How to make your henna last longer and darker this wedding season

With the wedding season upon us, it’s time to call your favourite mehndi girl and ask her to whip out those henna cones! 

Whether you are the bride, or the bride’s sister, cousin or best friend, adorning your hands with beautiful henna patterns is perhaps one of the most fun and exciting parts of the wedding. However, that fun can be ruined if you use a bad batch of henna cones, or forget to be careful with your mehndi, leading to a ruined design or worse, no good colour.

So how do you make sure that your mehndi comes out perfect? Fret not, here are some foolproof ways to help you get the perfect stain!

1) It can be tempting to opt for chemical-based henna cones – they are cheap and promise darker stains in a relatively shorter time. While it may sound promising, it is only worth it if you are looking for peeling skin in some days.

Opt for natural henna cones. They may be a bit on the pricey side but they are totally worth it – the colour is more beautiful, lasts longer, and there are no side-effects!

2) Make sure you wash your hands thoroughly before the henna application. This makes sure that your hands are free of any dirt or grime that may hinder the colour pay off. We all want gorgeous mehndi’s so two-minutes of thorough washing is worth it!

3) Do not leave any waxing, scrubbing, or shaving practices for after the mehndi application. You need to get these out of the way before you sit down with the mehndi girl, lest you scrub or wax off the design! Ideally, the mehndi application should be last on your list of bridal services.

4) Reach out for a bottle of eucalyptus oil before the application for a lasting, darker stain. Make sure you rub the oil in well!

5) Once you have the mehndi on, avoid washing your hands for up to at least 12 hours. This will ensure that no design is ruined and that it stains better.

6) You can also make your stain darker by mixing sugar with some lemon juice and applying it over dried mehndi. You don’t want to do this when the mehndi is wet, or after you wash it off. Make sure it is completely dry on your hand when you do this!

7) You can also warm some cloves and keep your hand over the container to help darken the stain. It is a tried and tested hack that almost always works!

8) Lastly, do not try to blow-dry your mehndi to make it dry faster. It can damage the design, not to mention also ruin the colour pay off. Let it dry naturally and you will be thankful for your patience in the end.

Follow these steps to be able to flaunt some gorgeous mehndi on your, or your sister/best friend’s big day!