Re: Question for Professionals

Posted by Leesa Hejazi on March 14, 1998 at 14:47:56:

In Reply to: Question for Professionals posted by Jill on March 14, 1998 at 06:23:44:

Dear Jill,

Henna, like any dye, reacts to the surface to which it is applied --
in this case, the skin. Skin that is has been weathered, such as the
hands and feet, will "grab" the henna more than underexposed parts of
the body primarily because the melanin production in those under or
nonexposed parts of the body is less developed. Melanin production
is fostered by exposure to sunlight, which we call a "tan." Skin
that has been exposed more to sunlight tends to be more porous and,
therefore, more readily absorbs substances applied to it. For
instance, if you've ever applied a "self-tanning" product to your
body, you will notice that the directions on the bottle advise
against applying the product to your elbows and knees as the tannin
in the product "grabs" at those weathered areas with far greater
intensity than you would want. In other words, your knees, elbows
and joints will end up much darker than the rest of your skin.
Likewise, if you appy a self tanning product to your breasts, which
probably haven't been exposed to sunlight, the end result will effect
a much lighter "stain" than that on your legs or arms. So it is with
henna. Having said that, I would not recommend reapplication to a
part of a design that did not turn out as dark as planned because the
end result of reapplication could very well cause an uneven
distribution in color. Although the henna may not have darkened
sufficiently to suite your client, some henna did grab. Were you to
reapply, the new application would stain the parts that did grab --
but unevenly. At least, that's been my experience. If you DO decide
to reapply, though, I would absolutely not reapply the whole design
-- for exactly the reasons I described above. Henna is not an exact
science, and it helps to let the person being hennaed know that some
parts of the body "take" the henna better than do others,
specifically those parts that have been exposed to sunlight. In this
manner, your client will know ahead of time that their decision to
henna parts of their body that may not affect the desired outcome is
their own liability. One final comment: it has been my experience
that the darker the henna application, especially if the henna is
reapplied to achieve a deeper hue, causes the henna to "weather"
badly as it fades over time; the design looks splotchy and the color
turns muddy. If I were you, I would tell the client to wait until
the design fades sufficiently, and then offer to give them a discount
on their next application -- though warn them ahead of time that an
uneven distribution of color might be the end result the second time
around as well. Good luck.

Follow-ups:

• Re: Question for Professionals Catherine Cartwright Jones 04:17:33 3/18/98 (1)
  • Re: Skin Cietta 15:59:34 4/07/98 (0)