Henna is traditionally a body painting art in India and other Southeast Asia countries that is used to accentuate beauty. Many times women place it on their hands and feet for traditional hindu weddings. It is also used medically as a cooling agent for the skin. The art of henna has spread across the world as a temporary tattoo that many people have been interested in trying.
This past week, my sister and I decided to try our hand at henna. I had bought her a henna kit from Earthbound Trading Company for her birthday and right before we went on vacation seemed like the best time to give it a try.
First, we were instructed to mix the greenish powder with some water until it became a smooth paste. The kit did not say how much water to add so we just continued to add water until it was mostly a smooth consistency. We then had to wait a few hours for the paste to thicken. 
After the paste thickened, we placed the mixture in a pastry bag and began to work on some designs. Our first attempt wasn't so great. The henna was a lot runnier than we anticipated and came out in a thicker stream than we thought.
Thankfully, it came off and we were able to try again. I originally wanted to try a more creative design and maybe a cute elephant on my foot, but the consistency of the henna limited the details of our designs along with my lack of artistic ability. Eventually, we were able to work on some larger designs that came out nicely.
After we let the henna dry for about an hour or so (as instructed by the kit), we let the hard, dark coating chip off to reveal a light orange dye left on our skin. I expected the dye to come off a little bit darker, but this was probably due to our henna mixer being too diluted.
Other than some minor setbacks, henna was definitely worth a try. It was always something that we had wanted to try and I'm glad that we finally got around to doing it. It may not have turned out exactly as we had planned, but it was definitely a cultural experience worth having and if we do it again, we will have a better idea of how to do it.
I would definitely recommend henna to anyone that is curious about how it works and is interested in temporary tattoos or different cultures. We may not have any Indian heritage, but my sister and I have always been interested in learning about different cultures and trying some of their traditions. It's important to not just copy the traditions of other cultures, but to understand where they come from. If we are can be open to the traditions of other cultures, we are one step closer to cultural understanding.
