The Best Mehndi Artist And Some Cool Tips Will Give You The Darkest Mehndi!

Mehndi or Henna holds a great significance in India and middle-east. Women in the Asian and Persian countries have long been using this fragrant herb to adorn their hands and feets on different occasions for centuries!

Talking about India, mehndi is more like a tradition. Women in the country can be seen getting their hands decorated with intricate henna designs on different festive occasions. In fact, mehndi is said to be one of the essential parts of bridal makeup in Indian weddings.

Apart from adding to the beauty of an Indian bride, mehndi is said to have a number of beliefs related to it. Here are some of the prominent ones:

i) It is believed that the women whose mehndi leaves a dark color will get immense love from her husband!

ii) Another belief states that the darker a bride’s mehndi, the more she’ll be loved by her mother-in-law!

iii) Mehndi is also considered to be a symbol of fertility and hence is used in wedding ceremonies.

iv) There’s yet another belief that henna is a medicinal herb and helps calm the nerves of the bride. So, it provides all the destressing therapy needed to shoo away all the wedding stress.

Now, whatever belief of all the ones mentioned here a bride-to-be may follow, there’s one thing that’s straight up in her head- her wedding is incomplete without mehndi. So, it’s imperative that she looks out for the best mehndi artist in town and follows some clever hacks so as to get the darkest of mehndi designs so as to look impeccable on her D-day!

If you are going to be a bride soon and looking out for the best tips to get the best of the mehndi results, here’s all you need to do:

Choose your mehndi artist wisely:

You’ll obviously want your mehndi design to be out of the world, won’t you?

Well, then you’ve got to work on it sweety!

Conduct a thorough research and search for the best mehndi artist who matches all your requirements. Once, you’ve shortlisted some of the mehndi artists, go through their design samples and if possible, go for a quality check beforehand. Ask the artist for a patch test so as to know if the artist keeps up to all the claims, uses good quality mehndi and so on!

Book your mehndi artist well on time:

Once you’ve found the best mehndi artist for you, be quick enough to do the bookings. It’s advisable to book your mehndi artist weeks before the ceremony.

You can then meet up the artist and tell him/her in detail about the type of design you wish to get adorned for your wedding. It’s always better to get familiar with your mehndi artist beforehand so as to be at ease on the final day!

Finish off your beauty treatments before the mehndi ceremony:

This is very important if you do not wish to waste all the efforts of your mehndi artist and all your money that you’ll be spending for the same.

So, it’s advisable that you go for waxing, pedicure, manicure and other beauty treatments before the mehndi ceremony.  The best time to do all these things is 3 to 4 days before the occasion.

Watch out the henna quality you’ll be using:

As a matter of fact, natural henna tends to last longer than the one with chemicals added to it. Moreover, it imparts a beautiful color.

But how do you differentiate between natural and chemical based henna?

Well, the one that contains chemicals is blackish in color and the one that’s natural is more of greenish in color. To be on a safer side, you can simply make the fresh henna paste at your home. You can even ask your mehndi artist to do that for you.

Make sure you apply it just in time:

The best time to get your hands and feet adorned with mehndi is 1-2 days before the big day.

The reason?

Mehndi is believed to give its darkest shade after a few days. So, it’s better to plan your mehndi session at a gap of 1-2 days before the wedding. This will help get the best mehndi color for the most special day of your life.

Avoid drinking too much water or juice:

As a matter of fact, too much fluid intake before your mehndi session can affect the darkness of the pattern.

No, really!

So, it’s advisable to keep at least a 2-hour gap between your meal and the mehndi session.

Make all the arrangements beforehand:

In order to get a consistent mehndi color throughout your hands and feet, it’s very important to maintain the design flow. You break the flow and you’ll ruin the design.

So, ask your mehndi artist to prepare a list of everything they’ll need while applying mehndi. Once, you’ve known whatever they need, make all the necessary arrangements and then sit for the application.

Go for bold mehndi designs:

The final shade of your mehndi also depends upon the choice of your design.

Yes, the design itself!

Thicker patterns tend to appear darker while the thinner ones are not that dark. The best solution is to opt for a design which has thin lines as well as the thick ones. Doing so will help adorn intricate designs that’ll look delicate due to the thinner lines inside and bold due to the thicker lines surrounding them.

Choose an appropriate place and dress for the ceremony:

Your mehndi ceremony is going to take hours to complete. So, it’s imperative that you make yourself and your mehndi artist feel comfortable. Wear something that’s comfortable and doesn’t mess with the mehndi application.

Next, choose an appropriate place for your mehndi ceremony.  Avoid sitting in direct sunlight. Choose a place that has enough light for your mehndi artist to do his/her job comfortably.

Get rid of any oil or dirt before the application:

Before your mehndi artist starts squeezing out his/her creativity through the mehndi cone and onto your hands, make sure you’ve cleaned your hands well.

Make sure that there’s no oil or dirt on your palms hands and feet before the mehndi application. However, you need not use soap and water for that. Instead, just use a cleanser on a cotton ball to wipe off.

Rub your palms for a heating effect:

Body heat is said to help the mehndi penetrate deeper into your hands and feets. So, it’s advisable to rub your palms against each other just before your mehndi artist is about to start with his/her job.

Also, make sure that you switch off your AC while applying mehndi. This will further help keep your body temperature from cooling down.

Apply some eucalyptus oil for great after effects:

You need to avoid the usage of soaps and water and skincare products right before your mehndi artist starts applying mehndi. However, you can massage your hands and feet using a few drops of eucalyptus oil.

The essential oil wouldn’t only make your hands and feet smell good but also help darken the color of mehndi.

Say no to artificial drying techniques:

Be patient and let your mehndi dry naturally. After all, you’ll only live all these moments once, right?

No matter how irritated you feel or how tempted you are to use something to dry your mehndi asap, just sit there and let it dry on its own. Don’t move your hands up or down or sideways to dry the mehndi as it will only cause it to spread. Also, using blow dryers or any other artificial dring technique will only ruin the design. So, just sit back and relax. Your patience will pay well!

Dab some lemon-sugar mixture on your hands and feet:

A mixture prepared using lemon and sugar is said to help the mehndi penetrate deeper into your skin.

Once your mehndi has dried out completely, apply a mixture of lemon and sugar using a cotton ball. Avoid applying too much of the mixture as it would destroy your mehndi design.

Wrap up your hands using cling film:

This is yet another technique for getting the darkest possible shade of mehndi. All you’ll need is a cling film or any other sealant.

Once your mehndi has dried and you have applied the lemon-sugar mixture, you can then ask your mehndi artist to wrap the cling film around your design. This technique will protect your body heat from dissipating outside. This will further help your body heat to cause your mehndi release dark color.

Keep the mehndi applied for a longer time period:

Once you’ve got your mehndi wrapped up, it’s now time to keep it in there for as long as possible.  It is advisable to keep your mehndi applied for at least 6-8 hours.

If you wish to get the best results, you can let it stay overnight and remove it the next morning.

Use a butter knife or a card to scrape-off your mehndi: 

Your mehndi artist would probably ask you to avoid using water to remove the dried mehndi in any case!

Instead, use a butter knife or a card to scrape off your mehndi. Stay away from soap and water for at least 12 hours after you’ve removed your mehndi. That’s because any contact with water will only lighten the color.

Use olive oil to take off your mehndi: 

If you find it difficult to scrape off the henna from your hands, you can simply dab a cotton ball into olive oil and apply all over your hands. This will help moisten and remove the paste.

The oil can even help get rid of the sticky lemon and sugar sealant that you use for darkening for your mehndi.

Do not exfoliate just after removing your mehndi: 

That’s what any mehndi artist will suggest you. Any skin care products that come with exfoliating properties should be avoided immediately after removing your mehndi.

What I mean to stay is- stay away from body scrubs or moisturizers containing alpha hydroxy if you really want your mehndi to grow darker and not get scrubbed away with those exfoliators!

Avoid using alcohol-based sanitizers: 

Just like you should not be using soaps or handwashes to wash your hands after removing mehndi, you should also be avoiding sanitizers.

The reason behind this is- most of the sanitizers are alcohol-based and they may interfere with the oxidation process thus drying out your skin.  That’s something you wouldn’t want to happen, right?

Leverage the power of balms and oils:

Once you’ve removed the mehndi crust, you can apply a balm like Vicks Vapor rub or Tiger balm over your hands and feet. You can even replace the balm with mustard oil or pickle oil.

A generous application of the balm or oil will help henna to penetrate further into your skin and will eventually give a darker color to the design.

Try darkening the mehndi color with clove fumes: 

This is a widely spread technique used to darken the mehndi color. It is said to be quite effective.

All you have to do is put some cloves in a pan, turn on the gas flame, and let the cloves roast. Once you see the smoke rising, place your hands in such a way that your mehndi gets exposed to it. Stay there until your hands start hurting due to the heat.

Apply a thin layer of foundation: 

Foundation is said to oxidize when mixed with the body heat.

Believing this scientific explanation, some makeup experts suggest applying a thin layer of foundation over the mehndi, once you’ve scraped it off. You can try this trick as well!

Don’t stress if nothing works:

Don’t be disheartened if nothing works for you. There’s an instant fix for it as well.

Wondering what it can be?

Well, all you have to do is dip your hands into a mixture of limestone and water. This is a tried and tested trick that’ll surely help but only if you’ve not removed your mehndi using water.

Lastly, make sure that you moisturize your hands before going to bed at night. It will help protect the color and darken it further.

Hope these tips are helpful!

Source : Party Vapours

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