Make Henna Art!

Hi everyone,

Have you ever heard of Henna art? Henna is dye that is made from a plant and it’s used to paint cool designs on skin and clothes, and it can even be used to dye hair.

Check out the September issue of chickaDEE Magazine to read a story about a young girl who learns the art of henna tattooing from her grandmother. This story was written by award-winning Canadian author Rukhsana Khan.

Want to make your own henna? Here’s a recipe!

How to Make Henna:

 You’ll need:

• ¼ cup of finely sifted henna powder (sift through a fine shawl three times till there are absolutely no bits of leaves or twigs)
• Three tablespoons of lemon juice
• One cup of coffee boiled with eight cloves and two cinnamon sticks (sift through the fine shawl as well)
• 1 tsp Eucalyptus oil
• Foil or plastic cut into squares and taped into cones with their back edges open (or you can buy pre-made henna cones at Indian grocery stores)

1. In a small bowl mix in the lemon juice and powder until it makes a paste.
2. Add in coffee mixture and mix until  the paste has a stringy consistency and when you can dangle a spoonful of the mixture and it forms a long thread.
3. When the mixture is cool, add a few drops of Eucalyptus oil and then spoon it into the prepared cones. Be careful not to overfill.
4. Tape up the end of the cone and then cut the tip off so the paste comes out in a fine flow. The finer the hole the more intricate the designs you can make.
5. Paint designs onto your hand (see below for a tattoo design made by Rukhsana’s daughter, who used to be a henna artist!).
6. Leave the henna to dry on your hand for several hours, then remove it with an cotton ball dipped in olive oil to see the final tattoo. Your tattoo could last as long as a week.

TIP: Check out this video to see henna being prepared: