Henna Tutorial-What to do!

Henna. What is it? It is "the powdered leaves of a tropical shrub, used as a dye to color the hair and decorate the body." It looks like clay and dirt combined and it smells like hay. 
Henna is a fun way to create your OWN tattoos that will go away in 1-2 weeks time! There are MANY fun and beautiful indian designs that you can use, or you can create your own! LETS BEGIN! 


Ok, for this project, you will need:
-Henna powder (it can be purchases at almost any indian food store!)
-Lemon juice (we ran out of lemon juice, so I ended up using lime juice and so far, it is working!)
-Sugar, just plain old white sugar, not powdered
-Ziplock bag
-Lots of patients :)
*NOTE! Before you begin, take a look at your henna powder. Does it have little sticks in it? If so, you need to sift them out. To do this, just get a nylon use it to sift the henna. (Confused about this step? Just google it!) The henna I used was all smooth and powdery so I didn't need to do this step.

ALSO! Henna will stain, so get into good clothes if your going to get messy, or just be supper careful!

Begin with mixing the henna paste in a 5 to 1 ratio with sugar. Henna (5) to sugar (1). 

Mix with lemon juice until it becomes to a pasty mashed potato substance. Make sure you get out any lumps!

Once you have mixed it up with the lemon juice, spoon it into a ziplock. I used a sandwich sized one.

Use your fingers to push out any air. Note how I pushed mine into a corner.

CAREFULLY twist the top and put a rubber-band around it to hold it in place.

ALMOST DONE!!! Now let it sit in a dark place for 24 hours. Ugg- this is where patients come in :P

While your waiting, come up with a pattern! After waiting for so long,  cut the tip of the ziplock back (VERY SMALL) and apply to a clean hand. Let sit for an hour or longer. Often people say they leave it on for like 10 hours, but I think an hour works fine :) 

*During the summer, you only need to leave it for like 30 mins! It's because it is warmer and the dye is released quicker.

You can then scrape it off with your finger nail. Try not to get it wet for an hour! It will darken within the next 12 hours!