Henna is a plant that grows in many countries, mostly in semi-arid and tropical areas of India, Pakistan, Morocco, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Africa. Henna powder is derived from the henna plant. The leaves are dried, powdered and sifted to give super fine henna powder.

Henna has been used to adorn bodies as part of traditional and holiday celebrations for many years now. In many cultures, it is regarded as a blessings, and  applied for luck as well as joy and beauty. There are various stories and folk lores. In India, it is said that the deeper the colour of a bride’s henna stain color, the more her husband (some say mother-in-law) will love her!

Henna is completely painless and a temporary work of body art (as opposed to getting a tattoo which is permanent). Henna is, first and foremost, an adornment, a way of beautifying oneself (traditionally as preparation for a special occasion such as a wedding, engagement).

Henna/mehndi is traditionally applied on the hands and feet of women (and men in some communities) for special occasions like engagements/weddings. They are the two areas on the body that stain the darkest! With more cultures and people exposed to this beautiful art however, it can really be applied anywhere on the body depending on your preference. You can browse under the Individual tab in our Portfolio to see the broad range of work we’ve done on different parts of the body.

It depends on the intricacy/size of the design and the henna artist. A standard, simple design extending from the wrist up one finger takes me about 5 minutes. Full bridal henna may take anywhere from 3-6 hours (yes!). Individual henna appointment varies in time and you can book accordingly depending on the design/intricacy you choose to get done.

We prepare our henna paste with organic, completely natural henna power with no added chemicals. In a matter of 24-60 hours, your stain will appear in shades of reddish-brown, varying from deep/dark red to a dark mahogany-brown. The best thing? There are absolutely no negative reactions when using natural henna! The color of your henna stain depends on several factors: 1.Quality of the henna paste and powder 2. Your body chemistry with henna! 3. Where on the body you put the henna 4. Aftercare.

Black henna is a paste made by mixing a little bit of henna, and a majority of things that are really bad for your skin, specifically: PPD (a chemical found in permanent hair dye), charcoal, kerosene and other chemicals. Chemicals such as these can cause lead poisoning, painful sores and permanent scarring. Henna is NOT black and when natural henna is used, it will always stain in shades of red and brown. Henna by Divya does not use or encourage the use of black henna.

There is no such thing as white henna. There is an unfortunate misunderstanding as there are pictures circulating on social media of “white henna”. The photos you’ve seen is either lotion applied on the skin with a cone applicator or simply white body paint! Fortunately, there are safe body art products that can be used to replicate the look of henna but it’s not henna. It simply sits on top of the skin and some products may even last for a few days! Feel free to email us if you would like more information on this particular product.

Henna stains typically fade in one to three weeks depending on the henna used, your skin and how much you wash the part where henna is applied. For longevity of henna color, we suggest less washing of the body part where henna is applied and less use of soaps and exfoliants.

Henna stains last on average 7-10 days & will gradually fade away completely. There is no way to completely remove a fresh henna stain, but you can speed the process up with these simple tips:

Soaking in the shower
Scrubbing/exfoliating/waxing the skin.
Chlorine can help to remove the stain as well so a dip in the pool may speed up the fading process.
Whitening toothpaste scrubbed over the stain may help as well.