What's a Henna Artist?

  

When someone asked me last week, "What exactly is a henna artist?", I realized I'd missed an opportunity to make last week's book review even longer. 😉

So here's a short tutorial by someone, myself, who had to look up some of the details about henna art in order to share them here.

  

Of course, there's a plethora of online information about henna art (thanks Google!) so let's start with what it is:

Henna designs are a type of body art that often resemble tattoos, but are not applied in the same way and are not permanent. Henna art, called mehndi in India, is the application of designs on parts of the body by a person called a henna artist using a paste made up of ground henna root paste (often sold as a prepared henna powder) mixed with a liquid of some kind - water, tea, lemon juice etc. The design is applied using a piping bag and tip and other instruments, such wooden sticks to get the desired effect. The paste is left to dry; the longer it stays on the body, the darker the design. Application of henna on frequently washed areas, such as hands, will not last as long as other parts, but generally, the design only lasts about 2 to 3 weeks. 

  

Henna art is popular on the Indian subcontinent and is also common in Arab culture where the designs can be quite different, although, of course, a henna artist is usually willing to give whatever effect is desired. And does it really need to be said that henna art is not bounded by geography? Wherever people have immigrated to, there you will also find henna art. 

My understanding is that henna art is especially desirable for social occasions such as engagements, weddings, birthdays as well as for cultural and religious holidays. 

I hope you're as impressed with the skill of henna artists as I am.

Most of the information above and some of the photos were gleaned from this website: Authority Tattoo, where even more details may be found.