properties. In ancient times it was applied to the skin surface for ailments such as headaches, stomach pains, burns (including sunburns), open wounds, as a fever reducer, athlete's foot and even the prevention of hair loss. It also forms a great a plant-based hair colour. It is also a sunblock and has been used on the noses of animals to prevent sunburn. Another use of henna would be to apply it to goat skin bags, after they have been salt-cured. It "insect-proofs" or "moth-proofs" the bags by making the skin inedible.

How does the tattoo work?

Henna plant contains "lawsone", a reddish orange dye that binds with the keratin of our skin and stains it. Stains like that can stay up to two weeks depending on the concentration of keratin in our skin, skin care rituals, henna care rituals etc. I will not talk about the rituals here but more on the designs.

A recent visit to a friend's marriage made me wonder about the evolution of design in the Mehendi world. Although their are stunning decorations done on our body during any occasions, we are still stuck on somewhat age-old ancient patterns. I am not a fan of traditional designs. I like things minimal and modern and that is something Henna artist struggle with. I would really like to see some modern designs for a change, like some of them here......

These are what I like to call " The minimal finger designs". Not all the fingers of the hand are covered in Henna. A bit of skin and a bit of decor, pumps up the curiosity to want more!

Perfect for a teenager

I found some really cool designs for grunge followers. These would look so good on them. I never thought of this combination till I saw these.....

There are some more designs which I really like. You can always tell your Henna artist to do these. They are so beautiful and not your average stereotypes. Some look like a "Art Nouveau" inspired pattern.