Henna Recipe

There are a number of recipes to produce henna paste but this is a good one to begin with. You'll need some of your own cones; henna powder; tamarinda paste; eucalyptus oil; clove oil; teabags; coffee; a fine sieve; lemon juice.

Sieve the henna powder two or three times; the finer the better.

Put two teabags, two teaspoons of coffee and two teaspoons of tamarind paste in to three quarters of a pint of water. Bring this to the boil and let it simmer for an hour. When it has cooled, sieve to remove the teabags, etc.

Add the water to the sieved henna powder and stir. Add the water mixture slowly so that you can control the consistency; you want a paste that it easily piped using a cone.

Leave the mixture in a cool, dry place for about three hours.

Before you spoon the paste in to the plastic cones, add five drops of eucalyptus oil and five drops of clove oil. Mix in well and fill the cone(s) immediately.

Alternatively, you can add one cup of lemon juice and ten drops each of eucalyptus oil and clove oil before you fill the cones.

Recipe taken from Mehndi Body Painting by Zaynab Mirza.