Henna makeup comes in a variety of styles, colors, and mixtures. Choosing the best one for your purposes can be difficult, but narrowing down your options can make things much easier. The steps to picking the right henna makeup usually include knowing how you want to use it, what color henna you want, and what kinds of additives are in each kind. Going through these steps may narrow your search for henna makeup and help you zero in on the perfect kind for your purposes.
The first step to choosing henna makeup is typically considering how you want to use it. It can be used to apply temporary tattoos, dye your hair, and stain your fingernails. You can even use henna makeup as semi-permanent eyeliner.
Powder mixes for skin and fingernails come in two basic forms: pure henna and colored henna. Colored henna comes in every color, from red and pink to blue and green. This kind of henna may work well as colorful eyeliner or for creating intricate and colorful temporary tattoos. You will probably need a variety of colored powders to create pictures and designs. For traditional tattoos and deep, dramatic eyeliner, pure henna powder usually works best.
If choosing henna for hair, you must decide what color you want your hair to be. For black, you should typically choose green henna powder and “black henna” or indigo powder. Coloring hair with indigo over a layer of henna results in raven black hair, while mixing the two in equal parts yields chestnut brown. Henna by itself, or mixed with cassia powder, generally creates bright red locks. Amla powder mixed with henna yields a brunette color, and may help your hair grow in thicker.
Reading the labels on your henna products is an important step in choosing henna makeup. Colored henna usually contains artificial colors, but body-art-quality henna powder should contain nothing but powdered henna. There should be no dyes, sand, additives, or preservatives listed on the label. If this is the case, you may want to look for a more pure powder. Makeup with such additives don’t usually stain as deeply or last as long as pure henna. Some preservatives may also irritate skin or dry out your hair.
The last choice you must make when choosing henna makeup includes picking a source. Jamila and Yemeni henna powders come from Pakistan and Yemen, respectively, and take up to 12 hours to release their dyes, once mixed. Moroccan and Indian henna only require up to three hours of release time. If you have the time to wait, the longer release times usually ensure darker henna stains. The other two kinds of powder still yield dark stains, but they may not last as long.