Henna tattoos

jthissen

Do you know of a place to get temporary (if there is such a thing) henna tattoos in Mumbai? I'm in Colaba.

Thanks!!!!

indiaprof

A lot of ladies' beauty parlors in many Indian cities offer a mehndi service. Check the side streets. Some of these places are located above the street, too. You may also be able to arrange to have someone come to your hotel room to do it, since it can be a somewhat messy procedure. A few of my students, while traveling in India, got henna done in Mumbai (it's almost always temporary, by the way ), and they got it done in their hotel room. In a place like Mumbai you might even look online.

By the way, some recommendations: get some sugar, lemons, some plastic bags (if you can), and rubber bands. You can use a mixture of sugar and lemon to help "set" the design, and while it's drying put on the plastic bag so you can sleep at night without getting everything stained with henna. This is my wife's trick.

OceanTragic

Does it take a long time to set then? If so, is it better to get it done in the morning and will that give it long enough to set before sleeping?

indiaprof

If you get it done in the evening, you can just apply your lemon juice/sugar solution, wrap up the tattoo, and sleep on it. By morning it should be nice and set, and will keep for about two weeks. The color will be richer and deeper, too. If you get it done in the morning, you'll be unable to do anything all day. My wife usually has her henna done (or does it herself - she does one hand, I do the other) just before she goes to bed.

OceanTragic

Cheers, good advice, the evening it is then. Obviously it's not for me *ahem*, it's for the kids. I thought it lasted longer than two weeks though but maybe that's a good thing as their school may object once they return if it's still visible.

indiaprof

OceanTragic,

Since Henna is natural, it fades - and, of course, it's on your skin, which is changing all the time. How long it lasts often depends on the quality of the henna, though. The stuff you get in India is usually pretty good, but it sits on the skin - it doesn't penetrate into the skin, so its' vulnerable.

I don't know if you've done henna before, but here's another caution: when they show henna art in books, they usually show it as it looks when first applied - very dark and dramatic. Actually, the lumpy dark lines come off, and what you'll be left with is a more reddish-brown outline, and the lines of the pattern may not seem as sharp and distinct. That's normal. Somewhat disappointing, but normal. The problem with leaving the henna caked on is that you literally wouldn't be able to do anything without staining all and sundry.

charlotte

Just a question - are you asking about traditional henna or pictures i.e. - dolphins etc as it is for children.

OceanTragic

My girls are captivated by the pictures of brides wearing henna, so dolphins etc will be out of the question. They'll want the full blown thing and apparently Daddy has to get one too...but I'm not that in-touch with my feminine side

I'm not sure whats appropriate for them to have and what is only meant to be 'worn' by brides (etc) but I'm sure the henna artist will advise.

Have you had it done Charlotte? Any tips?

charlotte

Yes I have had it done. Last year we travelled to Mumbai for an Indian friends family wedding and on the long train journey back the lady we were travelling with (a beautician) brought out the henna packs she had bought. I thought she was was just looking at them but proceeded to take a towel from her bag and put it on the opposite seat. I was told to put my legs on it and half an hour later had this wonderful henna pattern all over my feet and ankles.
I had the rest of the 10 hour train journey to let it dry and it lasted about a week.

palerider

I saw men with them in Himachal Pradesh. Is this a local thing, or do Indian men in general get this done on certain occasions?.

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