You know not to waste your time and money on premixed cones. You've bought a box of Henna from your local store merchant or even on-line. But your Henna is a little drab, nothing like those amazing results you've seen on-line or on people. You want something with a little more kick. Something more noticeable? Yeah, something people really take note of. All right, this section is for you.
You know how to mix your henna, right? (Read the Beginners Guide if you don't!) Well, you can add a few drops of aromatherapeutic-quality essential oils and create something really dramatic with your henna. As we all know, the best way to get a nice dark henna stain is with fresh, pure henna, a reasonable 'mordant' like lime or lemon juice (i.e. something acidic to release the dye in the henna.) We've played with the chemistry sets long enough to have determined that you can also add a 'helper' of a small amount of an essential oil. It seems, at this point, that alcohol (not the drinking kind, either!) terpenes of the terpineol and cineol (and related ~eol's) nature are the best.
Warning Notice! PLEASE remember that essential oils are POTENT substances and most of them should never be used undiluted on bare skin Very few essential oils meet the sensitivity requirements that allow them to be applied 'neat', that is, undiluted. Some of those are Rose, Sandalwood, Lavender and Tea Tree. Therefore, use amounts that follow general dilution rules in your henna mix to maintain safety and always question clients (and friends and family too!) on their allergies. (Links to follow on oils, caution and dilution.) That said, Essential Oils are a fun subject in themselves and if you aren't already hooked, this might start you on to a new hobby!
Things to keep in mind: good fresh henna will stain even without the oils. There is nothing wrong, bad or weak with a pure henna stain of any shade, pumpkin or paler! Black tattoo-like designs are not the goal; a happy and healthy design is! Henna isn't about who can get the darkest stain or proclaiming something for life, it is about life itself: transitory and constantly changing. Henna has been around since at least 3000 BCE, probably even further back than that. It isn't a fad. It isn't going to pass into history. History gives us the henna story. Not the other way around!
The Chemistry of Essential Oils
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1910
Detailed Information about Various Essential Oils
Martin Watt's Excellent Aromatherapy Site
More Chemistry Info relating to Essential Oils
An Excellent listing of Essential Oils, their chemical constituents and properties
essential-oil.org
details forthcoming
chem info
details forthcoming
Appalachia Valley presents Anatolian Treasures
This site sells high quality essential oils from Turkey. I've purchased from them a few times and highly recommend them.
5inyoureye.henna
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