Mehndi

By Minnesotastan in Body Modifications on Feb 18, 2010 at 3:04 pm

Mehndi is a decorative art form of South Asia dating back to at least the 12th century, and probably with cultural roots in pharaonic Egypt. Although the process superficially resembles tattooing, the henna pigment does not penetrate beyond the surface of the skin, and thus is temporary and ideally suited for celebratory events such as weddings.

Henna stains are orange soon after application, but darken over the following three days to a reddish brown. Soles and palms have the thickest layer of skin and so take up the most lawsone, and take it to the greatest depth, so that hands and feet will have the darkest and most long-lasting stains.

Link. Photo credit Jujuba, via a gallery at Titam et le Sirop d’Érable. There is another gallery at Hulchul.

Tags: henna, mehndi, Tattoo

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Craig
Feb 18th, 2010 at 3:29 pm
I think you owe it to readers to warn them of the dangers of “black” henna.
maz
Feb 18th, 2010 at 3:37 pm
Its not egyptian, its mostly india and the middle eastern gulf.
Minnesotastan
Feb 18th, 2010 at 3:48 pm
As noted at the Wikipedia link “‘Black henna’ may contain p-phenylenediamine (PPD), that can stain skin black quickly but can cause severe allergic reactions and permanent scarring. The FDA specifically forbids PPD to be used for that purpose.”
pwscott
Feb 18th, 2010 at 9:07 pm
As a man I’m a little embarassed,but as an artist I love henna tats. I was so interested at one time that I used it myself. I used a henna paste with a stencil and found the best result by wrapping until the color soaks in. I still have a book of designs lying around somewhere and I’ve seen it up close. The detail is awesome.
Splint Chesthair
Feb 19th, 2010 at 9:04 am
Everytime I see a woman with henna tattoos like those in the photo she immediately jump 2 places on the 1-10 scale.
Heroin
Feb 19th, 2010 at 1:03 pm
Henna tattoos have become popular enough in our smallish city as to become eye-roll-inducing. Thankfully the popularity seems to be waning the last year or so.

I should add – it’s not henna tattoos themselves that are groan-worthy here. It’s the fading Tweety birds and playboy bunnies that hurt my eyes.
Jojo
Feb 19th, 2010 at 1:54 pm
lol @ Heroin Yeah that would be lame seeing henna tattoos as useless stuff like that. I personally like to keep with the traditional patterns and designs, I think they are amazing. Makes me want to go get one now.
Gauldar
Feb 19th, 2010 at 2:33 pm
At least they look better then fake tans.

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