Marudhani- All about henna/mehndi

The dotted line can be achieved by either drawing a line and keeping dots over it or drawing a line and pressing the mehndi cone to make a dot. Zig zag lines can be achieved by giving the same amount of force to mehndi cone and moving the hand in an oscillation motion. Outlines are very important for mehndi art. In overall mehndi designs, the outline given for each and every shape will give you clear design image and enhances overall aesthetics. If you observe closely on any bridal mehndi you could notice that each and every shape has been outlined to give clear definition. The outline should be drawn very closely to the shape without touching it.

Circle is very important for mehndi. Practice using practice paper just like tracing. Drawing a circle is harder than line. So,make it slow.

Line is the basic element for henna.To achieve straight line start from a point and end at another point.Never stop at any point and always give same amount of pressure.People can try and achieve line by tracing on the line.

Mehndi function is usually organised two days before the wedding. Mehndi function involves guest mehndi too. Guest mehndi is usually charged at 50 to 100 rs per head based on the style of mehndi. Make designs as simple as possible. Don't use cut work, birds etc in guest mehndi. Apply simple flowers,fillers and paisleys. If there are many people waiting draw simple Arabic style which does not require you to design on all fingers. Fill fingers with dots or dot leaves. If any customer asks for elaborate mehndi,explain to them politely that you are ready to apply more but as many people are waiting apply only on palms. You ask them to come after you finished applying henna on all the guests hands.

Portfolio is very important for mehndi artists. Your portfolio should contain all good works you have done. You can apply mehndi art to your closed ones and picture it to create a portfolio. Have all styles of mehndi in your portfolio. Don't just have images of your bridal work. You should have semi bridal,Arabic,gulf style and even simple guest mehndi  in your portfolio. Take clear picture of your mehndi work using high quality camera. Click images from top angle to give detailed view of your work.Make sure your shadow does not falls on mehndi during picturing. Get a prior permission from your client if you want to picture their mehndi clad hands  with  their smiling face. Ask for their professional wedding photo. Don't use any photo editing software for your portfolio images. Let it be natural. Your portfolio should also consist of images of your mehndi stain. If you have applied elaborate bridal mehndi then take single pictures of both hands and legs and create a collage. G

Newbies have a lot of confusion in mehndi costing. If you are a beginner, cost less amount to your friends and relatives. This makes people notice your work and those images enhances your portfolio. A professional photograph of your mehndi taken by a wedding photographer gives you a professional look. I live in Chennai. The cost of bridal mehndi starts from 5,000. The cost depends on work and intricacy involved. You can charge extra for each and every additional artistry. In Chennai extra cost of 500 charged for dulha and dulhan. A figurative mehndi costs from 7000. The charge also depends on length of mehndi art. If you work from mid arms and if you start from shin of legs you can charge more. If you mastered mehndi art then don't offer less price. You can explain politely to your customers that you had spent this much time to master the art or this design you have chosen requires so much hard work. 

Tips on customer handling Take your phone on first ring. If you are busy message that you are on an appointment and will call the person later. Explain about mehndi  art without using jargons. If customers negotiate on price politely explain them that this costs high due to high hard work involved. Mention that you use hand made cones with natural ingredients. Ask your customer of any allergies and about the type of their skin. Lemon causes irritation in sensitive skin. Henna is relaxing just like a spa. There are more chances of client sleeping during sessions. A sleepy client may smudge her design. So speak during henna application. Ask about wedding, groom, rituals involved etc.  Explain about henna after care and clear their doubts. This is extremely important.  I had my henna applied for my wedding and left it overnight and removed it the next morning. I was worried of the henna stain. It was just dark orange. If the artist might have explained me that henna would get da

Bridal mehndi is always special and elaborate. Mostly applied from mid of the upper arm. Discuss with your bride about the kind of design she wants. Does she has any choice of theme to be created. The toughest thing on Bridal mehndi application is that a gap forms between front hand and back hand near elbow and near mid arms. Need to fill this gap Using fillers without smudging any other design. Tips on bridal henna Fix a theme. Ask your bride about the customs and tradition on their marriage . You cannot apply Hindu images on Christian bridal. Draw layout at first. You need to create room for dulha,dulhan etc. Bridal figures require certain space  which if compromised would not give good human figures. Avoid direct sunlight. Direct sunlight produces heat and dries henna quickly and henna flakes off from hand very fast. Lemon is added to henna paste and this creates photochemical reaction and causes irritation on skin .Skin gets itchy just like your skin itches during face blea

How to achieve design flow? People learn mehndi design,they learn flowers,fillers,checkers etc. But the moment they sit before a client, mind will be blank.  To solve this problem look at your mehndi practice book frequently. Make a list of designs and choose from it whenever you are blank. Take a white sheet or ohp sheet and without drawing any hand shape, fill the sheet with whatever design comes in your mind. This helps in recollection. Have some good mehndi images and zoom and look at designs used on it. Try any design you are not familiar with,and make a note of it to try it on your new work.  Have a exam for your self. Without seeing any mehndi images, draw a layout and fill fillers and embellishment as per your wish. This gives you confidence and design flow.

Recent trends Reverse negative space- This is also called as cut work mehndi style. Instead of filling inside the design,mehndi is filled outside the design. Lotus and frill flowers are commonly used in this method. Shading should not be used inside the design. The design should be bold. For filling outside the design, give thick  outline on the design first and then start filling mehndi. This prevents design corners going blunt or smudged. Birds and cages- Birds like parrot,sparrows are drawn and a bird cage is placed near it. If you are a beginner, then draw outline first and then fill it rather than directly pressing cone and creating design. You won't get sharp edges if you press and release directly. A bird should have sharp beak, feather etc .to give good look. Contrast mehndi - a  thick and  bold element  is drawn and sarrounded with fillers  using faint lines. This creates a contrast effect and enhances the beauty of main element. It would become noticed. Bridal fi

I prepare mehndi cones for practice purpose using mehndi powder,water and sugar. The medium for practicing can be paper,ohp sheet or acrylic hand. Acrylic hands are sold by henna suppliers and henna artists who conduct classes. If you could not  find it in your place buy white acrylic sheet and draw a shape of hand and cut using knife. For absolute beginners acrylic hand is not necassary. If practicing on ohp sheet scrub mehndi after it dries. Mistakes of beginners There are few mistakes beginners make Practicing using pencil or pen instead of henna cone. Getting a design using pencil might be easy compared to henna cone. For practicing complicated designs break the design into simple steps and practice using pencil and then try the same using mehndi cone. Tilting notebook as per the comfort. This will not help you in real hands and legs. If you tilt hands or legs of customer as per your wish you might fracture their hand. If you move from here to there then you will waste

Mehndi oil- mehndi oil is not at all derived from mehndi leaves. Essential oils are derived only  from aromatic plants like rosemary and lavender. Essential oils cannot be extracted from henna plant. Many mehndi artists mix lavender,tea tree and cajeput oil and call the blend  as mehndi oil. If any person sells a product as mehndi oil please request them to tell the ingredients. If any seller tells that there is a secret ingredient and cannot be disclosed then please don't buy it. I will not recommend these kind of secret oils as there is more possiblity of adding paint thinner,solvents etc.  Ammonia can also be added in mehndi oil. It is believed that in Rajasthan urine of camel is added as it contains ammonia. Ammonia gives black shade. Home based ammonia when  added in water and hands or  legs dipped in water gives black shade. The same ammonia can be added in mehndi oil or hair dyes might have been added. Mehndi cones I have used store bought mehndi cones before. Nowadays,

Components of mehndi design Layout Elements and motif Fillers and embellishments Termination ending or end design Layout- The way in which the mehandi is  arranged and carried out. Most mehndi artists draw layout that is on their mind first. The design is then proceeded by filling the layout. Elements and motif- The shapes like circle, Paisleys,leaves and images of peacock, elephant form the elements and motif. Elements and motifs are drawn inside the layout and filled w ith designs. Fillers and embellishments- an element like a Paisley or heart shaped is filled with fillers and embellishments. Lines,swirls,checks,frills are used as fillers. Termination ending- a small design used to mark the end of design. 

The very basic of Mehndi art is cone handling.You need to hold mehndi cone as per your convenience and apply on skin. The very basic thing you need to understand of mehndi cone is the relationship between pressure and speed. The theory helps you understand the way it works. Only on practice you could get it in flow. Thick line= Increase the pressure and lower the speed of drawing. Thin line= Decrease the pressure and increase the speed of drawing Faint line= Give extremely lowest pressure and draw mehndi using mid speed. If you increase speed the design may not be clear. Thick lines and thin lines creates basics of borders and used as outlines.They are used alternatively and designs are created on it. Faint lines are thin,slender lines that creates contrast effect.

Mehndi Journey I have tried mehndi during my college days. I have participated in mehndi competitions during my college days. I have never won. I loved mehndi and so I bought a mehndi book and tried drawing the designs from it. I could not get good designs. My mother too discouraged me for wasting mehndi cones and wasting money.I stopped trying at that time. My love for mehndi again continued after my marriage. I became a homemaker after my daughter's birth. I found two boxes of mehndi cones on my cupboard while cleaning. It was bought for my  reception  mehndi stall and so it was expired. I thought of trying few designs on paper and wasting the cone rather than throwing it away. I have downloaded few mehndi images and tried.Again, I was not successful on getting good mehndi designs.I was worried of it.Though I  have studied visual communication and have basic knowledge on drawing it was not possible for me to get good mehndi designs. I found few mehndi channels in YouTube and tr

The longer the mehndi stays on your skin the darker the stain it gives. Leave your mehndi on skin for at least 8 hours. Leaving henna on skin overnight is always best.Body temperature rises during sleep and so henna would give good stain. The henna stain also depends on body and thickness of skin.The one with thick skin would get dark stain than people with thin skin. Henna react with body temperature and thus hands and legs gets good darker color due to heat. Air oxidizes henna and thus mehndi need to be on skin for at least 48 hours. Apply sugar and lemon syrup on skin after 20 minutes of applying mehndi. This makes mehndi stay on skin for long time by preventing mehndi from flaking off from your skin. Don't blow dry mehndi. Before going to sleep,give dry heat on skin using heating a clove on a pan. Cover your mehndi using toilet paper. Never use plastic cover on your hand. I have tried using plastic cover to seal mehndi hands and used rubber band to secure it. My hands sweated

The time taken for henna application depends on designs and intricacy. To apply the mehndi on hands, up to elbow,it would take around 1 and 1/2  an hour.For legs to apply only till the feet part would take you around 1 hour.Legs are the hardest part for henna application. legs have more ups and downs than hands so it would be challenging for beginners. Bridal mehndi takes around 4 to 5 hours.

Henna cone can be held as per your convenience. The way you hold your pen would be the way you hold your mehndi cone. For drawing intricate mehndi designs it would be advisable to hold henna cone near the tip.

Henna storage Store your henna powder in a cool place without direct sunlight. If possible refrigerate henna and other mehndi art materials. The mehndi paste can be stored in refrigerate for up to 2 months. If you cut the mehndi piping bag ,immediately fill the cone. Mehndi if improperly stored will lose it's lawsone content and will not give dark stains. Pack the mehndi cones in zipper bag and store in refrigerator. If using open tip cone(pin closed) mehndi cone pack in tissue paper and refrigerate in air tight box. Mehndi water can leak from open tip cones and so be extra careful on it.

How to test paste? A  Henna paste should be like toothpaste. The efficiency of mehndi paste can be tested in three ways. String test Paper test Patch test 1.String test Before filtering the mehndi paste using socks/stocking measure the length of the mehnndi string using inch tape. Mix mehndi paste once using the plastic spoon and vertically lift the spoon with inch tape next to it.The length of the string should be 2.5 inches. If you lift the spoon upwards more than that, the string should break. 2.Paper test This test can be done only after filling the cone. Take a notebook and draw some design. Wait for 10 minutes without disturbing the notebook. After 10 minutes turn the mehndi decorated page and look for these things. The design should be leaked on another side of the paper The traces of design stain should not be seen in next paper/paper below design paper.If stain releases to the paper below it, then you need to reduce the amount of water you add to your m

Mehndi cone filling Mehndi cone filling is a tedious task for beginners. People used to get hands strained,air bubbles problem. Mehndi cone filling is time consuming.A sieved mehndi would not have twigs and big leaves but if it is not properly blended it would have mehndi solids that would stuck near the tip of mehndi cone and create a mess in our mehndi. We would be pressing hard to release the mehndi but a small lump would block mehndi from coming out and in some cases we would press our mehndi cone harder and we would have a big smudged dot in our line.So,either use a balloon whisk or hand blender  or stand mixer. Make sure there are no lumps in mehndi and either use adult socks or stockings to filter the mehndi cone to make it smooth. How to achieve smooth paste? Take a large transparent glass and spread piping bag over it covering glass sides.Fill mehndi paste in stockings/socks.Use food clipper to clip on the socks .Pull and drag the socks will full force.The mehndi paste wi

Mehndi Applicator Mehndi can be applied on skin either using mehndi cones(cellophane cones) or a plastic tube called mehndi applicator. Mehndi applicator is just a simple plastic tube in which henna needs to be filled and sealing cap has to be put on and the thin nozzle should be placed above the sealing cap. Whether to do your art using henna applicator or traditional mehndi cone is a personal choice. On my experience i would say henna cone is comfortable to use as it can be made short and thin and would be good in intricate mehndi. Rolling mehndi cones is a job and you should be careful on making it without air bubbles.On the other hand,mehndi applicator saves time on making but hard to control  mehndi on bridal elements due to intricacy involved.Refilling mehndi applicator takes around 3 to 5 minutes of your time.

Mehndi cone preparation Materials required Cellophane sheet/gift wrapping sheet Scissors Nail clipper(optional) Scale/inch tape Cellotape Pins (optional)                                Method Cut cellophane for 7inch length and 5 inch width. Never cut a perfect square.A cone made of perfect square will have it's end near tip and cellotape near tip would come off on mehndi application. Cellotape near tip might smudge design even if it peels of a bit. In 7 inch length mark 2.5 inch,2 inch and 2.5 inch. If you are a right handed person start rolling from right. The cone tip should be on left 2.5 inch mark. Hold your left hand on top tightly and rotate and form cone using your right hand.Use small pin on tip if you want. If you don't want to use pin on tip rotate and form a cone and make sure the tip end is sealed. Using cellotape seal the side.

The phrase used in baking is "cooking is an art and baking is a science".The same applies for mehndi too. "Mehndi is an art but making mehndi paste is science". Just like even an experienced Baker measures their ingredients ,a mehndi artist needs to measure ingredients every time. I have mentioned my perfect ingredient that you can trust every time. I use measuring cup and spoons for mixing mehndi paste. If you buy a measuring set then even you can make henna paste like a pro. Ingre dients                ml Mehndi powder        1/2 cup Essential oil               2 tbsp Water                          1/2 cup Sugar                           1 tbsp Cardamon                   5 ml Cloves.                         5 ml Tea powder               1/2 tsp Lemon                        1

Science behind mehndi stain Mehndi powder- A mehndi powder of good lawsone content of atleast 2-3 percent should be used.Though freshness is an important factor ,it is not alone the sole factor determining color of henna. A poor fresh crop can have only Lawsone content. A good quality crop can have very good lawsone content and it if properly stored can be used for years. The lawsone content deteriorates on time. Light and heat can damage the mehndi quality. Keep away from sunlight and if possible refrigerate mehndi powder. Use only dry spoon for using mehndi. Water- Pure water should only be used. Distilled water can also be used. Distilled water reacts when it contacts with air and form carbonic acid as carbon dioxide  dissolves in it.The pH value will be less than 7 and would give good stain. Essential oil- Henna has hennotanic acid which is hydrophobic. So water alone does not help release stain.Essential oil has terps or monoterpene alcohol which helps to release stain. Ski

Mehndi powder I have been using mehndi powder which is available  to me locally. I have heard of many popular brands and suppliers of mehndi powder. Though I have not personally used those, I name  and list those brands for other's use Artisan henna powder Desire mehndi Nakreze mehndi Patanjali mehndi Shifa henna Adnan mehndi powder Art passion henna Kokila henna Dulhan henna Sojat supreme Ghazab  Supreme dulhan Jamila henna Beach combers Prakash henna Kajal Parakh rachni Ash kumar- us,Canada Sunita patel-uk,mehndi seasons website Bharathi sanghani-uk-artistic  henna website How to choose henna powder? Choose fresh henna. The fresh crop gives rich dark stain. Choose the one with highest lawsone content which is responsible for dark stain. The lawsone content of a henna plant increases only by age. The aged plant gives darkest stain. It is believed the top leaves of the plant gives good stain.

Mehndi paste preparation Sieve mehndi powder using Siever for atleast three times. Take mehndi powder in a bowl. Usually glass bowl is used. It is also believed that iron bowl creates a chemical reaction and produces a rich brown stain. I have tried glass,plastic and iron. All are safe for skin.  Boil tea,cloves and cardamom in water.Add lemon juice  and sugar to it. Add essential oil to mehndi powder and add the tea water. Mix everything together. Let it rest in warm place for atleast 12 hrs for dye release. Mix everything again and add water if needed. Mehndi is ready for cone preparation.

Mehndi Ingredients Mehndi powder Water Sugar Lemon Essential oil Optional Cardamon Clove Coffee powder or coffee decoction Black tea

Mehndi glossary Stain-The colour the mehndi produces on application. Resting time- The amount of time the mehndi need to stay on skin. Oil- The type of essential oil added to mehndi paste. Fading-  Mehndi blurring and stain diminishing. Portrait mehndi- A mehndi in which the face of a person is drawn on palms. Figurative Mehndi- Drawings are made using mehndi and filled with small elements.Bride,bride groom,elephant,horse are few examples of figurative mehndi. Thematic Mehndi- Mehndi is created using single or multiple themes. Hobbies,business,interests of bride and groom are usually created in hands of bride. Animals and cartoon characters like dora,talking Tom,minions are created as theme in kids birthday parties. Terps- monoterpene alcohol,a chemical compound that helps in releasing dark stain. Stain time-The amount of time required to release peak stain(darkest stain) in mehndi. Stain release time- Mehndi paste will be left in warm place for stain release. The

Mehndi in South India In Tamil Nadu mehndi is called as Marudhani. In South India mehndi was applied by grinding fresh mehndi leaves using ammikal(traditional stone grinder).  Later people used blender to grind mehndi. The grinded fresh mehndi paste is applied on hands in round patterns. Usually a big round of mehndi is applied on centre and small rounds of mehndi is placed surrounding the centre. My mother shares her memories of marudhani with us whenever we apply henna. She and her sister used to fight over grinding mehndi. As one  hand become red stained on grinding mehndi they refuse to do it. She remembers only during her wedding her sister ran to pluck henna leaves and volunteered in mehndi grinding. After the plastic covers came into existence my mother used to cover her right hand with plastic cover and grinded mehndi using blender. She and other neighbour women used to sit in thinnai and apply mehndi after doing all household chores. She did not applied mehndi after my fa

Mehndi of colours- Mehndi usually gives dark red or brown colour. There are few artificial mehndi 's like black henna,glitter henna and white henna. Black mehndi-  Black mehndi is mehndi adulterated with PPD,a chemical found in hair dye and ammonia. It might cause skin irritation to sensitive skin. A normal mehndi and black henna applied on hands to give contrast effect. Glitter mehndi-  The glitter powder added with hair gel and either mixed with henna paste or applied separately after applying traditional mehndi. This is also called as zardosi mehndi and glitter mehndi is not water proof. White mehndi- White henna is a skin adhesive paste.The white henna is applied using mehndi cone and it takes long time to dry then normal henna.Glitter powder is used to seal white mehndi and lasts up to 12 days. Glitter powder is usually applied after 20 minutes of application of henna. The excess glitter powder is later wiped off using makeup brush. White mehndi is not advised for sensit

What is mehndi/henna/marudhani? Mehndi is a form of temporary tattoo applied on women's hands during functions,festivals and weddings. This art is applied using dried leaves of henna plant. Based on the style,henna is classified as rajvadi style,Arabic style,gulf style. In Rajasthan elaborate and intricate mehndi is applied to bride grooms too. In other parts of India simple mehndi applied on groom's palms alone.