www.TheArtisansAmbrosia.com ~ Henna body art services in Richmond, Virginia for all your celebratory needs

I hope you're happy with your henna design! :) Here's what to do to get the Best henna stain:

Some people stain well in only an hour or two, while others may have to leave the paste on for a good 8 hours to get a decent stain. Because of the mysterious nature of henna and great diversity in skin chemistry, it's best to just Leave the henna on to insure the best stain.

Mix up a small batch of one part lemon juice, one part sugar (Two tablespoons of each should be enough). Heat it for a few seconds in the microwave and use a cottonball to dab the mixture Gently onto your design. Be careful not to pull up the dried paste while doing this. You can seal with multiple layers if you like; just be sure to wait for each layer to dry before applying the next.

Heat helps darken your henna stain. At this point, if you won't be leaving your henna on overnight, try to warm your henna up for a while. If you're cooking dinner, hold your hennaed hand over the pot of boiling water. If you have candles lit, hold your hand safely above the flame to keep it warm. If you've used lemon-sugar, you can also apply heat with a hair dryer.

Get out some scotch tape and 100% cotton balls (They unroll! Gently pull them into strips) and wrap your design up. This will keep the paste from getting ALL over your bed sheets if you sleep with the henna on overnight, and also helps keep the design warm. Note: If you have henna on your fingers, try to wrap each individual finger so that the henna won't smudge and stain between them.

Once your henna has been on for 6 hours and you're ready to see your stain, go ahead and remove all your wrappings. Carefully brush the dried paste off your skin. If you had wrapped extensively, you may want to wait for the moist paste to dry again so that you can brush it off more easily. You can use a butter knife to Gently scrape the paste off if you don't want to use your fingernails. It's also good to massage the remaining bits of paste off with oils, such as olive oil (Vegetable oil works as well).

Once the henna is off, your design will appear an orange-red shade. It'll get steadily darker over the next 48-72 hours. To protect your stain, keep it away from water during the first day or two, as encouraging exfoliation while the henna is still staining your skin will seriously hinder your color. You can rub shea butter, cocoa butter, or oil on your design to protect it from the wear and tear of everyday chores. Unless, of course, you're following the old tradition - no chores until the henna fades!