Re: Questions
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Posted by Catherine Cartwright Jones on March 05, 1998 at 21:18:39:
In Reply to: Questions posted by Sue on March 05, 1998 at 02:25:37:
Hooo what a lotta questions! Different brands of henna move along in the chemical reaction that releases the dye at different rates. A very safe bet is to mix your paste 12 hours before you meed to use it. Fridge is not especially necessary in a temperate climate (US) Your henna does not absolutely have to be sifted...sifting won't affect the release of the dye...however, gritty lumpy henna will not go through the tiny orofices of the squeezy bags used in Pakistani henna technique. If you want teeny dainty patterns, ya gotta sift, sift, sift. If you like bold, graphic African or Bedouin patterns, don't bother...lay your henna on with a flat toothpick for those designs, and the lumps won't make a difference. I use a tea strainer to strain my henna, but for the very finest lines, sift with a leftover bit of pantyhose to take the last bits of crud out and you'll have less clogging on the tiny lines. Mixing bowl..ceramic is fine, stainless is fine, enamel is fine, plastic is fine,....you're mixing a paste that is sourer than ph5 so copper is apt to react, so don't use copper or some ethnic metal bowl of unknown alloy (I suspect the admonitions against metal bowls is because household metals across the henna-using region have a lot of copper...copper is cheap and easy to work over a primitive forge) Add lemon or lime juice to your henna powder until you can stir up a paste the consistancy of cookie dough. There are some other things you can use, all very sour, like tamarind water....the point is to get your henna more sour than ph5. Thin it down further with hot strong tea or coffee, (both of which have tannin) until your paste is a little softer than toothpaste. When your henna is drying on your hand, prevent it from flaking and falling off by dabbing lemon or lime juice on with a brush or cotton ball....the sugar may help crust it over, but does not affect the dye. The sour juice will further draw dye out of the henna, and encourage it to get through the fine layer of oil that covers your skin. When you have done that 2 or 3 times, and the henna is dry enough not to smear, wrap the hennaed skin in clink wrap, tape it secure and leave it overnight...that will not only keep your henna in place and your husband won't have a fit because you're exfoliating henna all night into the sheets, but it will make your skin sweat like a heatwave in Bombay..so your pores will open and accept more henna, and your sweat will add more acid and ammonia to make the henna release even more dye. This last trick is the difference between punky tangerine henna and deep maroon and redwood henna on me! Henna is not expensive, and is pelentiful...use up what you've got in 3 days or put the rest in your hair. Dry henna will store indefinitely. Rubbing with oil makes your skin glossy, and that creates an optical illusion of deeper color (body builders grease up to look more buff...same thing...) but it doesn't really change anything. Does that help? I'll answer any questions you can think of at www.mehandi.com , where we have lore, techniques and free patterns every month!
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