Re: henna in the office

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Posted by Marina Waltz on June 26, 2001 at 22:32:59:

In reply to: henna in the office posted by veggiesaurus on June 26, 2001 at 15:57:39:

Twenty some-odd years ago I worked in an office with a lot of Indian
women. Someone was always getting married so there were frequently
hennaed hands to be seen. I loved it and enjoyed using it whenever I
got the chance, but our boss hated it with a passion. She thought it
looked like we all had palms full of worms. She never said she
didn't want anyone to use it, though, and the company bigwigs never
commented one way or the other.

These days I work in a pretty conservative office with a fairly
strict dress code - no bare legs, open-toed shoes, sleeveless tops,
leggings, etc. However, I work in the graphics/multi-media
department, and everyone knows artists are all a little weird.
(Actually, I think being a little nuts is a prerequisite for working
in this department.)

While we sort-of, more-or-less, work within the dress code, we do get
a little creative from time-to-time. We're the only ones who get
dressed up at Halloween and we're the only ones that decorate our
department for holidays. One of my co-workers has long blue hair.
So far, no one has said anything to him about it. No one made any
criticisms about my henna, either.

While I didn't receive any criticisms, I did have people ask about
it. One day last week I decided to go sit outside in the sunshine to
come up with a design for my hand, taking a few printed designs with
me for inspiration. Someone got on the elevator and saw one of the
little pictures I had with me. She said, "Is that henna?", and asked
if I did it. When I said yes to both questions she told me she
wanted to come up and talk to me about it.

Another one of my department's clients came in one day after I had
done my hand and said her daughter would really have loved to have
seen it since she and her friend are planning on doing some henna
this summer.

One of our vendors thought it was really great when he saw it, too.
The only response I got that was less than positive didn't come from
within the office. That came from one of the employees at the bank.
She asked me if that was a tattoo on my hand. I told her it was
henna. She wasn't familiar with the word so I explained what it
was. She didn't say anything more, but the expression on her face
was pretty doubtful.

The one really wonderful thing about henna is that if the powers that
be don't like it, you can tell them it isn't permanent and it will be
gone fairly quickly.

Regards,

Marina

: What kind of experiences has everyone had with wearing henna in a
: visible place (hand, etc.) at work? I took a chance and have some
on
: my hand today. Nobody has said anything yet, but I think my boss
: looked at me funny. She probably thinks it's magic marker! :P How
: have other people handled this?

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: Twenty some-odd years ago I worked in an office with a lot of Indian : women. Someone was always getting married so there were frequently : hennaed hands to be seen. I loved it and enjoyed using it whenever I : got the chance, but our boss hated it with a passion. She thought it : looked like we all had palms full of worms. She never said she : didn't want anyone to use it, though, and the company bigwigs never : commented one way or the other. : : These days I work in a pretty conservative office with a fairly : strict dress code - no bare legs, open-toed shoes, sleeveless tops, : leggings, etc. However, I work in the graphics/multi-media : department, and everyone knows artists are all a little weird. : (Actually, I think being a little nuts is a prerequisite for working : in this department.) : : While we sort-of, more-or-less, work within the dress code, we do get : a little creative from time-to-time. We're the only ones who get : dressed up at Halloween and we're the only ones that decorate our : department for holidays. One of my co-workers has long blue hair. : So far, no one has said anything to him about it. No one made any : criticisms about my henna, either. : : While I didn't receive any criticisms, I did have people ask about : it. One day last week I decided to go sit outside in the sunshine to : come up with a design for my hand, taking a few printed designs with : me for inspiration. Someone got on the elevator and saw one of the : little pictures I had with me. She said, "Is that henna?", and asked : if I did it. When I said yes to both questions she told me she : wanted to come up and talk to me about it. : : Another one of my department's clients came in one day after I had : done my hand and said her daughter would really have loved to have : seen it since she and her friend are planning on doing some henna : this summer. : : One of our vendors thought it was really great when he saw it, too. : The only response I got that was less than positive didn't come from : within the office. That came from one of the employees at the bank. : She asked me if that was a tattoo on my hand. I told her it was : henna. She wasn't familiar with the word so I explained what it : was. She didn't say anything more, but the expression on her face : was pretty doubtful. : : The one really wonderful thing about henna is that if the powers that : be don't like it, you can tell them it isn't permanent and it will be : gone fairly quickly. : : Regards, : : Marina : : : What kind of experiences has everyone had with wearing henna in a : : visible place (hand, etc.) at work? I took a chance and have some : on : : my hand today. Nobody has said anything yet, but I think my boss : : looked at me funny. She probably thinks it's magic marker! :P How : : have other people handled this?
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