Re: Online stores
Posted by Brett Blatchley on July 29, 1999 at 01:12:59:
In Reply to: Online stores posted by JC on July 28, 1999 at 07:36:38:
I just purchased a "henna kit" from this company over the net:
Al Muhajab Islamic clothing
http://www.angelfire.com/biz/IslamicClothing/Henna.html
The kit I purchased contained 300 grams of henna, 20 ml. of
mahlabiyah oil, a pattern book, and stencils for $23 (postpaid).
Bear in mind that I do not have much experience with henna:
The henna power looked "in-between" in quality - i.e. it was *not*
jade green in color, it was on the brighter side of olive drab. The
powder had to be sifted 5 (FIVE!) times before I could trust it to go
through the tips of my homemade cones (with holes the size of an
average sized safety-pin (somewhat less than 0.5 mm?). This took 5
hours for 30 grams!!!!
The oil (which retails for $6) is *very* strong smelling; was it
effective? Not sure...
The pattern book (which retails for $8) was a joke; it was a booklet
of about twenty pages of hand and foot patterns.
The stencils (which retail for $5) are not impressive either.
I've applied this henna to my palms for 12 hours, got a deep-deep red
stain which has worn to a deep rust color in 4 days with minimal
washing and no harsh soaps.
The henna from this place is $2.50 for 100 grams (about 3.5 onces).
It is said to a top-brand from Yemen chosen for deep and long lasting
color (guess we'll see...)
Anyway, if I purchase henna here again, it will be *only* henna; the
other stuff is of questionable worth in my view.
I also need a better way to sift henna. I used a Leggs pany-hose and
spent five hours sifting 30 grams.
If You want to see how this henna worked on my hands, I posted
pictures on my webspace yesterday:
http://linus.highpoint.edu/~bblatchl/henna/henna.html
My recipie:
* 2 tsp. finely sifted henna
* 10 drops of mahlabiyah oil (optional)
* about 2 tsp. of *very* *very* *very* strong lipton tea. Add enough
to wet the past to the consistency of molassis (it should slowly ooze
off the mixing spoon).
I used the henna almost immediatly after mixing (after spoiling a
batch due to under-sifting, I was pretty impatient by this time!).
The tea was a cup of common drinking tea (made with a family size
bag) with half the cup boiled away. (You can freeze what you don't
use.)
I kept making and throwing away batches due to under-sifting. What
would seem to be fine enough powder would glob and blob in fits and
starts from my applicator cone -- no way I could get a decent line.
When I finally got it right, the consistancy was *noticeably*
different -- it was *creamy* smooth instead of slightly grainy
smooth) Anyway, I thought it was my cone construction, but it was
just sifting.
Hope all of this helps!
Take (henna hands) Care Everyone :-)