Henna tattoos are drawn with the help of the henna paste. This paste is easily available in the markets and you only need to mix it with a little bit of water to make a slightly thick paste. This paste can then be put in a cone, which are also available in the markets, and then sealed off with a rubber band or tied up strongly with a thread. Thus itâs the easiest way of painting on yourself. A henna tattoo could stay on your body parts for around one-two weeks depending upon its color intensity. The way henna is applied and the process followed to let it dry determine its quality and preservation. However, there are ways that you must know about the after-care of the henna tattoo. After-care depends a lot on the initial way of putting henna, drying it, removing mistakes and things done to intensify the color etc. Compiled below, are, simple steps to put a henna tattoo and its aftercare.
1. Using a freehand while drawing
The art of drawing a henna tattoo is simple yet skillful. Once you have purchased the henna whether pre-made or homemade, and your cone is ready to be used, try to keep your hand relaxed and easy. Thus you should use a freehand while drawing the henna design. You could either use a design for reference or directly draw it or if you not a perfectionist then you can use a marker to draw the design on your hand first and then follow it up with applying henna. It will take you around an hour and a half to complete your design. So hurrying up won’t help.
2. Use skin scribe stencil pens
There are ways to draw henna perfectly. And one such way is by first copying up the design on a tracing paper and then using a skin scribe stencil pen over it to draw it over. This leaves an exact impression of the design on your body part and then you can easily follow up with the henna counterpart over it. This way is followed by a large number of people as stain is something everybody wants to avoid by putting untidy henna.
3. Drawing the henna design
The drawing of the henna is a process that requires a little practice. You got to lightly squeeze the henna cone or bottle and let it fall sequentially according to the design. It could also be used like a paint when put in a bottle. The opening of the cone or the bottle should be very small. There is a possibility that henna might break while you are applying it, then don’t panic and re-do over the done part, just start from where it got broken. Avoid apply too much thick pastes as that will take longer to dry and might look untidy as well.
4. Fix your mistakes quickly
The henna tattoos are very quick in leaving a stain and thus when you have made a mistake with the design, just quickly grab cotton and put some water on it to wipe the henna off the skin. The important point to remember here is that you got to be very quick else the stain stays and nothing can be done about it.
5. Let the henna paste dry for at least 30 minutes
The henna drying process although depends on the thickness of the henna applied and on an average it takes around 30-40 minutes for the henna to dry off. It also depends on the temperature. If there is too much humidity, then it might take longer. On a bright sunny day, it would just take less than 30 minutes to dry off. Once it becomes dry, do not wash it away with water as that would lighten the color. Just rub it off and let it sit for 24 hours without washing it with water.
6. Intensifying the color
The henna tattoo can be made to look very vibrant and rich in color by letting it stay on your body part for over 24 hours. In between, you get to apply the lemon juice mixed with some sugar over it. You can apply it with a cotton ball and repeat this process twice or thrice. Remember that you should apply the lemon juice before rubbing off the henna. After you have done this process twice, and then the henna dries off, you could simply rub it off but not with water. Then after resting it for 24 hours, you would see that the color has greatly intensified.
7. Removing the henna
The way to remove a henna paste is simple. Either you could rub it off with your hand and if you had not applied the lemon juice over it and it would easily come off. But in case you had applied the lemon juice for intensifying the color, then you can use a knife or the back side of the spoon to simply wipe it off. Do not wash with water if you want the dense color. Even the whole henna doesn’t go off with the knife; you can let the tiny bits stay on your hand as they won’t fall off on your clothes or couches. Then after 24 hours, you could wash it off with water.
8. Henna after care
The way to after care lies in pre-care which involves not rubbing off the henna too quickly when it dries. Also applying lemon juice twice if you want the dense color and how often it gets rubbed during the process determine how long it will last. A henna tattoo lasts around 2-3 weeks max provided that you do not quickly wash it off. If you do that then it would be gone by a week and a few days.
