newbie henna user has questions

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Posted by Angela on June 14, 2001 at 23:11:21:

Hi, I'm Angela, an expat Canadian living in the U.A.E. In March I
discovered Aileen Marron's henna kit and found that I could buy ready-
made henna cones from the market in my building and now I'm HOOKED!
I've spent hours and hours browsing henna sites on the internet and
last week I discovered the joy of the henna forum. I think I've read
through almost every post in here! I have a couple of
questions.First, is there any way of testing a pre-mixed henna
mixture to find out what's in it? Any places that do that sort of
thing? The reason I ask is that I've been using ready-made cones from
a local Indian henna salon here in Abu Dhabi and I suspect they're
putting in some nasties to darken the colour. For three months I had
no problems, but a couple of weeks ago I bought a cone and did an
elaborate design on the back of my hand and it itched like crazy
(good stain, though). I didn't think much of it until I used the same
cone to do a neck design (by looking in the mirror) and ended up with
a red, swollen, itching neck/chest. Luckily, the redness went away
after I scraped the henna off - and believe me, I couldn't get it off
fast enough! I cut the cone open to take a look at the henna and
found that it smelled like gasoline. I actually tried a cone from
another Indian salon and got the same itchy results on my neck but
not on my hand. I did ask about ingredients at both salons, but
neither were willing to part with the information. After that I
started trying to make my own paste from the powder and later did
another neck design which I was able to leave on for 4 hours one day
and 5 hours the next (it didn't take well the first time, second time
it looked pretty good) with no itching whatsoever. Anyway, the
obvious solution is to make my own paste so I know what's in it, but
I'm just curious about what I've been slathering on my body for the
last three months. Also, I'm not very good at mixing my own yet and
my cone rolling skills have a ways to go, so I may have to rely on
them until I get better. Tonight, for the first time, I did henna on
two of my friends and I was very frustrated with my cones/paste. One
of my friends has super sensitive skin so I mixed a batch of henna
with only lime juice and tea to use on her. Unfortunately, despite
the fact that I sifted the powder three times through a tea strainer,
the tip of the cone clogged every two seconds and I nearly threw it
across the room in anger. All in all, the designs turned out well -
or at least they looked good when they left but both wanted arm bands
and I don't know how well my henna will take there. For my first time
doing others I probably should have insisted on doing hands since I
have more experience at it and the stain is more reliable. Live and
learn. Second question - I saw a tip on the henna page sent by Rachel
Newcomb which says to add a bit of nail polish remover to the paste.
How safe/effective is this? Another question - I saw a design on the
Usha Shah web page (http://www.mehendiart.com/4.htm) that looks like
it's shaded in. Can anyone tell me how to achieve that look? One more
thing (my husband says I have terrible e-mail ettiquette because I
blather on and on), someone on the forum asked about making transfers
and I thought say that I've had success using sewing paper, eyeliner,
and mehlabiya oil to trace designs printed from the computer and
transfer them to skin. Last comment - thanks for all the info
everyone posts on the web about PPD's/black henna. I won't be
touching it and I've already educated several people around here.
- Angela

Follow Ups

Re: newbie henna user has questions Sarah 04:54:54 6/15/2001 (0)
Re: newbie henna user has questions Kenzi 23:27:51 6/14/2001 (0)
Re: newbie henna user has questions Angela 23:12:26 6/14/2001 (0)

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: Hi, I'm Angela, an expat Canadian living in the U.A.E. In March I : discovered Aileen Marron's henna kit and found that I could buy ready- : made henna cones from the market in my building and now I'm HOOKED! : I've spent hours and hours browsing henna sites on the internet and : last week I discovered the joy of the henna forum. I think I've read : through almost every post in here! I have a couple of : questions.First, is there any way of testing a pre-mixed henna : mixture to find out what's in it? Any places that do that sort of : thing? The reason I ask is that I've been using ready-made cones from : a local Indian henna salon here in Abu Dhabi and I suspect they're : putting in some nasties to darken the colour. For three months I had : no problems, but a couple of weeks ago I bought a cone and did an : elaborate design on the back of my hand and it itched like crazy : (good stain, though). I didn't think much of it until I used the same : cone to do a neck design (by looking in the mirror) and ended up with : a red, swollen, itching neck/chest. Luckily, the redness went away : after I scraped the henna off - and believe me, I couldn't get it off : fast enough! I cut the cone open to take a look at the henna and : found that it smelled like gasoline. I actually tried a cone from : another Indian salon and got the same itchy results on my neck but : not on my hand. I did ask about ingredients at both salons, but : neither were willing to part with the information. After that I : started trying to make my own paste from the powder and later did : another neck design which I was able to leave on for 4 hours one day : and 5 hours the next (it didn't take well the first time, second time : it looked pretty good) with no itching whatsoever. Anyway, the : obvious solution is to make my own paste so I know what's in it, but : I'm just curious about what I've been slathering on my body for the : last three months. Also, I'm not very good at mixing my own yet and : my cone rolling skills have a ways to go, so I may have to rely on : them until I get better. Tonight, for the first time, I did henna on : two of my friends and I was very frustrated with my cones/paste. One : of my friends has super sensitive skin so I mixed a batch of henna : with only lime juice and tea to use on her. Unfortunately, despite : the fact that I sifted the powder three times through a tea strainer, : the tip of the cone clogged every two seconds and I nearly threw it : across the room in anger. All in all, the designs turned out well - : or at least they looked good when they left but both wanted arm bands : and I don't know how well my henna will take there. For my first time : doing others I probably should have insisted on doing hands since I : have more experience at it and the stain is more reliable. Live and : learn. Second question - I saw a tip on the henna page sent by Rachel : Newcomb which says to add a bit of nail polish remover to the paste. : How safe/effective is this? Another question - I saw a design on the : Usha Shah web page (http://www.mehendiart.com/4.htm) that looks like : it's shaded in. Can anyone tell me how to achieve that look? One more : thing (my husband says I have terrible e-mail ettiquette because I : blather on and on), someone on the forum asked about making transfers : and I thought say that I've had success using sewing paper, eyeliner, : and mehlabiya oil to trace designs printed from the computer and : transfer them to skin. Last comment - thanks for all the info : everyone posts on the web about PPD's/black henna. I won't be : touching it and I've already educated several people around here. : - Angela
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