Henna Paste Recipe: How to make mehndi

Henna paste that is available in the market is made by henna powder. This henna powder originally comes from a plant called “henna”. Since it comes from a natural source, it’s quite possible to make it at home!

Making henna paste is not very difficult. You only need a few ingredients. You will add them up to make a thick paste and your henna paste will be ready.

The ingredients that you need for making mehndi are:  fresh henna powder, coffee, lemon juice and essential oils .

We should be very careful while selecting henna powder. The powder should be packed and stored properly. It should not be very old either. Remember that henna powder is the basic ingredient so you can get best result only by using appropriate henna powder.

First of all, boil some coffee (it should be very strong, boil it more than usual to make it darker). We will use this coffee to make the henna paste. Take almost 20 grams of henna paste and add about 2-3 table spoons of lemon juice in it. Mix it well to get a thick paste. Now start adding the coffee. Keep adding it until you get smooth henna paste. Now add half tea spoon of essential oil (you can use olive oil for this). All these ingredients are very important because coffee and essential oils helps to give a darker stain while lemon juice (which is slightly acidic in nature) breaks the cellulose in henna leaves and allow the dye to come out. In this way you will get a darker and better henna tattoo.

Mix all these ingredients well. This will make a thick paste. Make sure that everything is evenly mixed. An uneven paste can jam your applicator. If you fell that your henna paste is a bit harder than you can add more coffee into it. And it you feel that your henna paste is slightly thin than you can add some henna powder into it.

Once you have mixed everything, you will get a creamy paste. Cover it with plastic wrap and press it against the paste to remove the air. Now store it in a warm place for 6 to 10 hours. After almost 6-10 hours henna paste will release the dye and will be ready to use.

You can store henna paste for two weeks in refrigerator while it can last for two months if stored in freezer.

Henna drums

Through 20th century, henna drums were used by women of North Africa and Middle East. At that time women were used to play frame drums, doumbeks, and riqs (tambourines) in different festivals, parties and weddings. They often patterned their drums’ heads with as they pattern their skin! Those drums were called henna drums.

The drums heads are made of goat skin or leather so applying henna is easy on them. While other paints may damage the skin. Since henna paste is made up of natural ingredients so they are safe to apply on drums. Its color will not interfere sound either. But remember; don’t add essential oils while making your henna paste as they may damage its skin.

The method of applying henna is same as you apply it on your hand. You need an untreated goatskin drum as treated drums will not be able to take the color of henna. You can tell that either drum is natural or treated by touching the skin. If it’s smooth then it’s treated but if it’s rough then it’s untreated.

Make henna paste by mixing henna powder with lemon. Let it set for 6-10 hours. Clean your drum properly before applying henna paste on it.

Before applying henna on drum choose a design. If you want to draw a complex design then it’s better to draw a rough sketch on your drum head (but the pencil marks should not be dark). Apply henna paste as you apply on your skin. Once you complete your design now you can left it for a few days (or may be one week) to dry. After seven day, gently remove the paste with the help of card board or any other thing but it should not be very pointed or sharp as it can damage the drum.

The reddish color under the paste will start to appear and this will be our henna drum.