Re: henna
Posted by Catherine Cartwright Jones on March 01, 2000 at 14:34:03:
In Reply to: henna posted by Lulu on March 01, 2000 at 04:03:01:
: How long does henna body art last?
Henna will last as long as 12 weeks on a hoofy sole of the foot and
3-4 weeks on the palms of the hands. 2 weeks is pretty normal on arms
and legs. On the chest, where the skin is very very thin, it only
lasts 3 days of so. Henna is staining the top dead layer of the skin
... so the thicker that top layer, the darker the stain and the longer
the stain lasts.
: Are there many different kinds of henna products?
The range of "henna products" on the market is vast and bewildering.
The bewildering stuff is the thousands of little packages of decals,
transfers, plastic squiggly necklaces, marking pens, paints and
suchlike that aren't henna whatsoever. They are are mostly cute, and
mostly harmless. The only difficulty they cause is confusion for
people who have no clue what henna is.
Traditional henna is a green powder made from smashed up henna leaves
from a henna plant. It should smell rich and herby/earthy/spicy , a
little like a hay bale but spicier, sexier, yummier. I find the scent
a better indicator of freshness and color quality than the color of
the powder. If you don't know what henna should smell like, look for
powder that is rich olive green rather than brownish. The best henna
powder is the freshest. Traditional plain henna powder is very, very
safe!
There are other henna pastes and powders which contain colorants and
dyes.... some of which are safe. These may be black blue, green,
yellow .... they mostly only stain for 2 days or so. If there is a
complete colorant list, and they're all FDA approved for use on skin,
you're mostly ok.
However, if you see no complete ingredient list, and it's labeled
"black henna" DON"T BUY IT. There may be PPD in the mix. PPD is
toxic and will breach the skin layer very readilly, causing
blistering, scarring, and can damage your liver, kidneys and heart.
Never, never, never use any product that contains PPD on skin! If you
do see "black henna" that has PPD in the mix, that claims to be safe,
the lawyers, FDA and buzzards are circling. PPD black henna is never
safe!
: Which ones are best?
The best, freshest regularly available henna powder (IMHO) at the most
reasonable price is from the link below. I always get great service
from Castle Art. The palm stains from Amy's powder is consistantly
deep burgundy, coffee brown, raspberry chocolate and Irish Setter dog
red .... frequently ruby-raven black! No big secret to how she does it
... she just brings in very high quality plain traditional henna , in
very small batches, very fresh, and sells it at a reasonable price.
I can show you pix if you want. email me.