Henna Muse

Tag: henna paste

  • Does Sugar Lessen Henna Stains?

    I saw some conversations on the Henna Hub indicating that people found that adding sugar to their paste was making their stains lighter. Mark Samwella from Jamaica even did some carefully documented testing and showed side by side stains where the sugar mixes were visibly less than those without. I was stunned! I know with certainty that if I don’t add sugar here in the US Midwest that the henna will crumble and fall off before much dye can be absorbed. So what’s going on here? So I decided to do some of my own testing on how sugar impacts henna stain.

    Procedure:

    I put one tablespoon of Organic Rajasthani Henna powder in each of 8 small cups. To that I added enough lemon juice to moisten and 1 ml cajeput essential oil.

    I covered 4 of the cups with plastic wrap to let them dye release.

    To the other four I added the following: no sugar, 1/2 teaspoon sugar, 1 teaspoon sugar, 2 teaspoon sugar. Then I thinned to a working consistency with lemon juice, and covered with plastic wrap.

    After 12 hours at room temperature I added sugar to the 4 cups in the following way. The first one I added as much sugar as it would take to thin the paste to working consistency. To the rest 1/2 teaspoon sugar, 1 teaspoon sugar, 2 teaspoons sugar.

    I applied all 8 mixes in generous dabs on my left calf, and again on my right calf, taping them after they dried.

    Results:

    The non sugared batch fell off within 40 minutes, as I expected. I was very surprised to find that after the color developed that patch still caught up to the others even with such little exposure! The tapped tests look pretty much the same except for the batches that are way over sugared, which are significantly lighter. I was surprised to see that my standard method of adding sugar to consistency was a little bit lighter, but in my dry, climate controlled kitchen, it did take nearly 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar, which is a LOT and nearly as much as the purposely over sugared 2 teaspoon batches. I saw virtually no difference between adding sugar at the initial mix vs. after dye release. I didn’t manage to get photo of the fade, but after days of wear and scrubbing the 2 teaspoon dots faded first, followed by the no sugar dots, then the rest. So even though the sugarless sample got as dark with less exposure it it did not last as long.

    henna batches ready for testing
    This image showing the no sugar batch falling off right away.
    Day two: Diagram of my non-taped leg stains
    Day two: (The taped leg is the inverse of the non-taped leg so the over-sugared batches are on the left here.) The taped leg shows very little difference in stain. The over sugared batches or slightly lighter.
    Day four: To my eye the darkest batches here are the 1/2 and 1 tablespoon, added after dye release batches.

    Conclusion:

    Yes I was surprised! But I will also keep using sugar. It does seem that TOO MUCH sugar impacts henna stain in a negative way. It makes sense though really. At that point your actually diluting the the amount of dye in the paste. I will probably reduce my maximum sugar addition from 6 tablespoons of sugar per 100 grams of paste to 4 before thinning with water, but on the whole I won’t change my method, or leave the sugar out all together.

    I was very surprised that the short exposure time of the non-sugar batch impacted the color so little! However it did greatly reduce longevity. This gives me confidence that most people will experience good stain even when they don’t have good after care. Duration of paste exposure is bound to be my next test!

    While Marc in Jamaica may have a very different environment from mine, his best practices are bound to be different. Its clear that his testing showed his method works for him. My testing showed my method works for me. I do believe that OVER sugaring to the degree of being non-workable anyway is probably the culprit where sugar causes an obviously poor stain. In my test they were clearly the only obvious outliers. My typical philosophy on henna methods is that within the margins of safe practice, every artists should do what works for them. And I stand by that.

  • About Mixing Henna

    As I try to brainstorm new content for this website, I’ve started thinking about getting back to basics. The most basic thing I can think of is mixing henna paste, and looking back at my previous posts I’ve spend some time going into great detail about henna chemistry, and special techniques in mixing henna, but what I haven’t done is post a very simple basic recipe.  So here it is! This is the simple beginner’s recipe that I include in my henna kits.

    Mixing Henna Paste

    This is the most basic recipe for mixing paste. You may want to make changes based on your preferences or your local climate, but this is a great place to start.

    Instructions

    Mixing

    1. Mix lemon juice into henna powder and sugar until it is the consistency of stiff mashed potatoes.
    2. Add essential oil and adjust the consistency of the paste to about that of pancake batter by adding more lemon juice.
    3. Recover and let stand 5 – 24 hours until it’s ready. The cooler the temperature, the longer it will need to stand. You can tell when it’s ready by putting a dot of paste on the heal of your palm. Let the paste dry, and rinse it off. If there is a bright orange stain, your paste is ready. This is called dye release.

    Filling applicators

    Spoon the paste into the included pastry bag. Snip the pointy end with scissors. Gently squeeze paste into the applicators. Only fill them about 2/3 of the way and use the remaining plastic to fold into a triangle and roll down. Use a tab of tape to hold it closed.

    Application

    Apply to clean skin. Allow the paste to dry for 30 minutes before touching it or covering with clothing. Leave dry paste on for an additional 4-8 hours.

    After care

    When the paste is removed the design will be pale orange. Allow 1-3 days for the color to deepen. Avoid water as much as possible in these first days. Use lotion or lip balm to keep skin moisturized and to seal it away from exposure to water before bathing.

    Next Steps

    After you’ve tried mixing henna paste with this recipe you’re ready to study advanced henna chemistry and my trademark sugaring method.

     

  • Essential Oils in Henna Paste

    Essential Oils In Henna Paste

    What is an essential oil?

    An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile aroma compounds from plants. They are often referred to as essence or oil of a specific plant, such as essence of lavender, or clove oil. Essential oils, like all organic compounds, are made up of hydrocarbon molecules and can further be classified as terpenes, alcohols, esters, aldehydes, ketones and phenols etc. (As henna artists we are most interested in specific terpenes called monoterpene alcohols, but we’ll get back to that a little later.) In plants these chemicals are naturally created as means of communication with other plants, to attract species that are helpful, and to repel those that are harmful. The also play varied rolls in plant metabolism. Its just by chance that humans are able to take advantage of them for medicinal purposes, as scents and flavorings, and to use essential oils in henna paste to give it a boost.

    Essential oils are made from the plant parts in three basic ways. (There are variations on each of these three methods. For more in depth information please see the resource list below.) Steam distillation is the most common method as its simple and cost effective. Heat is applied to the plant matter until the volatile liquid in the plant are vaporized, then condensed back into a liquid. Expression is a method reserved for citrus oils. With citrus fruits the essential oils are concentrated in little pockets between the skin and the fruit. The skins are pressed to release this oil, it and any juice are caught, and the juice is separated from the oil with a centrifuge. The last method, solvent extraction, is costly but necessary where some plants with very delicate oils would be damaged by steam distillation, such as with jasmine, rose, and some others. CO2 extraction produces the highest quality of oils produced this way, and will not have traces of solvents as some of the other solvent extraction methods may. Realistically though, for most people any oils produced by extraction will be far to expensive to use in henna paste.

    Its also important to note here what essential oils are NOT. Using a fragrance oil, or an essential oil diluted for aromatherapy or massage purposes will not improve henna stains one bit! Fragrance oils are man made, synthesized chemicals made just to smell like something. They do not have all the fine complexities of real essential oils. Often the part of an essential oil useful in improving henna stain doesn’t play much of a roll in the overall scent and wouldn’t be a part of the man-made counterpart. Also many fragrance oils contain phthalates or other chemicals that health conscious people may want to avoid. Another category of oils that are not helpful to henna artists are oils diluted for aromatherapy use. Most oils (with some exceptions like tea tree or lavender) are not recommend for “neat,” or direct undiluted use on the skin because they are too strong when used that way. Often oils intended for aromatherapy will be sold already diluted by a fixed oil such as grape seed oil or sweet almond oil. These oils will not be concentrated enough to work on paste. Pure oils added to paste are effectively diluted by the other ingredients in the mix so that they are still mild enough for use on skin.

    How do essential oils help improve stain?

    Essential oils dissolve lawsone molecules into a an evenly dispersed solution. Think of adding salt to water, and how once dissolved, each sip or drop of water will have the same amount of salt. Not only that, but in solutions materials have a more loose chemical structure that will make the lawsone more available to attach to skin. Lawsone, however is not water soluble so juice, tea, or water will not get the job done. It can be dissolved in things like kerosene or turpentine, but those ingredients would be horrible for our uses! These are dangerous chemicals! Henna artists need to use essential oils in henna that is skin safe and healthy for humans that will also dissolve the lawsone. Of all the hundreds, and hundreds of possible chemical constituents naturally present in essential oils, monoterpene alcohols are some of the most useful. They tend to be mild, nontoxic, effective against microorganisms, and have a tonifying effect. This means that they are often used in skin care and hygiene. As luck would have it they are also effective solvents for our purposes! Adding one to two tablespoons (15-30 ml) of essential oils high in monoterpene alcohols per 100 g of henna powder will dissolve lawsone in paste and greatly increase its ability to absorb into skin and bind to proteins there.

    There are some traditional uses of oils that are non-helpful wive’s tales. Applying oils to the skin before applying henna designs is not effective at all. In fact using essential oils “neat” or un-diluted directly on skin can be very irritating and using oils cut with fixed oils can seal skin away from the paste, blocking absorption of the lawesone dye. Applying essential oils after the paste is removed is also not helpful. It may be useful, however, to  use olive oil or other cooking oil to help loosen paste and remove residue rather than washing with water, and it may be helpful to apply oily products like lotion, lip or body balms, or even olive oil to skin before showing or bathing to seal the skin away from water and to help discourage exfoliation.

    Which essential oils are safe and effective?

    Common monoterpene alcohols include carvacrol, linalool, citronellol, geraniol, alpha-terpinol and terpinol-4, thymol, menthol, cineol, eugenol. Some of these can be irritating to skin when the are heavily present in an essential oil though! Of these those that are non irritating and and effective are lilalool, both terpinols, geraniol, ceneol, and cedrol. Tea tree has cineol. Cajeput and Niaouli both have high levels of cineol and terpineol. Geranium has geraniol and linalol. Clove bud has high levels of eugenol.

    There’s more to it than just identifying these chemical constituents. 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 paste enhancing essential oil (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” (slang term for essential oils high in monoterpenes and  and skin safe for use in henna paste) but other varieties are not. Its common to find eucalyptus essential oil labeled “globulus” that turn 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 complicate the issue even further many companies will use the term like “aromatherapy grade,” which are essentially meaningless. Some multi level marketing companies will supply their representatives with credentials that are without any value or authority to help them sell over priced, poor quality product. Be wary of this practice! 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. When shopping for essential oils for your henna paste it is really best to shop with a dedicated henna supplier. They know all these details including the ones that don’t effect other consumers.

    Please be careful and responsible when using essential oils in henna paste. Some oils can be dangerous for people with specific medical conditions. Lavender is very mild and a good choice for people who are pregnant, ill, or have very sensitive skin. Choosing good, safe, and effective essential oils for use in henna paste requires a lot of trust in a supplier, or a lot of independent research. Always be very careful in your choice and make sure that you clients are well aware of the ingredients in your paste.

    Sources and further study:

    The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Essential Oils, Julia Lawless

    Advanced Aromatherapy: The Science of Essential Oils, Kurt Schnaubelt

    The Usborne Illustrated Dictionary of Chemistry, Jane Withereim, et al

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essential_oil#Solvent_extraction

    http://www.essentialoils.co.za/extraction-methods.htm

    http://www.essentialoils.co.za/components.htm

    Glossary

    Fixed oils– Vegetable oils that do not evaporate easily such as olive oil, sunflower oil, coconut oil. These oils are often plant derived but are not essences.

    Lawsone– The dye in henna. Also called hennatonic acid, or natural orange 6

    Monoterpene Alcohol– a class of terpenes that consist of two isoprene units and have the molecular formula C10H16

    Volatile– Evaporates easily

    Copyright Jennifer Schafer 2016

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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.