6 Henna Uses That Might Surprise You
When you think of henna, what’s the first image that springs to mind? The chances are it’s the world-famous skin art known as mehndi. The intricate designs in these temporary tattoos are incredibly eye-catching, and people get to show off their pretty body art for a couple of weeks. It’s also a brilliant natural hair dye, so you’ve probably heard about that by now too.
What may not be so obvious to the uninitiated is that henna has so many other cool uses. Henna is an extremely versatile product and can be used for so much more than just body art. Henna devotees will surely testify that there’s a whole world to explore with it.
The reddish-brown tones in henna dye can bring a world of vibrancy to your life. A lot of this is related to personal beauty, as you might expect, but that’s not all. Here are six other ways in which you can use this wonderful product:
1.Henna as nail polish
For centuries henna has been used as a kind of natural nail polish; in other words, you can give yourself natural red-orange nails with serious longevity! One great thing about this is that it doesn’t chip or peel like traditional nail polish. Another is that henna nail polish is thought to strengthen nails and keep fungus at bay – so technically it’s a healthy option too!
As henna is a permanent dye, it takes a pretty long time to fade out, so only go for this option if you’re prepared to be in it for the long haul. However, it will fade more quickly than henna hair dye due to nail regeneration.
2.Henna as a scalp treatment
Just as henna can benefit your nails, it has properties that help your skin to heal too. If you have a dry scalp, a dandruff problem or are prone to excessive shedding, henna is for you. This natural alternative to topical medicines won’t cause any side effects; if you mix it with other products to make a hair mask, you can easily apply it for the benefits mentioned. For a great hair mask, try mixing henna with yogurt, fenugreek or egg.
3.Henna as hair conditioner or gloss
As henna is nourishing, your hair follicles can benefit greatly from coming into contact with it. It can remove product build up, which helps your hair to shine. Healthy hair looks so great, but it’s sometimes a little elusive.
If you’re not interested in dying your hair red, you should opt for colorless (neutral) henna. For extremely damaged hair, it could be a good idea to get a powerful leave in conditioning treatment too.
4.Henna as makeup
As henna leaves a long-lasting stain, you can use it as makeup. Just as you would paint your nails or dye your hair with it, you can use it as a lip stain. There are many ready-made henna lip products and they can look really great.
They offer you a variety of rich shades to brighten your day and help you to shine. Add a henna lip stain or lip liner to your makeup bag to cover every eventuality from a summer’s day on the beach to a killer evening look.
5.Henna for contouring
Although this use of henna is more about the concept of henna than the product, it’s still worth a mention. You may not have come across henna contouring before as it’s not exactly common – but it’s pretty awesome!
Some makeup artists decided to use the concept behind henna to create captivating makeup on their models. It consists of highlighting and contouring with makeup shades that are lighter and darker than your natural skin tone. Mehndi-style designs are painted onto the skin, making for a truly beautiful look. Why not give it a try?
6.Henna as clothes dye
It probably figures that if you can permanently dye your hair with henna, you can also dye fabrics with it. As you’ll find if you accidentally spill your henna hair dye on your clothing, it’s there for good!
Since natural dyes that don’t harm the environment (or your skin) became more popular, henna was picked up by the textile industry. Today, it is used on various fabrics because it’s colorfast and gives vibrant results. The purified dye is applied to cotton and silk fabrics using the exhaust dyeing method.
We hope that now you’ll be as inspired as we are to see what you can achieve with the wonder product that is henna. Feel free to get in touch for answers to your questions, and of course for top quality henna. Our site contains a wealth of information so take a look around and be inspired!