Henna and Body Painting Thread!

aishah · 09-27-2012, 03:26 PM

when i had lunch with uncle tommi at the reunion, we started talking about henna and body painting! i had no idea there were other folks on the site interested in this, and i think we need a thread for it. come share your photos, products, tips, patterns, etc.

maybe next year we can have a henna or body painting booth at the reunion!

i've been henna-ing my hair for about 2-3 years now, and doing henna tattoos for about a year. i've done a couple of small community arts events where i did tattoos on other folks but mostly i practice on myself. i'm saving up money to buy more supplies so i can practice more and hopefully improve! i'll post some pictures later of things i've done and about my process.

one of the things i really love about henna is that it's very meditative and time consuming. i have always felt like i must be doing productive things all the time, so the idea of spending hours and hours doing an intricate tattoo that is just going to disappear in a few weeks seems absurd, almost. but it's a really reflective process. mixing the henna takes about 12-15 hours, then doing a tattoo can take anywhere from a few minutes to several hours, then it has to rest for several hours and you can't touch anything while it's staining, so you essentially have to be immobile for awhile. it's a good way to force yourself to slow down and take some me-time

Words · 09-27-2012, 03:51 PM

I lived in the Middle East for many years and often used henna on my hair or had someone else do it on my hands or feet for weddings etc. I can't say I miss the smell or the mess involved when using it on the hair but I do miss the 'process' and that feeling of doing something just for me.

On a side note - because I used to pray and couldn't wear nail polish I would sometimes henna my nails 'just because'. It actually looked pretty good, though picking out clothes that didn't clash with the orange was a nightmare.

Words

Beloved · 09-27-2012, 03:58 PM

I love henna tattoos!

aishah · 09-27-2012, 04:04 PM

yay! it's nice not being the only muslim here.

i love henna-ing my nails but i hate trying to keep it on my nails - for some reason i find doing my entire nails or the palms of my hands (like, keeping the henna on til it stains) way more difficult than waiting for an actual tattoo to stain. but i stopped worrying about nail polish during prayer awhile back so i've been wearing a color that is similar in color to the henna so it blends in.

09-27-2012, 03:26 PM	#1
aishah Member How Do You Identify?: queer stone femme shark baby girl Preferred Pronoun?: she, her, little one Relationship Status: dating myself. Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: dallas, tx Posts: 1,495 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 13,823 Thanked 6,442 Times in 1,288 Posts Rep Power: 21474851	Henna and Body Painting Thread! when i had lunch with uncle tommi at the reunion, we started talking about henna and body painting! i had no idea there were other folks on the site interested in this, and i think we need a thread for it. come share your photos, products, tips, patterns, etc. maybe next year we can have a henna or body painting booth at the reunion! i've been henna-ing my hair for about 2-3 years now, and doing henna tattoos for about a year. i've done a couple of small community arts events where i did tattoos on other folks but mostly i practice on myself. i'm saving up money to buy more supplies so i can practice more and hopefully improve! i'll post some pictures later of things i've done and about my process. one of the things i really love about henna is that it's very meditative and time consuming. i have always felt like i must be doing productive things all the time, so the idea of spending hours and hours doing an intricate tattoo that is just going to disappear in a few weeks seems absurd, almost. but it's a really reflective process. mixing the henna takes about 12-15 hours, then doing a tattoo can take anywhere from a few minutes to several hours, then it has to rest for several hours and you can't touch anything while it's staining, so you essentially have to be immobile for awhile. it's a good way to force yourself to slow down and take some me-time

09-27-2012, 03:51 PM	#2
Words Member How Do You Identify?: Queer femme submissive Relationship Status: Married Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: UK Posts: 969 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 1,449 Thanked 4,259 Times in 677 Posts Rep Power: 21474852	I lived in the Middle East for many years and often used henna on my hair or had someone else do it on my hands or feet for weddings etc. I can't say I miss the smell or the mess involved when using it on the hair but I do miss the 'process' and that feeling of doing something just for me. On a side note - because I used to pray and couldn't wear nail polish I would sometimes henna my nails 'just because'. It actually looked pretty good, though picking out clothes that didn't clash with the orange was a nightmare. Words

09-27-2012, 03:58 PM	#3
Beloved Member How Do You Identify?: alive Preferred Pronoun?: um Relationship Status: married Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: on the stars Posts: 460 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 1,415 Thanked 1,653 Times in 298 Posts Rep Power: 19348703	I love henna tattoos!

09-27-2012, 04:04 PM	#4
aishah Member How Do You Identify?: queer stone femme shark baby girl Preferred Pronoun?: she, her, little one Relationship Status: dating myself. Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: dallas, tx Posts: 1,495 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 13,823 Thanked 6,442 Times in 1,288 Posts Rep Power: 21474851	yay! it's nice not being the only muslim here. i love henna-ing my nails but i hate trying to keep it on my nails - for some reason i find doing my entire nails or the palms of my hands (like, keeping the henna on til it stains) way more difficult than waiting for an actual tattoo to stain. but i stopped worrying about nail polish during prayer awhile back so i've been wearing a color that is similar in color to the henna so it blends in.