Friday, January 20, 2012

Henna!

I thought I would give you a bit of a break from my Dubai themed posts and pictures, and share pics of the Henna I had done for my friend's wedding!  For those unfamiliar with Henna, it is the art of temporary tattooing and is made from a certain type of flowering plant.  A paste is created from the powdered form of this plant, and is used to dye the skin; it has been used since the Bronze ages,in other forms, to dye hair, fingernails, leather, wool and silk.

In the past it was more used for medicinal purposes and as an anti-fungal treatment... it used to be spread on the palms of hands, and soles of feet.  However, the increase in use of henna for body art has been developed and enjoyed in recent years.  In some middle eastern and asian cultures (such as india, pakistan, and sri lanka), henna is traditionally used by women to prepare for weddings and other important occasions.

It usually lasts from a few days to a month depending on the quality of the paste, your skin type, and how often the skin is cleaned/rubbed.
Mine stayed for around 3 weeks, since the henna was of a good and dark quality.




Some of my friend's henna, for the wedding (usually henna designs are much more elaborate, but as you can see we decided to keep it simple :) )



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