Troubleshooting 'White Henna'

I mention products by name when I have tried them myself and found them to be safe and effective.

Golden 'white henna'
Everybody wants perfect results; here's how to get them.   

Avoid problems in the first place

  • Read all of the 'white henna' section on hennapage.com.  
  • Use materials that work well together.  The Becoming Moonlight® group of materials are formulated to work well together.
  • Don't use materials on a client if you haven't tried them yourself and found them to be successful.
  •  Do not use talcum powder on 'white henna'  paste: it will collapse the mixture. Use only cosmetic glitter or gilding powder (mica) on 'white henna' paste.  

Clear the area of potential problems: your work area should have:
  • No curious cats
  • No friendly dogs with wagging tails 
  • No curious children who are apt to grab things
  • No enthusiastic people who want to run up and hug you and your client
Clean the skin first:
  • Use soap and water to remove all dirt, sweat, and lotion.
  • Avoid hairy areas
  • Avoid areas with tight clothing that rubs the skin
  • Avoid sweaty or oily skin, especially for Temptu
Prepare for potential messes:
  • Have at hand plenty of paper towels and disposible clean up materials.  Body adhesive (white henna)  is so sticky, that if you have to wipe up a spill, you may as well throw the rags in the trash.  You can't wash this stuff ot of cloth. 
  • Work at a sturdy table 
  • Have plenty of 91% isopropyl alcohol to clean up emergency spills
The gilding powder won't brush off the skin.
  • Gilding powder may stick to the skin if the skin has lotion, oil, or perspiration on it. 
  • If you can't brush away excess mica powder, wait about 20 minutes for your 'white henna' to completely firm up, then rinse it away.   
My brush sticks to the 'white henna' when I try to apply the gilding powder and glitter.
  • It's not dry enough. Wait longer.
  • If your brush has 'white henna' paste stuck in the bristles, rinse it in 91% isopropyl alcohol.
My 'white henna' paste takes forever to dry.
  • Make finer lines than you would with henna
  •  Make 'white henna paste lines aabout as thick as a cat's whisker. Fine lines will dry faster than thick lines. 
The gilding paste is hard, lumpy, or has chunks and watery spots.  
  • It froze.  The chains of molecules that make up the paste will collapse if the paste freezes: you'll have runny stuff and rubbery, sticky lumps.
  • Don't keep your paste in the refrigerator. 
Practice doing this before you book clients
  • The best way to learn to do 'white henna' techniques try out things on your own bare skin until you can reliably get the results you want. When testing, it is helpful to shave your skin first. Removing the 'white henna' paste may pull out any hair enmeshed in the paste. 
remove 'white henna'Do you want to get rid of the 'white henna'  pattern fast?
  • If you are tired of your design, rub 'white henna' adhesive off with the sticky side of scotch tape.
  • You can also remove 'white henna' paste by scrubbing, or rubbing oil or lotion onto it.
  • You can remove 'white henna' with isopropyl alcohol.
  • Temptu can be removed by scrubbing with lotion.

The Henna Page information is provided  free to you by the support of TapDancing Lizard LLC site group and Mehandi.com.