2008 Jamila Henna • Finished Color on Back of Hand

Here is a photo of the results of Jamila Henna 36 hours after the paste was removed. I feel good this wonderful dark reddish brown stain.

Please bear in mind that this is a photo of finished henna on 52 year old skin... and henna on the hand of a skinny woman at that! I am sure lovely, young skin will give a much better finished color than this. For those who are new to henna tattoo, here are a few tips you might want to know if you want to get good rich color for your finished tattoo.

First, the warmer you are, the more your pores open and the deeper the henna can penetrate the skin, so summer weather is good for henna.
Second, henna works best when the paste reamains wet. To keep your paste from drying too quickly, you can either continue to apply lemon sugar to your tattoo to keep the paste active as long as possible.. or you can have the pattern "wrapped" to go.
Third, the longer the paste stays on the skin, the darker the finished color.
Finally, if you moisturize the design area with olive oil, or another vegetable oil, you will get a darker tattoo than those who do not moisturize.

Some clients blow dry their finished tattoos after the paste is removed to help get a darker stain. ( Many people report good results with this method.)

I will publish fotos of the 2008 crop on the palm asap! So.. subscribe to my blog, or just come back for a visit later.
Namaste!

Bridal Henna for Back of Hand - Thanks Toni!

Thanks to all the generous artists who post videos of their work in process! I have learned so much about how to layout the designs as a result of watching their work.

I now use a a much thinner paste than I was using before, and a finer tip on the rolled cone.

I never did like mylar cones, but I found some floral plastic wrap that is comfortable to touch and responds well to pressure. It has a smooth feeling & I am not worried that I will "pop" it.

You may notice that I have a better grasp of the use of white space in this henna tattoo. In part, this is because I remembered to outline components when they were finished.

Of course one of the best blessings to henna tattoo practice is a willing & very still model. The success of this pattern is due in large part to my very patient model. Thanks Toni!

Arabic Style Henna for the Arm - Chef's Choice Henna

I am always grateful to my trusting henna clients who order "Chef's Choice". I mentioned to Rachel that I was really inspired by the excellent work of the artist who is featured in the henna video below, and that I wanted to practice that more intricate style of henna.

Lucky for me she agreed and here you see the result. This photo shows the henna paste on the skin.. and not black henna. We used the '08 crop of Jamila Henna so I have no doubt the finished color will be excellent! The henna powder created a nice gummy paste when I mixed it. The paste flowed easily and I could "drop lines" of paste on the skin when creating the tattoo, so I really enjoyed that.

I feel so fortunate that highly skilled henna artists are willing to post their work in action. I am a visual learner, and it is so wonderful to watch other artists think.
So.. I went browsing around and found a great live action henna video from Nepal that I will post in the near future. Right now, I am inspired to do a bit more bridal quality henna for practice & will post those photos soon.

Namaste 'til next time.

Amazing "How To" Bridal Henna Video

This is one of the most useful live demonstrations of How To apply henna. I have learned so much watching this great artist fill hands with mehandi. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Jamila Henna Powder • Rich Dark Color

Here is a bold pattern for the palm of the hand. This dark color is achieved with the last of the '07 Jamila Henna.
I used lemon juice, henna tea & jamila henna to start the paste.

After about 4 hours I added cajeput, neroli, lavendar and a bit of pomegranate juice to the mixture. I made a fairly liquid paste and used a medium tip mylar cone to achieve this design.

I did wrap the henna in tissue and wear a thin plastic glove overnight to get the darkest color possible. Of course, the color will be even darker tomorrow.. but I had a moment to put this photo up for you today.

I will have new photos online next week showing the finished color achieved with the 2008 harvest of Jamila henna which is just now for sale at Spirit Vision Henna.

The new henna pattern booklets from India are also for sale & make a great gift for the aspiring mehandi artist.

2008 Jamila Henna is HERE!! Great Price & Free Shipping

I just received my case of Jamila Henna! The 2008 Harvest is fresh off the plane & ready to ship. For those of you who like to freeze your henna for later use, now is the time to purchase. I will not put this order in the freezer for at least a week so that you will have time to buy.
Please notice that the sale price of $8.50 per 100 gram box includes free shipping by First Class Mail in the USA. If you are ordering from outside the US, please send a note that includes your ship to address & I will give you the best shipping price possible.
To see un-retouched photos of the deep red color possible with Jamila henna visit the henna powder page at Spirit Vision. PayPal shopping cart buttons are on line. Off we go!

Henna Tattoo Video • Arabic Style How to Henna

Here is the work of a very talented traditional artist. I love her use of bold lines & white space while creating a very full look for the palm of the hand. I just wnat to do more of this kind of art. Don't you want to have some traditional henna ??? I love this pattern. What you you think?