Oddviser
adventure's step-by-steprecipes & lifehacks
The mehendi art lies in simple technique that has remained almost unchanged for the last hundreds of years. The patterns are painted with henna paste which is poured into special cone-shaped bag with a little hole. So that is the way through which the paint is squeezed out onto you skin (by the way, you can buy such bag at souvenir stalls as an unusual souvenir). After henna applying you have to wait for a few hours - the paste hardens and then drops away, then you'll see slightly seen pattern. But the final picture will show through and become dark during a day.
The traditional ornament is red, but recently they have been applying white henna, especially for special occasions. It doesn't remain so long on your skin as dark henna but it's sun-burn proof.
Photo: Mehendi, © Jaswinder Atwal
How to do?
2. Besides beauty salons you can go to douar during an excursion around the desert. In this case the pattern won't be of good quality and complexity of elements - but the place is more traditional and you can even get painting for free.
Photo: Mehendi, © Jaswinder Atwal
How much?
Tips and hints
2. Don't make mehendi with black henna! To get such colour they add paraphenylenediamine (PPD) to the henna. And it can cause contact dermatitis with reddening, rash and edema.
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