Beautiful henna tattoo designs are available in different kinds of styles for skin art enthusiasts. However, on the downside, if you do not take care of your henna tattoo, then it will not last long on your skin. So, how do you take care of the ink? Here are some simple ways that you can do in order for your henna tattoo to last as long as possible.
Henna ink can typically last for about 1 to 3 weeks, and after that timeframe, it will slowly begin to fade and flake. In which case, you will have to keep your skin moisturized, avoid washing and abrasive cleaning agents, and avoid rubbing your henna tattoo.
Letting the Henna Set
Beautiful henna tattoo designs can get very intricate and henna paste is moist when applied. In order to let it set properly, don’t touch the design directly after its application. Keep the body part where the tattoo is away from the body, or from any obstructions such as clothing, hair, and other environmental factors, that will smear the design. The paste usually dries within 5-10 minutes, but it will take about half an hour to an hour before the henna paste is dry enough for you not to worry about smudging it.
The next thing that you need to do is to leave the henna paste on your skin for as long as possible. The longer the paste stays on the skin, the darker the stain of the henna ink will be. It is advisable to let the paste dry on your skin for at least 6 hours, or overnight. Be careful not to wash beautiful henna tattoo designs off, rub them off, or accidentally brush them against anything.
After the henna paste starts to dry, you can apply a coating of a mixture of sugar and lemon juice.
The mixture will keep the paste moisturized for a longer period of time, making the resulting stain even darker. Leave it soaked for a few hours, or even overnight. Use a small bowl and fill it with lemon juice, then mix it with sugar until it becomes sticky or syrupy. Then use a cotton ball to blot it over the dried henna tattoo.
The lemon and sugar help to moisturize beautiful henna tattoo designs. It serves as a seal to the henna tattoo and also helps protect the design. Furthermore, the acidity of the lemon juice can also help to highlight the shade of the ink of the henna tattoo. However, you need to be careful not to over saturate the tattoo as it may drip and smear, especially during the first application. If you leave the mixture overnight, make sure to wrap or protect your skin from rubbing and smearing.
Keep your skin with beautiful henna tattoo designs warm because the warmer the body temperature, the faster the henna will stain. You can also wrap the beautiful henna tattoo designs with tissue or soft cloth. The henna paste will usually flake or crumble as it dries, so covering it will keep the flakes from spilling everywhere. You can either use an elastic bandage, paper medical tape, or toilet paper.
The first thing that you can do is to try to lay a piece of toilet paper over the design, and then wrap the area with an elastic bandage. The second thing that you need to know is that henna can leave stains on textiles like clothing, sheets, and towels. So, if you plan to leave the paste on overnight, wrapping will protect your bed sheets from the stains.
Removing the Paste
After letting the henna set, you can now start to remove the paste. Scrape off the dry henna after 6-24 hours by using any clean or dull scraping tool like a toothpick, a fingernail, a file, or the blunt side of a knife. Rinse your skin with lukewarm water once you’ve cleared the paste away but do not use soap. When your skin is dry, pat it gently, and do not rub it dry. After doing that, gently moisturize the beautiful henna tattoo designs with either lotion or oil.
Keep in mind to not use soap on the area where the henna is for 24 hours.
Avoid getting the henna tattoo wet for at least 6 to 12 hours from the time of the removal of the paste. Water triggers the oxidization and darkening processes of the henna stain.
You also need to observe how the color deepens. Once it gets into contact with the skin, watch the ink of the beautiful henna tattoo designs change to their fullest form. The shade will begin to change to a shade of orange ranging from bright neon to brown. In the next 48 hours, it will deepen into a richer, red-brown color. The tattoo will be a full shade of orange-brown, maroon, or chocolate brown and will be at its darkest shade within two days of its application. The ink is usually darker on the hands and feet.
Caring for the Beautiful Henna Tattoo Designs
The expected longevity of the henna tattoo will be about 1 to 3 weeks. It is highly dependent on how well you take care of your skin. It can last more than three weeks if you keep it moisturized and avoid it from rubbing off on things.
The longevity of beautiful henna tattoo designs also depends on their location on your body. The tattoo is darker on the hands and feet, but these areas also tend to exchange more friction with the environment during daily interactions and activities.
Moisturizing the Henna Tattoo
Another way of taking care of the tattoo is to moisturize it with oil, butter, or lotion after you remove the paste from the skin. While the henna tattoo is still on your skin, moisturize it regularly to protect the design and in order to prevent exfoliation. There are many stores that sell moisturizers with natural oil to prevent prematurely lightening the stain.
Avoid using moisturizers that contain bleaching agents and fruit acids because these chemicals will strip the skin of moisture and nutrients which can make tattoos with beautiful henna tattoo designs fade prematurely. Spread a few essential oils over the design as this will keep your skin smooth. You may use wax lip balm, olive oil, or coconut oil. There are also special henna care oils especially available for beautiful henna tattoo designs.
Lastly, try not to rub off the design. Exfoliation can prematurely fade the henna tattoo. Friction from clothes and rough washing can also lead the stain to disappear sooner. It is advisable to not touch the area where the henna tattoo is. You may also consider wearing gloves to protect the tattooed part on your hand when you’re washing dishes and clean your skin with a gentle soap.
Now that you know how to take care of your beautiful henna tattoo design ink, you can now choose what kind of henna tattoo you want to ink on your body. There are different types of designs you can choose from.
Flowers and Leaves
Beautiful henna tattoo designs usually consist of flowers and leaves. You can ink them on the hands and feet as well as on the back part of the body. Roses are pretty much popular henna tattoo designs too. Some of these include lotus, lilies, sunflowers, and tulips.
Minimalist Flower
You can also choose a minimalist flower design. This could be a design of just one type of flower that will cover your entire hand or a flower on the back.
Designs for Palms, Wrists, and Fingers
Beautiful henna tattoo designs can also be affixed on palms, wrists, and fingers. Culturally, henna tattoos like on these are inked on women who are about to be married, however, these designs can also be used for aesthetic purposes and are usually tattooed during festivals and events. Beautiful henna tattoo designs on palms, wrists, and fingers can include vines, flowers, and small animals such as fishes that are often presented as optical illusions.
Trailing Henna Tattoo
Trailing beautiful henna tattoo designs is also very popular. It is one of the techniques that henna tattoo artists use in order to create a beautiful henna tattoo. It simply means that each element of the henna tattoo is interconnected either with lines, leaves, and flowers that would trail in a vine-like path on the hand, feet, or wherever the tattoo is placed. An example of this would be a twisted wreath design in which a wreath made of small leaves crawls in a pattern all over the arms.
Of Shapes and Textures
There are also beautiful henna tattoo designs that are ornately designed using shapes and pieces of jewelry. Most artists apply other elements to the henna tattoo such as small gems that can be glued to the skin, glitter, and adjust the thickness of the lines to illustrate textures. Some shapes include crosses, hearts, stars, and polygons.
Beautiful Henna Tattoo Designs on the Back
There are designs that also encompass the entire back part of your body. Large designs may be difficult to care for, but they are beautiful and would make the artist proud. Designs like a peacock’s plumage highlighted with gold ink can be really good for the back, especially during summer. Another great design for the back would be the sun as a primary, surrounded by a number of elements like lines, birds, flowers or plants.
Feathered Hand Designs
Feathered hand designs are easy to apply and these beautiful henna tattoo designs are very minimalist. They sometimes only consist of lines, periods, and a patterned design. Feathered hand designs often cover the wrists and palms, as well as parts of the fingers.
Henna Anklet
You can apply henna tattoos on the feet. Trailing can be a good henna art on the feet; however, there are beautiful henna tattoo designs such as henna anklets as well. This is a design that will go around your ankle and usually in flowers or plumage.
Henna Tattoo Animals
Animals are great for beautiful henna tattoo designs. Most of these animals are cats, fishes, owls, and wolves. The designs vary from one artist to another. Some incorporate fishes and fisheyes in one optical illusion that crawls on the skin of the hands, or feet. There are also peacock plumage designs that spread throughout the back. Owls can be standalone designs, while wolves’ henna tattoos can include the moon so it looks like they are howling.
Of Letters and Numbers
Other people also choose quotes as designs. Beautiful henna tattoo designs are not limited to flowers, animals, or patterns. Most people ink names of their significant others, favorite quotes, or even their favorite letters and numbers. These tattoos are usually presented in font styles chosen by the person who wants to have the tattoo.
Icons and Symbols
Friends, sisters, and couples also usually get paired or couple tattoos. Beautiful henna tattoo designs can also be icons used to symbolize friendships, family, and couple relationships. These designs usually include a lock and a key, two pairs of hearts, a heart and an arrow, Roman numerals, phrases that complete each other, and each other’s names. Most of these henna tattoos are placed on parts of the body where they can be visible like hands, wrists, fingers, shoulders, necks, backs, or even the feet. Sometimes they are also inked on the chest.
Do-It-Yourself Design
There are also artists who draw designs that are made by the customers themselves. These are designs personalized to suit the customer’s liking. These beautiful henna tattoo designs can be anything from flowers to icons and symbols and things that are meaningful for the person asking for the tattoo.
Henna tattoos are a great alternative if you are opting for temporary skin art. These types of tattoos not only accentuate any part of your body, but also symbolize self-expression, cultural interpretation, and art.
Contact Us
Do you want these popular henna tattoo designs at your next event? Our henna tattoo artists will come to your party and create these beautiful works of body art.
Contact us at (970) 377-0093 Our talented artists will create fun, beautiful, intricate designs for you. We serve the areas of Loveland, Fort Collins, Windsor, and nearby areas in Colorado.