I’ve been going through REALLY old photos and design pages and found some fun stuff for the season. Enjoy!
Author: admin
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Choosing Essential Oils for Henna Paste
Essential oils function as a solvent in your paste and help the dye molecule to be more available to attach to keratin in skin. Most solvents that come to mind first are things like kerosene or turpentine. Obviously they are not skin friendly and we don’t want them in paste! (That doesn’t mean that they are not sometimes found in imported pre-mixes! BEWARE IMPORTED PRE-MIXES!) There are solutions for skin friendly solvents and we can find them in essential oils with high levels of monoterpene alcohols. This is where the term “terp” comes from.
Terps certainly improve the color and duration of henna, some more than others. Here are a few photos that I took of my own experiments a good ten years ago. I couldn’t even tell you know things like where the oils were purchased or what kind of henna I used, but it does serve to show that there can be a significant difference!
Mono what
now?Every essential oils is made up of many chemicals that plants use as communication systems. These chemicals do things for the plant like mimic the pheromones of insects that would help with pollination. It really is a very intricate and amazing arrangement! Most of those chemicals are monoterpenes. Its the monoterpene ALCOHOLS that help us out with our paste. Its also important to point out that some monoterpene alcohols or essential oils containing them can be irritating or even toxic! Its important to choose carefully!
Which monoterpene alcohols?
The most effective, nontoxic, non-iritating monoterpene alcohols are terpineol, geraniol, cineol, cedrol, linalool. Lavender essential oils have high levels of linolool. Tea tree has cineol. Cajeput and Niaouli both have high levels of cineol and terpineol. Geranium has geraniol and linalol. Clove has high levels of eugenol. You may be asking how one knows this stuff! Since these are natural constituents of the oils, its not like they’re written on the bottle right?! Well, if you want to experiment rather than relying on the wisdom of those that came before you, I absolutely respect that! There are a few things you’ll need to know first.
You’ll need a great essential oil book that lists the most common chemical constituents of essential oils. This won’t be perfect because plants are effected by variables like the temperature and soil that will make them slightly different season to season and location to location. They will give you a good idea of the constituents that are most present in an essential oil, usually listing them from the largest percentage to the least. I use the Illustrated Encyclopedia of Essential Oils by Julia Lawless. Between home remedies, soap making, and henna research I use this book every day. It was an excellent investment.
Having a good essential oil guide will help, but there are a few other things to know that will help you shop for oils intelligently and even to experiment with different oils in your paste. First of all, just because an oil contains the good monoterpene alcohols, doesn’t make it a good oil for paste! Camphor, for example, is full of cineol and terpineol, BUT its also toxic because of other chemicals naturally present in the oil. Also, plants with similar names are NOT equal. Clove bud makes a perfectly fine terp (although can be irritating to some, so use it in small amounts) but clove leaf is a strong irritant! You should also know that sometimes essential oils are improperly labeled. Eucalyptus Globulus is a great terp and non-iritating, but other varieties are not, however I have often found essential oil labeled “globulus” that turned out to be a different variety all together. Quality can be a serious issue too. Depending on how the oils are distilled, toxins involved in the extraction can be left behind. To avoid this, make sure to get “food grade” or “aromatherapy grade” essential oils that are pure, not diluted. One last thought on oil choices: Even the same species of plant can be different from one source to the next. Lavender is a perfect example. Even though they are all True Lavender, lavender from France (or fine lavender) has much lower levels of monoterpene alcohols that that grown in Hungary or Bulgaria.
There’s a lot more to discuss on this topic! I’ll write more about it later, but to sum it all up, you can use oils from a trusted henna supplier and feel confident that you’ll get good color safely. If you want to step it up a notch, you may want to experiment with other oils that aren’t used as commonly. Basil and Juniper berry might be good choices! But either way, it is vital that you do your own research when using oils to make sure that you are using them safely and always make sure your clients are aware of the oils you choose. Some folks may be allergic to some oils. They may interact with conditions or medications. Rosemary oil can induce early labor! Make sure you know your oils! Also don’t over do it. You should look at essential oils like medicines, that can be harmful when too much is used. I’d never recommend using more than 1 oz (2 tablespoons) per 100 g henna powder.
Playing with essential oils can give you an opportunity to really customize your paste AND improve color. Just make sure to do it responsibly.
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Kate and Mean Jean Take on Cancer
Katie is one of my favorite clients. She’s perky. She loves animals and children. She speaks her mind. She’s so easy to love that shortly after she scheduled her first appointment, a friend of hers called and asked she could cover the cost for Kate in advance as a surprise. She comes to me fairly regularly lately to have me crown her lovely noggin with henna. Katie is fighting cancer and likes to have a new “tattoo” when she goes for treatment, and I get to help!
Kate doesn’t go in for traditional henna styles so much. I did one design for her with some flowers and paisleys, but most often she has challenging and unusual requests for me like Tinkerbell. Shortly before her most recent appointment she left me a message explaining what she’d like me to do for her this time. She wants Mean Jean, of the Fort Wayne Derby Girls with a big boxing glove shattering the word “cancer.” How brilliant is that!? My daughter skates with the Jr. derby team, the Fort Wayne Derby Brats, and so we spend time with FWDG skaters, as her coaches, at bouts, fund raising, and so on.
As it turns out, Kate had participated in Bust A Move, a fun charity event. Derby skaters have a plaster cast made of their bust, and a local artist gives it her own unique touch. The casts are auctioned to support Cancer Services. Turns out, through that event, Kate knows “Kona Krusher,” Skater for the Fort Wayne Derby Girls and Coach to my daughter and the Fort Wayne Derby Brats. What a small world!So this is what we ended up with. I can’t wait to see what Kate throws at me next!
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How much sugar?
Let me teach you how to add the perfect amount of sugar to your paste EVERY time. Its pretty simple if you can just get past the idea that its a process, not a recipe. It will vary depending on the weather.
Here’s how it works:
Sugar will draw moisture from the air. This thins your paste. This is why some people in humid places think they can’t use sugar. They mix their paste to a working consistency, THEN add the sugar. It draws moisture from the air, and thins out some more. Now the paste is too sloppy, the lines spread, and it takes too long to dry! On a dry day, because there is very little moisture in the air for the sugar to pull into your paste, it will take more sugar to thin it to a working texture. On a humid day, each spoonful will thin your paste more because there’s lots of moisture in the air. It works out great because we need more sugar on dry days than damp days. Clear as mud? Don’t worry, you’ll get it when you see this:
Tips:
Don’t use more than 5 tablespoons of sugar. This will make sticky, nasty paste that will most likely never dry even in the driest climate. If you put 5 tablespoons of sugar into a 100 g batch and its still too thick, then thin it down with the rest of the way with water. In this case you may need some sort of seal.
Add the sugar the same day, and in the same environment you’ll be working. If you’re going to work outside, mix outside. If you’re going to work in air-conditioning, add sugar in air-conditioning. This trick is environmentally dependent!
You can mix with just liquid and oils, really thick (like plaster thick) and freeze that in advance. Pull out a bag of thick paste when you’re ready to use it, and sugar it that day.
Even stringy hennas can benefit from sugar! The natural qualities will help with draping lovely, fine, lines, but it won’t make the dry paste flexible enough to move with skin. My method will help you add sugar to even stringy paste and maintain the integrity of your lines.
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Using Henna Muse’s pre-rolled cones
All pre-rolled henna cones are not created equal! As I’ve mentioned before, the supplies I sell are the same stuff I use myself. I don’t know what it is about me, but I CANNOT seem to cut a cone tip straight to save my life. No matter what I use to cut it (I’ve tried thread scissors, razor blades, and nail clippers) or how carefully I do it, I always get little curly-Q’s of paste when I try to use the cone. My solution: I roll them open. Yes, Henna Muse’s cones have an open tip.
I must say, I’m pretty doggone good at cone rolling. They don’t blow out, as long as you don’t over-fill. The tips have an amazingly consistant size despite being hand rolled. And yes, I roll them all myself. I do have a few pointers for using and filling open tipped cones that I’d like to share:
1. Fill the cones over a towel. There will probably be a little dribble of paste that escapes the tip, especially when you close the back end. Rolling over a towel will save you a mess.
2. Be careful when transporting open tipped cones! Make sure you keep them safe from being smooshed, because they will ooze if the end up under all the design books in your gig bag. I keep mine in a zipper sealed plastic bag, in a lunch box.
3. Try a tap of tape! If you put tape over the tip after you fill the cone they will be less likely to ooze.
4. This one is true of ALL cone, open tipped or otherwise: Don’t stack empty cones inside each other! Sometimes they get stuck together. Pulling them appart can shift the layers of the cone making it pretty much useless.
Check out this cone filling video! Since I made this movie, I’ve stopped putting the tape around the edge of the back end. As long as you fill only 2/3 of the way, they don’t tend to leak. The tape is unnecessary.
You can buy my cones here: https://hennamuse.com/shop/products/tools/
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New Gift Items!
I know its not true all over, but here in the midwest the henna season is a little limited. There’s no skin sticking out from under heavy clothing to tag with henna or paint! My work load decreases dramatically from mid September to March. I certainly can’t sit by and do nothing. Well, I could but I’d be poor AND board. So to pass the time and earn a living when its cold I make gift items and art pieces. Please take a peek here: http://hennamuse.com/gifts.html
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Advanced Henna Chemistry!
Advanced Henna Chemistry
When I was in college, I had a bad case of what I called Artist’s ADD. I was never able to focus on one medium long enough to really master it. I’d see a little glass work, and I HAD to know how that was done. I would see some polymer clay sculpture and have to try that, and so on, and so on. Then I found henna! I think the thing that keeps me focused on henna all the many facets of henna to learn. I just can’t ever get bored. If I tire of actually hennaing, I can go study the cultural aspect for awhile and learn about traditions and motifs of different regions. If I get tired of that I can study henna farming, or draw some new designs, or work on my recipe, or study henna chemistry. This may be true for any art that one feels passionate about, but if that’s the case, henna is the medium that finally captured my passion.
I was never a fan of chemistry in high school, and in college I managed to dodge it all together. When it comes to henna though, I’m absolutely captivated! Considering my complete lack of education in chemistry, I’ve been moved to teach myself the things I should have learned when I was young in order to better understand just how henna works. I’ve been looking over this problem for 6 or 7 years with a great amount of frustration. I know that Lawsone is the name of the dye in henna, and that it is activated in a stable way by a mildly acidic solution. I know that it binds to keratin in skin. I know that exposure to air oxidizes the henna causing the color to get darker. I get kinda fuzzy on the details…
But here is one well written article about how it all works! The focus in on henna for hair, but chemistry is basically the same except for small differences in the proteins that make up the keratin in skin and hair. Check it out!
http://cthuliz.com/blog/?p=2624
Also check out a more recent, far more detailed article about henna chemistry here: The Chemistry of Henna for Body Art.
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Maintaining a Standard: The BEST Henna.
Its important to me, and the reputation of Henna Muse, to always have a great, reliable henna that give fantastic color. I’ve been testing the waters on some new suppliers lately. This is a chore that requires some experimentation and research. I don’t just go buy any henna and start flinging at at my clients! I thought I might share how this works.
The first step is finding new suppliers. This can be surprisingly tricky. Henna comes from places that don’t necessarily have the best political relationship with the US. This can create expensive messes that involve missing packages, confiscations, and other “imperial entanglements.” On top of that, there’s usually at least a cultural barrier to communication if not a language barrier too. There’s really nowhere to go for advice on this topic as other henna artists, who in most cases tend to share what they know quite readily, DO NOT share their favorite exporters. Most artists who import their own henna need to be able to sell it to their customers. If they’ve gone through the risk and effort to find a reliable source with good product, they need to protect that information. I have a different angle on this. I’m just looking for the BEST henna for my clients, AND I happen to be allergic to paying retail. These overseas suppliers tend to have minimum orders of something between enough henna to fill my home to roughly 16 lbs. Even if I find a great supplier with a 16 lb minimum, that’s more henna than Henna Muse can use in a year or two! I probably will have to sell off some of my new-found henna at the end of the day, even though that’s not my original intent.
After finding and emailing about a dozen possible vendors and feeling out which will be reliable, I start pushing on my favorites to send me samples. International vendors MUST be trustworthy. Payments are not sent simply by a check you can stop payment on, or a credit card, where you have the bank’s support. Funds are sent via Western Union or some other cash transfer service. Once sent, the money is GONE. This is the biggest reason the average henna user seeks out an American supplier who takes this part of the risk for them. Often negotiations on those free samples help me suss out which suppliers might be good choices. Below is an email I received from a company that had ALREADY sent me a FREE sample.
Dear Mr. Jen
We are waiting for your valued reply.. we request to pay US$15 only and we will send the parcel for you.. we assure you will be happy to use our 100% pure & natural Henna powder (Rajasthani)…
We are excepting your valuable response soon.
Best Regards
Sunil
So, then! Even if their henna is terrific, I have to wonder whether this company is organized well enough to deliver adequate customer service, or if there are individual employees within the company looking for an opportunity to take advantage of me! I can just imagine Sunil telling me that he never received my funds when really they’re in his own pocket!
With the samples in hand, the next step is fun! I mix up a little bit of each henna, careful to use the same recipe for each. Then I test them out. When mixing up the henna from the exporter above, I found the texture to be just lovely! No chunky bits, and it was very smooth with just a bit of elasticity. BUT, this is the color two full days after removing the paste:
This is most certainly NOT acceptable color! On this part of my arm I would expect to see something the color of a chocolate bar. This is barely caramel. I wasn’t exactly prepared to trust this exporter anyway, so I can’t say that I’m broken hearted that the color was poor, but I did really like this design and wish it was dark enough to show off a bit.
This first exporter was a bust, but I have 4 more samples sitting on my kitchen counter just waiting for me to test drive! Surely one of them will be a hit. Then I just have to work up the nerver to send a fairly significant amount of money to a stranger halfway around the world! Wish me luck!
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windy city mehndi meet
windy city mehndi meet, a set on Flickr.
And here are a few from the conference the week before in Chicago.
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big raindrop
big raindrop, a set on Flickr.
Wow, have I been falling behind on blog posts! Lots to share. Here are some shots from the Big Raindrop Body Arts Conference in Seattle
