About Henna

Welcome back! This week I want to talk about henna since it has had such a huge influence on my style and it is pretty centric to what I do.

First of all, what is henna? Henna actually refers to a few different things. The henna plant, Lawsonia inermis, is a shrub-like plant that grows in hot climates such as India, Pakistan, North Africa and other areas of the Middle East. “Henna” can refer to the plant itself, it can refer to the paste that is made from the dried leaves of the henna plant, and it can also refer to the designs that are created on the skin with the henna paste. So, you have the henna plant, the henna paste, and the henna designs all using the word “henna” at the same time! Sound confusing? Don’t worry, it’s pretty easy to tell what someone is talking about based on context. You may also hear the term “mehndi” in association with henna, “mehndi” is the word for “henna” in Hindi and Urdu. The word “henna” itself comes from the Arabic ḥinnā. The word henna is used more commonly in the US, but “henna” and “mehndi” are used interchangeably and they mean the same thing. Henna is not Zentangle, but more on that later.

Henna is used for many different things, not just as an art form. It is used to dye hair, which also conditions and protects hair. Henna acts as a sun block, and it also strengthens the skin. Henna has cooling properties and feels very similar to the effects of menthol on the skin, and therefore has been known to be used in treating headaches, stomach pains, burns, sun burns, as a fever reducer, and just to simply cool off, among a few others. Henna has also been used to stain the skin of drums and other instruments, wood, and silk.

Henna has been practiced for over 5000 years, and there is some evidence saying that is has been practiced for even longer: closer to 9000 years. Whether “practiced” means the art of henna designs, or used to cool the skin, or used to dye the hair… I’m not sure. But people have been using henna in one way or another for thousands of years!  There have even been some mummies found with evidence of henna stains on their nails and in their hair! How cool is that?! Mummies!

If you are interested in knowing more about the history of henna, Wikipedia (whom I do not cite lightly, and feel like should always be taken with a grain of salt) actually has a very good article about henna with information that I have seen many times over on other sites: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henna#History. Silk and Stone also has a very nice page about henna, http://silknstone.com/About-Henna.html. 

Thanks for being here with us this week. If you have anything to add or if I've given any incorrect information, please share with us in the comments! Next week I'm going to be talking about henna again, but I'm going to be focusing more on my own art. Thanks for sticking around, see you next week!

written by:

Alana