Henna (mehndi) originated in the Middle East approximately 5,000 years ago. The henna plant (Lawsonia Inermis) grows well in the hot, dry areas of this region. The leaves are dried and crushed into a powder to be mixed with other ingredients to make a paste. The paste is used by a number of tools to "draw" on the skin. These tools should never puncture or hurt the skin of the person receiving the henna! Henna can also be used on hair as a natural hair dye. The henna paste dries on the skin, and hours later, is peeled off to reveal the tattoo in a bright orange color. Over the next 48 hours or so, the stain will darken to a brick-red or coffee-brown color, depending on the body chemistry of each person. The color will always be a hue of orange, red or brown, but never black! The stain will last about a week or two. Henna has been used for celebrations, weddings, and a fun way to express yourself! Please visit my resource page for links to more information on henna!

Black Henna is not natural henna, but henna that has been mixed with PPD in hopes of getting a black stain. PPD is synthetic black hair dye containing para-phenylendiamine. Putting PPD on the skin can cause blisters, sores, scarring and allergies. Please be careful, and remember that real henna isn't black!

Body Paint refers to a very temporary form of body art in which the person is painted with brushes, sponges or other tools using either oil based or water based paints. Most paints on the market today will not clog pores and are fairly easy to remove. I use high quality water-based paints.