Mehendi doesn’t only remind me of beautifully designed hands but also a cool head and soothing legs . No kidding! This multipurpose plant which is called Henna or Heena has been used as a cosmetic, as well as for its supposed healing properties for at least 5000 years. Muslims use Mehendi since the beginning of Islam. It is said, that the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) colored his beard and hair with Mehendi and his Caliphs adopted this practice. Fatima, Mohammed’s (PBUH) daughter, adorned her hands in Mehendi. The use of henna or Mehendi by the Prophet insured its place in history and its popularity and acceptance among the Muslim people.

This ritual has been so very well inhaled that Mehendi has become a part of every festival, wedding, even birthdays, spreading across various religions and cultures.

The Origin:
Some historical evidences and claims say that Mehendi as an art-form originated in Middle East and North Africa from where, centuries later, it was brought to India by Mughals in the 12th century. One of the earliest documentations of henna use comes from ancient Egypt, where it is known to have been used to stain the fingers and toes of the Pharaohs prior to mummification. Mummifying,,,,, isn’t it???

The Name: Henna is a small shrub called hawsonia inermis, and besides Mehendi and Heena. It is also known as Henne, Al-Khanna, Al-henna, Jamaica Mignonette, Mendee, Egyptian Privet, and Smooth Lawsonia. Phew………. I just knew ‘Mehendi’ and ‘Henna’. It grows in hot climates and is found in India, Pakistan, Malaysia, Persia, Syria, Egypt, Morocco, Sudan and other North African, Asian and Middle Eastern countries.

The Making:

The leaves, flowers, and twigs are ground into a fine powder. That’s how you get Mehendi powder that is sold in packets after grinding. You can get Mehendi powder in any Indian shop. Different shades of powder are available depending upon the purpose for which it is used and the process of grinding.

Colour my hands red,,,, or brown may be:

This is what I love!!! Hands with Mehendi look just so beautiful. Mehendi is popularly known to be used for artistic decoration of hands (front and backside of palms) and feet. U can make enormous designs and patterns on ur hand, feet or back. There are in fact different design types depending the origin of a pattern: states, countries or traditions. You have Arabic, Rajashthani, Lucknowi, South Indian and many other genre. I just love the Rajasthani style of mehendi. It has so beautiful designs. They have similar kind of patterns reflected in their architecture(forts and palaces), dressing style and so in Mehendi. Various shades can be obtained by mixing with the leaves of other plants, such as indigo, tea, coffee, cloves, tamarind, lemon and various oils are also used to enhance the colour and longevity of design. Among these I’ve only tried tea, coffee, lemon and eucalyptus oil. Usually Mehendi cones (plastic cones with a small opening depending upon the minuteness of the design), metal-tipped jacquard bottles, toothpicks are used to apply Mehendi designs and tattoos. Well, I’ve never tried jacquard bottle as I think a lot amount of Mehendi will be wasted after I squeeze out some of it. And I would just hate to waste even an ounce of it. The heat of your body decides how dark or light will the shade of your Mehendi will be after it flakes out. Every colour looks beautiful, orange, red, brown or even black. Yes black. I have seen some Mehendis getting darker enough to be compared with black hair. Amazing, isn’t it?

Mehendi for Hair:

Mehendi is believed to have medicinal qualities and so used for treatment of hair related problems. Mehendi mixed with yoghurt, lemon, coffee, tea, egg, fenugreek, amla(Indian Gooseberry), Aritha or Reetha(Soapnuts), oils like castor, coconut, olive in different combinations is used for various purposes. There may be many more ingredients that are used along with the above mentioned; each one of them having different effects. It may be for treating roughness, hair-fall, hair breakage, dandruff, dullness, split ends or just to keep your head cool.Besides conditioning, Mehendi is also used for giving hair just a tint or a pretty good colour. Mixing with indigo, beetroot, katha or just soaking in an iron bowl will give the respective shade.I’ll be describing in details about which combination to be used when in my later posts.

Cool Steps:

Mehendi is also used to cool your feet. Mehendi paste is applied to feet, particularly soles to get the soothing and cooling effect. It is believed to treat headache and also to get rid paining legs. Or simply step into the Mehendi paste(known ad Mehendi shoe) to get a perfect treat .

Well, I wont get exhausted talking about Mehendi . So you people take a break till my next posts on each of the uses of Mehendi. Hey,,, but why only me??? You can share some of your talks too! If U have mehendi designs, a new mixture for hair treatment or anything else, do share with all of us. Chao!!!