Mehndi Designs - The Art Of Applying Henna

 

Applying mehndi over hands and legs in decorative fashion is in vogue in South Asia, South West Asia and African countries especially in India, Pakistan and neighboring countries. Mehndi designs are very beautiful and there are many types of mehndi designs such as bridal designs, Arabic designs, hand designs, foot designs, traditional designs, Pakistani designs, Indian designs and African designs.

 

Henna is a tall shrub that grows in tropical and subtropical regions. It is usually grown in backyards of the Indian homes. It is a flowering plant and is also known as mehndi plant or marudhani plant. It is also known as mailanchi. It has small sharp leaves that have the characteristics of dyeing. It also has many medicinal values. The traditional mehndi designs are applied with these leaves. The leaves of the shrub is picked and crushed with water to make a paste and applied over hands and fingers. If it is left for few hours, it gives a bright reddish brown color that will stay in your hand for a fortnight. It also gives cooling effect to your body.

 

Marudhani DesignsIt is not possible to make sharp designs when the crushed leaves are used. Usually a big circle in your palm with patches on your fingers is drawn. The henna leaves have a peculiar sweet smell that makes your days fresh. It is a natural and harmless nail polish for your nails.

 

If you are keen on drawing beautiful mehndi designs and patterns then you have to dry the henna leaves in shade and powder it to be used. Alternatively fine henna powder is available readymade in the shops. You have to buy pure and good quality powder. Some fake brands contain artificial dyes mixed with them to give rich color. But they may cause allergy to your hands and so it is better to avoid them.

 

The henna powder should be sieved before making a paste of it to get better designs. With half cup of henna powder you have to mix two teaspoon of lemon juice and few drops of eucalyptus oil and add some water to make a paste. That has to be set for at least three hours before you use it. Then the paste could be applied over your hands with slender stick or with cone.

 

Applying mehndi over your hands and legs in beautiful fashion is an art. You can master this art only with practice. You can easily make a cone by folding a plastic paper and paste it with cellophane tape. This helps to draw sharp patterns without any spilling around. First you have to wash your hands thoroughly and then rub a cut lemon over it and then apply mehndi. The lemon is applied to get uniform color all over the hand.

 

Traditional MehndiThe designs drawn over the hand should be kept for one or two hours until it dries. Once it dries it will start to wither out. Then you may remove them with a blunt butter knife and apply some coconut oil over the hand. Hand should not be washed with water at least for five to six hours. This will ensure the mehndi design staying on your hand for a longer period of time.

 

Instead of making mehndi cones at home, people prefer using readymade cones available in all cosmetic shops. They are cheap as well as handy to apply. These are instant and you can immediately cut open the corner of the cone and start applying. However, care must be taken that they are pure. Many of them like black mehndi have dyes mixed to them to impart bright coloring.

 

Bridal mehndi is very popular in India. Mehndi is applied on both arms up to knee and on both feet also in close patterns. In some traditions, mehndi functions are held one or two days before marriage and applying mehndi for bride and groom is celebrated among the guests. Those who are good at this art take up the job or sometimes beauty parlor people are hired for applying this beautiful mehndi.

 

Arabic Mehndi DesignsArabic designs are very popular these days. They have thick patterns that give dark color shades. Alternatively they are also very easy to apply and are good for the beginners. These Arabic patterns do not cover the entire portion of your hand and so you can make it quicker than the bridal patterns. They leave lots of empty spaces in between and so the designs are clearly visible. Also they consume less amount of paste.

 

Indian mehndi designs are much more like the wedding mehndi. They are in particular patterns and shapes and mostly cover the tip of the fingers. Pakistani mehndi designs could be said as an amalgam of Indian and Arabic designs. The African designs have geometrical shapes and symmetrical designs mainly consisting of lines, squares, circles and dots.

 

Mehndi is usually used by girls and boys don’t prefer that. It has to be applied one or two days before special occasions. They are applied for weddings or Nikka, Eid celebrations, Diwali, Pongal, Christmas, birthdays and school or college functions. Mehndi is also used for hair dyeing purposes. The grey hair turns red with henna. Mehndi competitions are conducted in youth level celebrations. Those who draw beautiful and latest designs within the set timeframe in their partner’s hand win the game.

 

Special mehndi books are available in the stores and you can buy them and use them as guides. Many beautiful and latest mehndi designs are found online. Artificial glittering tattoos sometimes replace mehndi. But the original smell and feel of the natural mehndi surpasses everything and has become a part and partial of the life of the millions of traditional Indian families.

 

Henna Patterns  Feet Mehndi Design

 

Beautiful Mehndi Designs  Bridal Mehndi

 

Competition Mehndi  Latest Mehndi Designs

 

Mehndi Art  Mehndi

 

Mehndi Designs  Leg Mehndi

 

Mailanchi  Wedding Mehndi

Article Posted By : SumazlalView All Articles

I am Suhaina Mazhar working on India People features. Writing is my passion, writing is my hobby and writing is my career. I want to write till the last moment of my life.

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Keywords :
mehndi designs , henna designs , bridal mehndi , arabic mehndi , traditional mehndi

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