Henna tattoos 2

Henna tattoos are used often in the middle east and some of the far east countries in happy ocasions as well as  in weddings ... the designs of henna tattos in ordinary ocassions generally are simple and small relative to those made for weddings ....bridal henna tattoos are a different story; they vary in length and detail depending on the general trend and on the brid's taste. Considering the length of the bridal Henna tattoo, the limit is your imagination; the bridal henna tattoo can vary from just the hands and/or legs to any part of the body -_^.

More info About Henna and Henna Tattoos

Henna or Hina is a flowering plant, Lawsonia inermis, used since antiquity to dye skin, hair, fingernails, leather, and wool. The name is also used for dye preparations derived from the plant, and for the art of temporary tattooing based on those dyes. Additionally, the name is misused for other skin and hair dyes, such as black henna or neutral henna, which do not derive from the plant.
The English name "henna" comes from the Arabic حــنــا

Description

Henna is a tall shrub or small tree, 2–6 m high. It is glabrous, multibranched with spine tipped branchlets. Leaves are opposite, entire, glabrous, sub-sessile, elliptical, and broadly lanceolate.

Cultivation

The henna plant is native to tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, southern Asia, and northern Australasia in semi-arid zones. Henna's indigenous zone is the tropical savannah and tropical arid zone, in latitudes between 15° and 25° N and S from Africa to the western Pacific rim, and produces highest dye content in temperatures between 35°C and 45°C. During the onset of precipitation intervals, the plant grows rapidly; putting out new shoots, then growth slows. The leaves gradually yellow and fall during prolonged dry or cool intervals. It does not thrive where minimum temperatures are below 11°C. Temperatures below 5°C will kill the henna plant. Henna is commercially cultivated in western India, Pakistan, Morocco, Yemen, Iran, Afghanistan, Somalia, Sudan, Libya, and Egypt.

Uses

Henna has been used since the Bronze Age to dye skin (including body art), hair, fingernails, leather, silk and wool. In several parts of the world it is traditionally used in various festivals and celebrations. There is mention of henna as a hair dye in Indian court records around 400 CE,[2] in Rome during the Roman Empire, and in Spain during Convivienca.[3] It was listed in the medical texts of the Ebers Papyrus (16th c BCE Egypt)[4] and by Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya (14th c CE (Syria and Egypt) as a medicinal herb.[5] In Morocco, wool is dyed and ornamented with henna, as are drumheads and other leather goods.
Use of henna for body art has enjoyed a recent renaissance due to improvements in cultivation, processing, and the emigration of people from traditional henna-using regions.

For skin dyeing, a paste of ground henna (either prepared from a dried powder or from fresh ground leaves) is placed in contact with the skin from a few hours to overnight. Henna stains can last a few days to a month depending on the quality of the paste, individual skin type, and how long the paste is allowed to stay on the skin.
Henna also acts as an anti-fungal[9] and a preservative for leather and cloth. It was listed in the medical texts of the Ebers Papyrus (16th c BCE Egypt)[4] and by Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya (14th c CE (Syria and Egypt) as a medicinal herb.[5]
Henna flowers have been used to create perfume since ancient times, and henna perfume is experiencing a resurgence.Henna repels some insect pests and mildew.
Henna's coloring properties are due to lawsone, a burgundy organic compound that has an affinity for bonding with protein. Lawsone is primarily concentrated in the leaves, especially in the petioles of the leaf. Lawsone content in leaves is negatively associated with the number of seeds in the fruits.

Preparation and application

Henna powderWhole, unbroken henna leaves will not stain the skin. Henna will not stain skin until the lawsone molecules are made available (released) from the henna leaf. Fresh henna leaves will stain the skin if they are smashed with a mildly acidic liquid. The lawsone will gradually migrate from the henna paste into the outer layer of the skin and bind to the proteins in it, creating a fast stain.

Since it is difficult to form intricate patterns from coarse crushed leaves, henna is commonly traded as a powder made by drying, milling and sifting the leaves. The dry powder is mixed with lemon juice, strong tea, or other mildly acidic liquids to make a preparation with toothpaste-like consistency, that can be used to make finely detailed body art. The henna mix must rest for 6 to 12 hours before use, to release the lawsone from the leaf matter. Essential oils with high levels of monoterpene alcohols such as tea tree, eucalyptus, cajeput, or lavender will improve skin stain characteristics.

The paste can be applied with many traditional and innovative tools, including resist, shading, thick-paste, and cellowrap techniques. A satisfactory stain may be achieved within minutes, but the longer the paste is left on the skin, the stronger the stain will be, and it may be left for several hours. To prevent it from drying or falling off the skin, the paste is often sealed down by dabbing a sugar/lemon mix over the dried paste, or simply adding some form of sugar to the paste. This also adds to the colour of the end result, increasing the intensity of the shade. At the end of the procedure, the dry paste is simply brushed or scraped away.

Henna stains are orange soon after applicaion, but darken over the following three days to a reddish brown. Soles and palms have the thickest layer of skin and so take up the most lawsone, and take it to the greatest depth, so that hands and feet will have the darkest and most long-lasting stains. Steaming or warming the henna pattern will darken the stain, either during the time the paste is still on the skin, or after the paste has been removed. Chlorinated water and soaps may spoil the darkening process: alkaline products may hasten the darkening process. After the stain reaches its peak color it will appear to fade, as the stained dead cells exfoliate.

Health effects

Woman whose hair is dyed with hennaThough user accounts cite few, if any, negative effects of natural henna paste, pre-mixed henna body art pastes may have ingredients added to darken stain, or to alter stain color. The health risks involved in pre-mixed paste can be significant. The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) considers these to be adulterants and therefore illegal for use on skin.[19] Some pastes have been found to include: silver nitrate, carmine, pyrogallol, disperse orange dye, and chromium.[20] These have been found to cause allergic reactions, chronic inflammatory reactions, or late-onset allergic reactions to hairdressing products and textile dyes.

The FDA has not approved henna for direct application to the skin. It is unconditionally approved as a hair dye, and can only be imported for that purpose.[19][23] Henna imported into the USA which appears to be for use as body art is subject to seizure,[citation needed] though prosecution is rare.

Natural henna stains only a rich red brown. Products sold as "black henna" or "neutral henna" do not contain henna, and may be derived from indigo (in the plant Indigofera tinctoria) or Cassia obovata, and may contain unlisted dyes and chemicals.[24] "Black henna" may contain p-phenylenediamine (PPD), that can stain skin black quickly but can cause severe allergic reactions and permanent scarring. The FDA specifically forbids PPD to be used for that purpose.

"Black Henna" is a misnomer arising from imports of plant-based hair dyes into the West in the late 19th century. Partly fermented, dried indigo was called "black henna" because it could be used in combination with henna to dye hair black. This gave rise to the belief that there was such a thing as "black henna" which could dye skin black. Indigo will not dye skin black. Pictures of indigenous people with black body art (either alkalized henna or from some other source) also fed the belief that there was such a thing as "black henna."

In the 1990s, henna artists in Africa, India, the Arabian Peninsula and the West began to experiment with para-phenylenediamine (PPD) based black hair dye, applying it as a thick paste as they would apply henna, in an effort to find something that would quickly make jet black temporary body art. PPD can cause severe allergic reactions, with blistering, intense itching, permanent scarring, and permanent chemical sensitivities.[25][26] Estimates of allergic reactions range between 3% and 15%. Henna does not cause these injuries.[27] Henna boosted with PPD can cause lifelong health damage.[28]

Para-phenylenediamine is illegal for use on skin in western countries, though enforcement is lax. When used in hair dye, the PPD amount must be below 6%, and application instructions warn that the dye not touch the scalp and the dye must be quickly rinsed away. "Black henna" pastes have PPD percentages from 10% to 60%, and are left on the skin for half an hour.

Para-phenylenediamine "black henna" use is widespread, particularly in tourist areas. Because the blistering reaction appears 3 to 12 days after the application, most tourists have left and do not return to show how much damage the artist has done. This permits the artists to continue injuring others, unaware they are causing severe injuries. The high profit margins of "black henna" and the demand for body art that emulates "tribal tattoos" further encourage artists to ignore the dangers. It is not difficult to recognize and avoid para-phenylenediamine "black henna":

if a paste stains torso skin black in less than ½ hour, it has PPD in it, and little or no henna.

if the paste is mixed with peroxide, or if peroxide is wiped over the design to bring out the color, it has PPD in it, and little or no henna.

Anyone who has an itching and blistering reaction to a black body stain should go to a doctor, and report that they have had an application of para-phenylenediamine to their skin.

PPD sensitivity is lifelong, and once sensitized, the use of synthetic hair dye can be life-threatening.

Henna tattoos

Henna tattoos are fun, art and beauty. I love looking at them as well as having them on my skin.
Here is some information about henna in different cultrals:

     Although having a henna tattoo is a time consuming process, in many countries  (Sudan for example)Henna tattoos are a signe of beauty. Therefor, women (especially married women ) have to have henna tattoos all time long; which means that when a tattoo gets old it has to be replaced by a fresh one ASAP. Imagin having a henna tattoo every month ... cool  ^_^ .. now here are some henna tattoos.
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