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| Home > Articles > Mehendi tips for the bride
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| | Mehendi tips for the bride
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 Applying of henna on the palms is called Mehendi. Henna is a natural product. Its leaves are dried and grounded to make the henna powder. Since it is a natural product, there are no known side effects. It usually takes many hours to get a good henna stain on the skin, and that stain is quite harmless. The shade varies according to the quality of the henna powder. Your henna design should last at a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 4 weeks depending on the thickness of the epidermis of your skin and on where the design is located. To have a good result leave the henna paste for eight hours and more. The longer the paste is kept on, the darker the design will be. The less exposed to water, soap or rubbing, the longer the designs will stay.
The mehendi has become part of any Indian wedding, be it north Indian or south Indian. The reason is not hard to find. It is that part of the joyous celebrations that sets the tone for the days to follow, a day when all the guests simply enjoy themselves decorating their hands with lovely designs that are deftly applied by professional mehendi artists who almost seem to speak with their hands! While the parents of the bride arrange the get-together with a sumptuous lunch thrown in, the guests, which include the bridegroom`s relatives and friends also, simply let go of all inhibitions and just enjoy themselves thoroughly. Originally a purely female function, these days the mehendi celebrations are thrown open to the men also, and one may find many adventurous men having these temporary tattoos drawn on their arms or shoulders just to be part of all the fun. The bride gets loads of gifts and is made to feel like a princess with everyone dancing attention on her and special, intricate designs drawn on her hands, feet and even her back by the mehendi artists who vie with each other to show off their skills.
Even while the beautiful, cosmetic use of mehendi as a kind of tattoo that adorns a bride is well known, are you aware that it also has medicinal properties? Did you know that mehendi is still used in villages and rural areas as well as by practitioners of alternative medicines to treat cuts and scratches? In the days when chemical hair dyes were unknown, mehendi was the natural dye that not only covered the grey, but also conditioned the hair and prevented hair loss. In fact, the use of mehendi dates back thousands of years when the Egyptians used it to dye the fingers and toes of their dead before the mummification process. These days, however, even the use of natural henna has been corrupted, as the preparation process is a tad too long for our hectic lifestyles. Instead, the market is flooded with instant versions of mehendi in various colours and are available along with stencils that make the application that much easier. These of course, fade much faster than the natural henna and have no medicinal benefits whatsoever.
Some Dos and Donts for application of Mehendi:
Do`s
Wash the area to be decorated with a good soap (one with a mud base) and water.
Mehendi should be kept for 2-3 hours till it is fully dry.
Scrape off the dry Mehendi and do not wash it with water for atleast 24 hours, to ensure maximum colour.
Apply a mixture of lemon and sugar, atleast twice, to the dry area.
After the tattoos are dried completely get some steam passing through cloves over the gas and apply a mint balm for a good darkened color.
When the Mehendi starts fading and appears patchy, it can be removed by applying cosmetic body bleach.
Dont`s
Do not use an oily soap as this can prevent the color from setting properly
After the design are applied avoid washing the area with soap or water .
Avoid staying close to the air conditioner as it dries up the mehendi.
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