Very important to remember: For optimum results you need to begin preparing your henna approximately 48 hours before you intend to use it. If you don’t give henna time to release its dye, or if you leave it languishing for too long, you will not get vibrant long-lasting stains. If the ambient temperature is warm (i.e. middle of summer in the UK), you will need around 24 hours, if it is cool you will need around 48 hours.

(note for henna experts and aspiring experts: I use this recipe for the Jamila 2011 2.6% dye content batch and I leave for the maximum lengths of time mentioned regardless of the season).

In addition to henna which you can buy from my shop this recipe uses things you will usually have in your home and ingredients that you are likely to find in your local supermarket, or a combination of your local grocery and local chemist shop. Please read this recipe carefully before embarking on mixing your henna so that you understand the process.

20g of henna will make: 3 – 5 cones

For every 20g of henna you will need:

• 100ml bottle of lemon juice, or equivalent in fresh lemon juice (but buy two bottles just in case)
• 6ml bottle or 1 and a quarter tsp of lavender or tea tree essential oil
• Glass bowl, or a cheap plastic bowl you don’t mind getting stained
• Metal spoon or a cheap plastic spoon you don’t mind getting stained
• One half to one tsp of Glucose powder available at chemists or icing sugar
• Cling film (Saran wrap)
• A warmish place

The recipe

1. Carefully pour about 90% of the henna powder into your bowl.
2. Gradually add the lemon juice, gently working it in to the henna. You should end up with a mixture which is similar to a thick mashed potato consistency. You are unlikely to need a whole bottle of lemon juice for just 20g of henna. However different henna needs different amounts of liquid. This is because henna is a natural plant product, similar to wine in that different harvests, from different places, impart slightly different characteristics to the henna.
3. Flatten the surface of the henna and then cover the henna tightly with a layer of clingfilm, then cover the bowl tightly with two or three further layers of cling film.
4. Leave the bowl somewhere warmish, out of draughts, but not too hot. I usually leave my henna to brew on top of the fridge where it is very gently warm.
5. After 12 hours if it is warm, or 24 hours if it is cool, remember where you left your henna, retrieve it, and scrape your spoon once across the surface. You will see that the exposed surface is browner, and the henna underneath is greener. In some henna pastes this difference is very noticeable, in others, it is much less noticeable. Now give it a stir. You should notice that the texture has become smoother.
6. Carefully add the 6ml of your essential oil. Stir until it has fully incorporated into the henna mixture. You may require slightly more or less oil according to your preferences.
7. Then add half to one teaspoon of icing sugar. And stir until it is fully incorporated into the henna mixture. You will notice the mixture becomes smother and glossy. If you feel your mixture isn’t smooth enough, add another half to one teaspoon of sugar. The sugar helps the mixture stay moist, but if you add too much sugar it will slide about on your skin.
8. Adjust the thickness of the mixture by adding in more henna powder or more lemon juice.  Here you can add in the henna powder you kept back if you wish. You are aiming for the texture of yoghurt, or in baking terms ‘soft peaks’. The henna mix should not clump to the spoon, nor should it be too runny. ‘Milkshake’ texture is too runny.
9. Leave for another 12 hours if it is warm, and 24 hours if it is cool.
10. After 12 or 24 hours, scrape the top of the henna again and check that there is a colour difference and then give it a final mix through.

Your henna is now ready to put into cones and use!

If you have mixed too much henna you can put your paste in the freezer for long term storage or the fridge for short term storage. Make sure you wrap it well in a freezer or fridge proof container. The potent essential oils will add an odour to your food if you don’t wrap it well.

Why not buy some henna and have a go?

This design is more complex than “Henna Tutorials How to draw a simple flower #1 and #2″. It gives you the opportunity to practice getting a smooth variation in line thickness by squeezing the cone harder in certain parts of the line (outer parts of the outer petals).

This design also shows you how to incorporate a simple tiny leaf pattern which is created by a technique where you make dots that get smaller in size. You could embellish it by placing a jewel in the middle of each flower and sprinkling glitter on the finished design.

There is a 10 second gap at the beginning to give you chance to get your henna cone ready, and I have not included music, dialogue or subtitles with this video, but you can hear my log fire cracking away in the background. I am using doing the design on a slim adult female, to show how the design fits on to a forearm, but the same design would work just as well on a larger /smaller arm or a child’s arm.

I’d love to know what you think, and also what other videos would you like to see? If you’d like to have a go at this design yourself, why not buy some henna from my shop?

Hennacat is on Facebook!

Very important to remember: For optimum results you need to begin preparing your henna approximately 48 hours before you intend to use it. If you don’t give henna time to release its dye, or if you leave it languishing for too long, you will not get vibrant long-lasting stains. If the ambient temperature is warm (i.e. middle of summer in the UK), you will need around 24 hours, if it is cool you will need around 48 hours.

(note for henna experts and aspiring experts: I use this recipe for the Jamila 2011 2.6% dye content batch and I leave for the maximum lengths of time mentioned regardless of the season).

In addition to henna which you can buy from my shop this recipe uses things you will usually have in your home and ingredients that you are likely to find in your local supermarket, or a combination of your local grocery and local chemist shop. Please read this recipe carefully before embarking on mixing your henna so that you understand the process.

100g of henna will make: 12 – 20 cones

For every 100g of henna you will need:

• 250ml bottle of lemon juice, or equivalent in fresh lemon juice (but buy two bottles just in case)
• 30ml bottle or 6tsp of lavender or tea tree essential oil
• Glass bowl, or a cheap plastic bowl you don’t mind getting stained
• Metal spoon or a cheap plastic spoon you don’t mind getting stained
• One to two tablespoons of Glucose powder available at chemists or icing sugar
• Cling film (Saran wrap)
• A warmish place

The recipe

1. Carefully pour about 90% of the henna powder into your bowl.
2. Gradually add the lemon juice, gently working it in to the henna. You should end up with a mixture which is similar to a thick mashed potato consistency. You might not need a whole bottle of lemon juice, you might need more than one bottle. This is because henna is a natural plant product, similar to wine in that different harvests, from different places, impart slightly different characteristics to the henna. Some henna powders need a lot more lemon juice than others.
3. Flatten the surface of the henna and then cover the henna tightly with a layer of clingfilm, then cover the bowl tightly with two or three further layers of cling film.
4. Leave the bowl somewhere warmish, out of draughts, but not too hot. I usually leave my henna to brew on top of the fridge where it is very gently warm.
5. After 12 hours if it is warm, or 24 hours if it is cool, remember where you left your henna, retrieve it, and scrape your spoon once across the surface. You will see that the exposed surface is browner, and the henna underneath is greener. In some henna pastes this difference is very noticeable, in others, it is much less noticeable. Now give it a stir. You should notice that the texture has become smoother.
6. Carefully add the 30ml your essential oil. Stir until it has fully incorporated into the henna mixture. You may require slightly more or less oil according to your preferences.
7. Then add half to one tablespoon full of icing sugar. And stir until it is fully incorporated into the henna mixture. You will notice the mixture becomes smother and glossy. If you feel your mixture isn’t smooth enough, add another half to one table spoon of sugar. The sugar helps the mixture stay moist, but if you add too much sugar it will slide about on your skin.
8. Adjust the thickness of the mixture by adding in more henna powder or more lemon juice.  Here you can add in the henna powder you kept back if you wish. You are aiming for the texture of yoghurt, or in baking terms ‘soft peaks’. The henna mix should not clump to the spoon, nor should it be too runny. ‘Milkshake’ texture is too runny.
9. Leave for another 12 hours if it is warm, and 24 hours if it is cool.
10. After 12 or 24 hours, scrape the top of the henna again and check that there is a colour difference and then give it a final mix through.

Your henna is now ready to put into cones and use!

If you have mixed too much henna you can put your paste in the freezer for long term storage or the fridge for short term storage. Make sure you wrap it well in a freezer or fridge proof container. The potent essential oils will add an odour to your food if you don’t wrap it well.

Why not buy some henna and have a go?

This design is more complex than “Henna Tutorials How to draw a simple flower #1″. It gives you the opportunity to practice getting a smooth variation in line thickness by squeezing the cone harder in certain parts of the line (outer parts of the outer petals). This design also shows you how to incorporate a simple tiny leaf pattern which is created with the ‘squeeze hard for a bit’ technique.

You could embellish it by placing a jewel in the middle and sprinkling glitter on the finished design.

There is a 10 second gap at the beginning to give you chance to get your henna cone ready, and I have not included music, dialogue or subtitles with this video. I am using a small hand template to show how the design fits on to a small hand, but the same design would work just as well on a larger or adult’s hand.

I’d love to know what you think, and also what other videos would you like to see?

If you’d like to have a go at this design yourself, why not buy some henna from my shop?

Hennacat is on Facebook!

I dye my own hair with henna!

Jamila Henna Powder from Pakistan

2011 crop (2.6% Dye content)

Jamila 2011 crop is body art quality henna which I have imported from Pakistan for use in my own henna work and hair dye (and can you believe this is the only photo I have of my hennaed hair!).

As well as being perfect for use on hair (always carry out a strand test), this henna powder is fine enough for delicate body art. It produces a smooth paste and a moderately strong stain.

This henna is packaged in foil packets which help to preserve freshness, and presented in an attractive cardboard box which is covered with cellophane. In addition to each box of henna you will also get 1 heavy duty ‘carrot bag’ to apply henna with and two pairs of nitrile gloves to help keep your hands clean during application and rinsing.

If you’d like just henna, please check out the ‘just henna’ page which has henna only for sale.  100g is enough henna to dye shoulder length hair or to produce around 100 small / medium henna tattoos.

1 x 100g packet of Jamila Henna, 1 pair of gloves and 1 carrot bag £7.00 including P & P Buy with pay pal

2 x 100g packet of Jamila Henna, 2 pairs of gloves and 2 carrot bags £12.00 including P & P Buy with pay pal

3 x 100g packet of Jamila Henna, 3 pair of gloves and 3 carrot bags £17.00 including P & P Buy with pay pal

4 x 100g packet of Jamila Henna, 4 pair of gloves and 4 carrot bags £22.00 including P & P Buy with pay pal

5 x 100g packet of Jamila Henna, 5 pair of gloves and 5 carrot bags £27.00 including P & P Buy with pay pal

For full terms and conditions, please read this information.

There is a 10 second gap at the beginning to give you chance to get your henna cone ready, and I have not included music, dialogue or subtitles with this video.

Why not buy a cone of your own and have a go at this pattern yourself?

I’d love to know what you think, and also what other videos would you like to see?

If you would like to buy henna supplies including the henna templates used in this video and henna paste, please visit www.hennacat.com.

A different way to celebrate Valentine’s Day!  £8.00 including P & P to UK and Europe.

Fun and beautiful at any time of the year, but especially on Valentine’s day.

♥ Decorate your body to surprise and captivate your Valentine!

♥ Draw or write beautiful personalised henna tattoos for each other!

♥ Express yourself as publicly or as privately as you want to!

You can buy this henna kit for yourself, to prepare for Valentine’s Day (or night) or give to someone special as a gift.

Includes:

♥ 2 henna cones filled with  relaxing Lavender scented hennacat henna

♥ 1 sheet of designs and ideas to get you started

♥ Full instructions and aftercare details

♥ Cute Valentine theme gift wrapping

Shipping details

♥ All orders will be shipped on Thursday 9th February in order to arrive on Saturday 11th February (UK) and Tuesday 14th February (Europe). Buy now with pay pal.

♥ All last minute orders  (those received on or after 10th February) will be shipped on Monday 13th February and the postage and packing will cost an extra £3.50 (UK Only). Buy now with pay pal.

For full terms and conditions, please read this information.

I have exciting news – well exciting news to henna geeks like me! To broaden the range of henna I offer, I am in the middle of sourcing new henna products from the following countries:

• India
• The Yemen
• Iran

I’m also looking at offering Indigo, Alma, Buxus and Sidr (Lotus) powder along side henna products in order to increase the range of colour possibilties available to people who dye their hair with henna.

It is an interesting process – already I have learnt about:

• widely different postage costs
• manufacturers differing willingness to supply relatively small sample quantities
• different styles of busness communication

I can’t wait to play with the henna!

Jamila Henna from Pakistan

2011 crop (2.6% Dye content)

Jamila 2011 crop is body art quality henna which I have imported from Pakistan for use in my own henna work.

As well as being perfect for use on hair (always carry out a strand test), this henna powder is fine enough for delicate body art. It produces a smooth paste and a moderately strong stain.

This henna is packaged in foil packets which help to preserve freshness, and presented in an attractive cardboard box which is covered with cellophane.

100g is enough henna to dye shoulder length hair or to produce around 100 small / medium henna tattoos.

1 x 100g packet of Jamila Henna £6.50 including P & P Buy with pay pal

2 x 100g packet of Jamila Henna £11.00 including P & P Buy with pay pal

3 x 100g packet of Jamila Henna £15.50 including P & P Buy with pay pal

4 x 100g packet of Jamila Henna £20.00 including P & P Buy with pay pal

5 x 100g packet of Jamila Henna £24.50 including P & P Buy with pay pal

For full terms and conditions, please read this information.

The henna essentials kit contains nearly everything you need to create up to 100 henna designs.

You will receive:

•  100g of henna
• 1 extra large cone for decanting henna
• 20 empty mini cones for you to fill with your henna mixture
• Instructions
• Design sheet

All you need to add is lavender essential oil and lemon juice. I haven’t included these products as they push up the price of the postage, but are easily available in supermarkets and the high street.

The kit includes the Jamila 2011 crop of henna powder which is body art quality henna I have imported from Pakistan for use in my own work.

As well as being perfect for use on hair, this henna powder is fine enough for delicate body art. It produces a smooth paste and a strong stain.

100g is enough henna to produce around 100 small / medium henna tattoos.

This kit is a perfect way to experience the art and alchemy of henna for yourself.

Henna essentials kit £10.00 including P & P in the UK Buy with paypal

For full terms and conditions, please read this information.