Henna Muse

Tag: mixing henna paste

  • 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.

     

  • 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.