Science behind mehndi Stain
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. Skin friendly mono terps are terpineol, geraniol,cineol,cedrol and linalool. High monoterpene alcohol evaporates fast, penetrates skin easily and has short shelf life. Tea tree,caje put and eucalyptus oil are the most common Essential oils. Camphor oil,menthol oil,clove oil,clove bud oil,pepper oil are few oils high in terps but might cause irritation to sensitive skin. Citrus essential oils like lemon,grape fruit,orange has high level of terps. The monoterpene alcohol of essential oil is described in percentage .The higher the percentage number the higher the stain. Palmarosa oil and lavender oil are pregnancy safe essential oils. Citrus oils evaporates in air easily and thus not used.
Cajeput -79
Lavendar-45
Tea tree-63
Orange-95
Grape fruit-92
Lemon and lime-95 and 85
Pepper-50
Fennel-25
Coriander-45
Lemon- Lemon can cause photo toxic reaction and not advised to add if henna is applied under outdoor or direct sunlight. Henna releases dye at pH value of 5.5 and hennotanic acid will release dye only with binding with protein on skin. The acid will degrade the cellulose and stain releases. If lemon not available vinegar,soda, tamarind water,cola drinks,citric acid powder can be added. pH value less than 7 is acidic. Vinegar has pH value of 2.4, lemon has pH value of 2.0.
Sugar- Sugar gives stringiness and helps in sticking mehndi to skin. The longer the mehndi sticks to skin the stronger the stain.
Sugar helps in draping mehndi. On applying check designs, it is important to apply mehndi without rubbing the first layer or line of mehndi. Sugar in mehndi powder helps in draping mehndii.e., applying without touching the surface. The amount of sugar to be added depends on humidity of the place. Less sugar should be added in high humidity and vice versa. In Chennai humidity is around 80 and thus I add around 20 grams of sugar for 100 g mehndi powder. If humidity Is 60 add 30grams of sugar for 100 grams of mehndi powder.
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. Skin friendly mono terps are terpineol, geraniol,cineol,cedrol and linalool. High monoterpene alcohol evaporates fast, penetrates skin easily and has short shelf life. Tea tree,caje put and eucalyptus oil are the most common Essential oils. Camphor oil,menthol oil,clove oil,clove bud oil,pepper oil are few oils high in terps but might cause irritation to sensitive skin. Citrus essential oils like lemon,grape fruit,orange has high level of terps. The monoterpene alcohol of essential oil is described in percentage .The higher the percentage number the higher the stain. Palmarosa oil and lavender oil are pregnancy safe essential oils. Citrus oils evaporates in air easily and thus not used.
Cajeput -79
Lavendar-45
Tea tree-63
Orange-95
Grape fruit-92
Lemon and lime-95 and 85
Pepper-50
Fennel-25
Coriander-45
Lemon- Lemon can cause photo toxic reaction and not advised to add if henna is applied under outdoor or direct sunlight. Henna releases dye at pH value of 5.5 and hennotanic acid will release dye only with binding with protein on skin. The acid will degrade the cellulose and stain releases. If lemon not available vinegar,soda, tamarind water,cola drinks,citric acid powder can be added. pH value less than 7 is acidic. Vinegar has pH value of 2.4, lemon has pH value of 2.0.
Sugar- Sugar gives stringiness and helps in sticking mehndi to skin. The longer the mehndi sticks to skin the stronger the stain.
Sugar helps in draping mehndi. On applying check designs, it is important to apply mehndi without rubbing the first layer or line of mehndi. Sugar in mehndi powder helps in draping mehndii.e., applying without touching the surface. The amount of sugar to be added depends on humidity of the place. Less sugar should be added in high humidity and vice versa. In Chennai humidity is around 80 and thus I add around 20 grams of sugar for 100 g mehndi powder. If humidity Is 60 add 30grams of sugar for 100 grams of mehndi powder.
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