How to make your Mehendi last longer | Tips to obtain the deepest henna colour

Hello beautiful human reading this :)

If you have not heard of Mehendi or henna before, then let me give you a very quick 'intro'.

It is essentially a paste made from leaves of the Henna tree and upon application, it turns the skin into a deep burgundy/ reddish brown colour. It kind of reminds me of Bromine (yup from the periodic table) :p The mehendi stain does not last forever - it wears off after a while. It depends on which part of the body you apply it and what that part of the body is exposed to. For example, on your hands - it will start wearing off after a 1week - 2 weeks. However, on your shoulders - it will probably last a month or more because that part is not exposed to as much water as are your hands.

For centuries now, people have applied mehendi on their skin in the form of various designs to enhance their beauty. The most common ones are paisley, peacock, floral and somewhat baroqu-y designs. When applied correctly, it really is gorgeous to look at. Some people use henna for temporary tattoos as well.

I adore the smell of it <3
I do know some people who cannot stand the smell but hey..girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do to look pretty :p
Not implying that mehendi is limited to girls but I have never really quite witnessed men wearing it.

Anyhow, I am on of those people who can actually apply henna. Not gonna lie, it does require patience and is a very painstaking task - especially when applying on hands, arms etc. However, it is absolutely worth it once in a while. I do it as a hobby and it did take quite a lot of practice to get it right. So here are some tips to make the mehendi last longer. Tried and tested by the way.

1. Time of application 

 It is very important that you choose when to apply mehendi very carefully. Applying it too earlier on will cause it to start fading. Likewise, if you wait till the last minute then the colour will not deepen to its full potential.

I would suggest 2 days before an event. Not that day before nor on the very same day since the henna has to be absorbed by your skin. Also, your body temperature will make the colour darker and prettier.

I would also suggest that you apply it in the afternoon or evening so that the henna has time to dry and you can rub it all off before going to bed.

It is okay to keep the henna on while sleeping but it is quite cold and will definitely cause your hands to remain cold throughout the night. Plus, the mess that the dried henna will cause is something you really wanna avoid :p

2. Lemon juice with Sugar

When your henna has started to dry up, you can take a piece of cotton wool - dip it in a lemon-sugar mixture and dab it slowly all over your mehendi. This will ensure that bits and pieces that dry up faster do not fall off. Also, for some reason this does make the henna deeper. 

Something that I have also noticed is that when i allow bits and pieces to fall off, the final overall mehendi is not of uniform colour. 

Rmember to make the lemon juice + sugar mixture very concentrated, ie, add more sugar than necessary. The thicker the mixture- the better. You do not want that juice to drip off or slide across your hands - this will ruin your mehendi. 

3. Warm Oil 

When all your mehendi has dried up completely and it starts to itch - then you know it is time to rub it off. 

If you have applied the lemon-sugar mixture - wash your hands (with luke warm water preferably). 

If you haven't, then do not wash your hands.

Warm some oil and using tissue paper or a peice of cloth or cotton wool, apply it to your skin. 

Now, warm the oil - do not let it simmer or DO NOT BOIL IT ! Otherwise your skin will melt off. the oil should be luke warm - that is it. 

The warm oil will help keep your hands warm. You could put your hands in some old socks as well - for maximum colour. 

4. Avoid Water

This is the most obvious one - avoid water. Now, I know it is impossible not to use water but try not to. It will cause your mehendi to start fading. 

5. Warm hands

Keep your hands warm as much as possible. 

Wrap it in a towel. Put some socks on. Stay in Bed. Whatever you need to do :p

That is it really. 5 full proof ways to ensure that your mehendi lasts longer. 

Of course these are things that I have tried myself and will not necessarily work for everyone. 

Please note that henna does not necessarily have the same colour on all people :P

Penning off,
Bus