Walking along a very crowded street in the backpacker district of Delhi, I came upon this bride-to-be having her hands henna’d for her wedding day. She sat at the side of the road in her red sari as another woman carefully applied the henna create an intricate and beautiful design on her hands.
The art of applying henna (or heena, as it’s commonly spelled in India) for festive occasions is called mehendi. All brides have these temporary tattoos applied to their hands for their wedding day(s).
Henna is derived from dried leaves which are then grounded and made into a powder. Boiling water is added and sometimes ingredients such as tea to enhance the color and then applied to the skin. The final shade will vary depending on the quality of the henna itself and whether any other ingredients are added. This temporary tattoo will last for one to four weeks.
In addition to its use in tattoos, henna can also be used for dry skin, for cuts on the skin and as a hair conditioner. It’s also rumored to slow hair loss.
For more about Mehendi and henna, visit Mehendi World.
Happy Travels!
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