Cones are more comfortable for henna work than jaquard bottles. Cones strain the fingers and wrists less than jaquard bottles, and are easier to fill.

If you don’t like to roll your own cones, the 2 and 3 mil plastic triangular bags manufactured for the confectionary industry will do the job.

One of the manufacturer’s names for these plastic bags is “carrot bags”. Carrot bags work well for some people. They are inexpensive, and you only need to snip the tip off to be ready to work. The disadvantage to carrot bags is that the “touch” is very delicate. Some people have difficulty with the “ribbon” of henna that comes from a carrot bag, as it is a flattened rather than round extrusion. You may find that flattened ribbon is advantageous as an expressive tool, rather like a brush or calligraphy pen. I do my best work with “carrot bags”, as I find they produce very fine lines, as well as being versatile.

Instructions for using carrot bags can be found at http://reverndbunny.sphosting.com/carrotbag.htm

This is a carrot bag with just the tip snipped off and a carrot bag with a confectioner’s tip.

A wholesale source for carrot bags is:

Linnea's: 4149 Karg Industrial Parkway, Kent, Ohio, 44240; phone # 330-678-7112.   You'll need to file business papers with them and purchase at least 2000 carrot bags at a time. The stock number for carrot bags is # 28-151, and they come in packs of 200. Smaller quantities are available from Castle Art and Imports http://www.castleart.com .

If you want to try some carrot bags, email Catherine Cartwright Jones, info@mehandi.com . I’ll send anyone a few carrot bags to try for free. Just mail me a self-addressed stamped envelope.