There are quite a lot of people showing off their body art with henna, as it is a very popular accessory of fashion that is for both women and men. It seems no matter where you look you shall see many people with this kind of art popping up around so many places and on so many people.
These kind of tattoos are a way to express a fashion statement even though, much like many other things in life, it is not permanent. This is why these art are chosen as they are not only created with various colors and designs, but they are also temporary. It has an easy to use pen, which makes the application process quite easy as drawing a picture down on paper.
Henna, and hair henna, is known as a natural plant, which the leaves are dried and then grounded into powder. Due to the fact that this is of a pure and natural substance, it makes the product safe and easy to use and there are not real side effects to be concerned with its use.
It is also known as Mehandi, is a soft paste, which when processed into the paste is formed with just the mixture of the powered leaves and other natural ingredients too.
When you take and sue this paste it leaves a harmless stain when it is applied right to the skin. This type of stain from the leaves can range from a deep red to a black, which will all depend on the quality of this plant.
In regard to the tradition of showing henna body painting art is an ancient art for decorating or enhancing ones appearance by tattooing some drawings onto the body of a person. This type of body art was being used for creating some ethnic and or contemporary designs with plenty of exotic patterns that is placed on various parts of the human body. There was a time when it was mostly women who were involved with this type of body art, but now there are large number of men enjoying these art.
When you decide that you really like to have one of these art form on your body, then you will be glad to know that the application is not just trendy, but also are quite safe and a hygienic and a painless process as well. The making of the little delicate and intricate designs and patterns that are put onto the body is very inexpensive and a fine way to make yourself appear more attractive. There are some advantages to having these body paintings, as they are considered to be the best way to ever experiment with your own style and look so to help add some glamour and beauty.
The Henna powder is pure and is also free of any chemicals and they are quite easy and simple use, which makes them so popular. The tattoos are temporary and does begin to fade over a few days and they can be replaced with some newer designs and patterns just as soon as you are ready. There is no piercing involved and they are quite safe and easy to use when you want to add some glamour and beauty to your appearance.
Henna tattoos offer a great solution to anyone who fancies dabbling in a little body art but are perhaps a little apprehensive of anything more permanent. What if they don't like it when it's finished?
Or perhaps they will simply grow to hate their painted bodies with the passing of time. No problem, using this method the creation will have all but disappeared within the month. Parents will be especially grateful for this non-permanent alternative when faced with their teenage child's determination to get themselves artfully adorned. Another plus is of course that in comparison to their permanent counterpart these don't hurt.
Traditionally this form of body art, henna tattoos, was used mainly in the East in celebrations and ceremonial displays where woman were adorned with intricate designs in preparation to meet their husbands or perhaps during fertility celebrations. In recent years, however, it has grown in popularity in the Western world.
This is due partly to the improvement in the areas of cultivation and processing, and partly because of the increase in emigration to the West of people from the regions where the tradition had hitherto flourished.
The process of creation begins with making a paste from dried leaves milled to a powder and then mixed with either lemon juice or strong tea. Once the paste reaches a consistency much like toothpaste it is almost ready to apply. First, however, the paste has to be left to rest for between six and twelve hours.
While the paste is left to rest, one can turn to the creation of the design.
Some may already have an idea of a design in mind, others may need the help of the numerous variations of pre-made stencils available. However, the stencil option requires that the paste be applied with a brush this, no doubt, may be the easiest method but it is by no means the most effective.
A hand-applied design which also involves applying the paste by hand gives infinitely more satisfying results; moreover using this method allows the possibility of far more intricate designs.
The fact is, creating one's own design pattern is really quite simple; no great artistic skills are needed, just a little imagination. The traditional patterns are in fact nearly always based on the simple basic shapes.
Circles, triangles and lines are the most common in henna tattoos, and these can be combined in an infinite number of ways to create a unique and, hopefully, beautiful body art design.
In reality there are no set guidelines or rules. The shapes themselves have no intrinsic meaning, the idea is simply to have fun. The only thing to bare in mind when creating a design is that it has to fit the part of the body it is intended for.
So, starting with perhaps a simple idea in the mind, the next step in henna tattoos, is to get the design down on paper. Many decide to pick one shape as their starting point and focus of the design. From here the design can be built up and expanded as much as is desired. A quick sketch can later become a full blown drawing of precise and intricate detail.
With the final design complete the process can be followed in one of two ways. Either the design can be directly reproduced freehand onto the body using the drawing as a guide, or alternatively the design can be traced using carbon paper which is then applied directly to the skin. By this time the paste should be ready to apply.
