HENNA AFTERCARE

  • Natural henna paste on fingers in a simple easy henna design

    LEAVE HENNA ON AS LONG AS YOU CAN!

    Henna is a plant dye that slowly soaks into skin. The longer you leave it on, the more the dye can be absorbed. Focus on patience zen and let it flake it off. This can take between 15 mins to a few hours.

  • Back of the hand with henna paste freshly off. The henna design is a bright orange color

    THE FIRST COLOR YOU SEE IS NOT THE LAST

    When the paste falls off, you should see a bright orange color. THIS IS NORMAL. The plant dye needs time to oxidize (yes, there is a lot of cool science to henna!). Over the next 48 hours, you will see the color continually change. The final color is different for everyone. Hand washing, swimming pools, water based moisturizers, health issues, weather and even body temperature etc… can all play a role in the color.

  • back of hand against a pink background. Henna design on finger is a chestnut brown color

    PATIENCE HAS ITS REWARDS

    Your final color peaks around 48 hours and ranges between a cherry red to a mahogany brown. Henna stains are opaque so they blend with your own skin tone. Your final henna color is as unique and amazing as you!

DO’S AND DON’TS

  • Woman washing hands with sudsy soap over a metal sink with water running

    DON’T WASH OFF THE HENNA

    If you wash off the paste before the plant dye soaks into your skin, you are also washing off some of the color and it will be lighter. Henna paste has hydrogen atoms that are attracted to other hydrogen atoms. Guess what water is made of? H2O. So let the paste flake off by itself. If it gets a little sticky and doesn’t fall off after a couple of hours, you can use a gift card to scrape it off.

  • Hand immersed under clear water with a teal background

    DO KEEP AWAY FROM WATER

    Henna needs around 24 hours to cure. So be hygienic but avoid too much exposure to water. No swimming, washing dishes, dirty jobs or even water based moisturizer. This is the perfect excuse to put up your feet and relax for a day or two.

  • cut pug dog sitting on a bed with his head and body wrapped in a beige blanket

    DO KEEP WARM

    Henna plant dye molecules love two things - water and heat. Give them both and you will get an amazing color. You can use a sealant spray to keep the paste from drying out. In cooler weather, a heater, hot water bottle, electric blanket or even just holding your hands over a warm stove (at a safe distance!) can help.

    p.s. Henna also brings down the body temperature so keeping warm also helps you from getting too cold!

  • two women with their backs to each other and blue tattoos showing on their shoulders and arms, which are uncovered. One woman is handing the other woman a vial of oil over their shoudlers

    DO USE OILS AND BALMS

    Oils are a perfect skin barrier against water exposure. You can use most oil or oil based balm around the house. Just remember that some essential oils are actually drying and absorb too easily into the skin to be protective. Some suggestions are Shea Butter, Cocoa butter, Vitamin E oil, olive oil and even lip balm can work.

  • woman wearing a vhite vest and her shirt off her shoulders rubbing some cream onto her upper forearm

    DON’T EXFOLIATE

    Exfoliate before henna but not after. Why? Henna dyes your skin cells. When you scrub your skin, you are removing the henna dye and reducing the longevity of the design.

    Be careful about what products you use as well. Anti-aging and acne creams contain ingredients designed to kill old skin cells to regenerate new ones. Any ingredient that removes skin cells is also removing the henna.

  • Two women standing next to each other with woman on lefts arm on the other woman’s shoulder looking happy and joyful

    DON’T WORRY, BE HAPPY

    Don’t stress too much over the aftercare. These are just guidelines to help you. Even if you don’t follow a single rule, you will still have a beautiful design. The only difference is how long you will get to enjoy it for.