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Quiescence: Henna as Meditation

While the most common uses of henna are decoration and celebration, have you ever considered the value of henna as meditation?

Recently I found myself in a state of hormone infused emotional chaos which I expressed by over reacting to nothing, and under reacting to some things that needed serious attention. While I was in Chicago to teach at the Windy City Mehndi Meet this instability was spiraling to a peak under the stress of the conference, the raising of teens, the running of a business, and dealing with some unresolved issues in a dissolved friendship. I was unable to respond to any of it with appropriate level of intensity. Luckily I was spending the weekend with a house full of people I love who took my near insanity in stride and peppered my day with hugs and kind words. With or without support though, it was clear that I needed to spend some time working this through if I was going to be able to function in an adult human world in the long run.

I was profoundly lucky to have been able to spend time with Catherine Lent over the weekend of the WCMM. We had met once before, but hadn’t really been able to visit and get to know each other. This time not only could we spend evenings relaxing together, but I was also able to see her amazing talents. It seems like it would take multiple lifetimes to have acquired so much skill at so many different mediums. The class she taught at the conference was lettering and she showed us some calligraphy skills and how they can be applied henna art. Before she was finished speaking, I was absolutely certain that I needed a sort of mantra in henna to help me focus on evening out my emotional imbalance.

I started searching my mind for the right word. I spent all day finding and tossing out words. Balance. Temperance. Moderation. Prudence. Control. Continence. All the words I came up with seemed banal at best, and oppressive at worst. Then it came to me in a rush. A sort of Eureka moment. QUIESCNECE! Some will define this word as a state of dormancy, but more often as a state of quiet contemplation. The time for rest and recuperation between periods of great activity and growth. This is a word not often heard in daily conversation. In fact I’m pretty sure Catherine doubted the true wordiness of it. We looked it up to be sure it had my intended meaning and that we were spelling it properly.

I knew the word well already. Frankly even if we’d discovered that it was a completely fictional word, its still the word I wanted on my body to help me focus on the idea I wanted to take into myself. “Quiescence” is the name of my Great Aunt Carole’s lake cottage. My aunt was always a strong model of womanhood for me. Despite a brief laps in mental health that she casually refers to as “when I was nuts,” she did a remarkable job of keeping balance in her life. She had a family and career at a time when that was rare. She still took time to make beautiful dolls, and cakes, and even clothes for herself and her daughters. Despite such a full life, she never seemed to have taken on more than she was able to manage. She was always in the moment. She never shorted herself time to relax and play. And she did that at “Quiescence.” From as early as I can remember going to the lake cottage for a week or even a weekend were the most peaceful and stress free times in my life, but not in a silent, reverent sort of way –in a joyous, refreshing sort of way. That feeling was exactly what I needed to set myself right.

So snuggled up on the couch that night, Catherine made this beautiful design for me. It was perfect. It had that spark of joy in it that I needed, but didn’t feel like I’d expressed verbally to Catherine. It reminds me of a marque for a for a show with a mardi gras or circus theme. The overall feel for me is joyous mindfulness. A happy reminder to take time to take stock, take time to recuperate, and maybe even more importantly to take time for self care that will certainly help me react to the world in a more measured and appropriate way.

Every time I noticed this design on my arm, I would spend a moment focused on what it means to me, and how I could incorporate that into this moment. I took a lot more care at preserving this design than I usually do. I also tend to scrub off the last bits all at once when its close to faded. This time I let the last bits disappear on their own time. Watching it fade helped me stay aware of how much time I’d spent trying to focus on this idea, and what the effect of that focus had been. It also helped me to realize that the time was approaching where I would have to maintain this state of mind without the art to prompt me.

Now, nearly a month has passed. While I’ve still had moments when I’ve let my feelings and actions get out of hand, I really feel much better, and much more in control. I feel aware of my place in the chaos. I feel confident that if I just take care of my self, take time to really absorb the meaning of the next obstacle before I react, that I can carry on the quality of quiescence without the beautiful art to remind me. Now its on the inside.

April 28, 2016
Hygiene for Henna Artists

Maybe we don’t tend to do a whole lot of work during cold and flu season, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do our best to protect our clients, and ourselves from the spread of germs. Some simple habits will help a lot.

Its obvious that its a good idea to wash our hands between clients. That’s easy enough if you’re working in a studio, but what about at a party? Do you leave your station between each client to go wash? Or even worse, in a busy festival setting? Totally impractical! Consider instead germ killing wipes like Wet Ones or Germ-X Soft Wipes. They are also handy for wiping down dirty feet before you begin application. If you’re concerned about the waste of using wipes, hand sanitizer is a great solution. Don’t forget to keep your hands LOOKING clean too. We may be used to looking at stains and muddy smudges on our hard working hands, but prospective clients can easily be turned off by what appears to be neglect and filth. Try to wipe your cone tip on a towel or napkin rather than your hands. Do you best to clear any errant henna blobs before they can stain. Clean hands will be a clear indicator to your clients that you care about hygiene.

Also consider your work space. After dozens of people come in and out of your chair its bound to get yucky! Make sure to wipe down hard surfaces on a regular basis thought the work day. Wash cloth table and seat covers between each gig, if not after each day. Glitter may not be germy, but people sure do see it as contagious. Believe it or not, not every client wants to leave your chair with sparkles. Its a good idea to keep the glitter as contained as possible. Take care that your tools are stored properly when not in use and that your space does not become littered with bits of paper towel, tape, dead cones, and other detritus. I like to keep a wast basket in arm’s reach of each work station. To help keep things tidy.

Its also very important that we keep our tools clean and free of germs. Its helpful that henna applicators don’t make much contact with skin, With the exception of dragging lines, dealing with body hair, and shading, most henna artists keep the applicator tip at least a tiny bit above the surface of the skin. Essential oils in paste are, for the most part, pretty hardy germ killers, so that’s helpful too. I would also encourage people to clean the tip of the applicator with an alcohol swab between clients to kill any germs it might pick up. You can also nip that in the bud by making sure the skin is as clean and germ free as possible before you begin. Using an alcohol swab on the skin before you begin removes and lotion, oils, or sweat, kills germs, and if you use it, keeps glitter from sticking in places you don’t want it.

Here’s a link to a great article about hygiene for face painters. Obviously there are some differences, but its helpful to take a look and see what parts of best practices in a related field can be adopted for our own. Face Painting Health Guidelines.

The photos of henna artists failing (the struggle is real!) to keep their fingers tidy are kindly donated by my friends Antoinette Hippe, Wendy Feldman, and Lisa Seltzer. Please check out their work!

Please feel free to comment below with your own tips for keeping yourself and your workspace sanitary!

April 14, 2016
Practice Makes Perfect!

I try to be as involved as possible in helping with the Windy City Mehndi Meet. I feel its one of the best ways to ACTUALLY, rather than VIRTUALLY, participate in the regional henna community. I sponsor the event by donating paste, and I generally teach two or more classes. I work with Kendra Williams of Crescent Moon Henna, our capable hostess, to manage a lot of the promotional chores, to try and catch any over flow in her work load. We make a great team!

This year we had a teacher withdraw at the last minute due to doctor’s orders that she not travel. One of the classes she meant to teach was starter drills on basic shapes. I saw this as a great opportunity to create a worksheet free for all aspiring henna artists to use a baseline to start their own practice. I had a very limited time to put this together. I plan to add to it and clean it up over the course of the next few weeks, but I wanted to get it up and available right away.

Again, this is just a base line. Using the most basic shapes that will be the most helpful to beginners, it demonstrates what a drill sheet might look like in self lead, regular practice. My drill sheets now look like this:

Here is an example of how I practice. STILL working on those darn roses!

Many people do their practice on a sheet of acrylic, or an acrylic hand template. Many people do them on sheet protectors which also gives the option of tracing over your favorite designs to build muscle memory. How every YOU practice, just make sure you do it! Maybe my practice sheets will help.

Download your practice worksheet! For best results set your printer to “landscape” mode.

April 7, 2016
The reality of the FDA for henna artists
You may have heard that using henna in the United States is illegal. This is absolutely NOT true. You may have heard that the FDA does not approve of the use of henna on skin. That IS absolutely TRUE. How can that make sense? Let me try to explain.

Let’s start with what the FDA actually says about henna. Here is the regulation pertaining to henna quoted verbatim. The most important bit is emphasized with blue text.

[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 21, Volume 1]
[Revised as of April 1, 2013]
[CITE: 21CFR73.2190]
PART 73 — LISTING OF COLOR ADDITIVES EXEMPT FROM CERTIFICATION
Subpart C–Cosmetics
Sec. 73.2190 Henna.
(a)Identity. The color additive henna is the dried leaf and petiole of Lawsonia alba Lam. (Lawsonia inermis L.). It may be identified by its characteristic odor and by characteristic plant histology.
(b)Specifications. Henna shall conform to the following specifications:
It shall not contain more than 10 percent of plant material fromLawsonia alba Lam. (Lawsonia inermis L.) other than the leaf and petiole, and shall be free from admixture with material from any other species of plant.
Moisture, not more than 10 percent.
Total ash, not more than 15 percent.
Acid-insoluble ash, not more than 5 percent.
Lead (as Pb), not more than 20 parts per million.
Arsenic (as As), not more than 3 parts per million.
(c)Uses and restrictions. The color additive henna may be safely used for coloring hair only. It may not be used for coloring the eyelashes or eyebrows, or generally in the area of the eye.
(d)Labeling. The label for henna shall bear the information required by 70.25 of this chapter and the following statements or their equivalent:
“Do not use in the area of the eye.”
“Do not use on cut or abraded scalp.”
(e)Exemption from certification. Certification of this color additive for the prescribed use is not necessary for the protection of the public health and therefore batches thereof are exempt from the certification requirements of section 721(c) of the act.

There it is! The FDA said it! Henna on skin is against the law! Right? NOPE. There’s more. We also need to discuss the jurisdiction and limitations of FDA regulations. What is the FDA’s reach?
- The FD&C Act prohibits the marketing of adulterated or misbranded cosmetics in interstate commerce.
- Under the FD&C Act, color additives, except for coal tar hair dyes, are subject to FDA approval before they may be used in cosmetics.
- A product is adulterated if: it contains an ingredient that is harmful, putrid, or
  decomposed; if it manufactured in insanitary conditions; or if it is not a hair dye and contains a non-permitted color additive.
- A product is misbranded if its labeling is false or misleading, if it doesn’t bear the information required by the FPLA, or if the container is made or filled in a deceptive manor.
As we learned above, henna is a color additive, and not approved for use on skin, which means it is, in fact, adulterated by FDA definition. How is applying henna to clients OK?
- It is not INTERSTATE COMMERCE or manufacturing.
- Also the FDA does not have authority over products applied by professionals, including henna vendors. (see more here)
If you are not selling, labeling, manufacturing, or importing henna NONE of this applies to you. There are no actual local laws on the books in the US prohibiting the use of henna on skin. It is not a criminal action. These FDA regulations are all the law says about the use of natural henna paste.

But how are we going to get our henna?!? That’s not really as big of a deal as it seems either. There has been a lot of inflammatory rhetoric lately, but in all actuality NOTHING has changed. About a year ago customs decided to tighten up on refusing or impounding henna shipments that do not comply with FDA regulation. The regulation did not change. Its just been an increase of enforcement at customs. When customs says “hey check out this non-compliant thing!” The FDA is obligated to follow through. Almost every henna importer I know has had this happen. Almost all of those have been able to jump through the prescribed hoops and get their shipment back. Almost of those have been able to receive later shipments with no problem. So yes, it is a pain, and a risk to get henna in the US, but knowledgable people have been able to navigate the land mines and they will continue to be able to even if they have losses from time to time. Fear mongering to the contrary serves only to increase sales with panic hoarding, or to attempt to push henna substitute products for henna art.

The fact of the matter is that the FDA absolutely knows what is wrong with the current regulation. They are unable to make changes until some reliable academic research is compiled to petition the FDA regulation. (Private corporate research would be great too, but unfortunately the corporations prefer to keep using cheap dangerous chemicals and are uninterested in completing such research.) Meanwhile all that is happening! Slowly over the course of literal decades. And in the meantime the FDA puts out the outreach material below. If you click through the slide show you can see that they understand which “temporary tattoos” are dangerous, which are not, and which need more research. They even give people the tools they need to tell the difference between dangerous PPD paste and the real thing! They point out the regulation because they have to, but their understanding of the reality is clear.

http://www.fda.gov/downloads/AboutFDA/Transparency/Basics/UCM396649.pdf

Please don’t worry. Everything is fine. Nothing has changed recently and very little has changed in the last year. There is nothing to fear for henna artists. Importers and suppliers are taking the risk for you and learning to navigate the bureaucratic waters.

Relax and enjoy this instead of worrying.

This 20 Kilo bundle of henna belongs Mardi the henna-cat.
April 5, 2016
Jamila 2015 is here!

The new crop of Jamila is in! Here is a first look at the paste and dye release test spot.

You can see it is super creamy! Very smooth. Mixes with absolutely no lumps.

jamila2105

The test spot is showing great color in a lemon juice mix with 24 hours standing time at 75 degrees.

Coned up the paste has an ever so slight stringy quality. Just enough to give a good drape, but does not create peaks or fly-away strands when making dots or lifting the cone.

jamila2015drape

Check back soon to see stain pictures!

Order your Jamila 2015

July 16, 2015
Fall Fun From the Archives!

I’ve been going through REALLY old photos and design pages and found some fun stuff for the season. Enjoy!

October 6, 2013
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.

May 21, 2013
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!

May 8, 2013
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.

May 6, 2013
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/

March 8, 2013