Henna Aftercare & Maintenance

Henna Aftercare & Maintenance
by Nivi Henna Artist , Cleveland

After Care -The first 24 hrs

➔ Leave the henna paste on for at least 8 hours. Leaving it overnight, gives the best results! The
longer the paste is on your skin, the deeper the color. Keep the paste moist with the Sugar Lemon
Syrup. Whenever the paste dries use the syrup. Keep moist not watery.
➔ Heat is a great friend of Henna. Keep your hands warm when you have the paste on hand. You can keep warm by the Heater or heating pad, fireplace. Keep safe distance as not to burn your hands.
➔ Heat is great, sweating is not! :) Perspiration can cause the henna to become runny and ruin your design so don't wrap your design in anything unbreathable (such as plastic wrap).
➔ Unroll cotton balls and stick them onto the sticky henna design. Wrap with an old sock, toilet paper,or medical bandage…these will work, to keep the henna paste on the skin and to protect clothing and furniture. If leaving on all night, be sure to keep your henna design WARM ALL NIGHT...the moment your skin gets cold, henna stops coloring. You can wrap up your henna design with layers of tissue paper and then one layer of plastic wrap to retain heat.
➔ When you're ready to remove the paste, scrape it off gently with butter knife or an old credit card. DO NOT use water to wash it off! Use a little olive oil or lemon juice to remove any stubborn bits.
➔ Avoid contact with water for 12-24 hours - this can disrupt the oxidization process and minimize coloring. Your own aftercare will have a big impact on how long your design lasts.
➔ The color will initially be orange (may not be noticeable on darker skin tones); and matures to a rich, dark red-brown over about 48 hours.
➔ In addition to fresh, high-quality henna and proper aftercare, body chemistry plays a part in the
intensity of your color. If you tend to "run warm" or if your skin is more alkaline, you'll usually get
a better color. Additionally, some parts of your body will color better than others. Hands and feet
will produce the strongest color, whereas the back of the neck and face will not color as well.

Maintenance:
A well-cared for design will last about 2 weeks. One week of strong color, and another week of fading.
✔ Avoid scrubbing - instead, wash gently and pat dry.
✔ Avoid petroleum products, such as Vaseline, baby oil, sunscreens
✔ Avoid pools, hot tubs and Jacuzzi (chlorine and other chemicals can speed the demise of your color)
✔ Avoid overexposure to soaps. When using cleaning supplies, use gloves.
✔ Rub a little olive or coconut oil into the color prior to bathing to help protect the area.

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