The Only Henna Recipe You'll Ever Need.

I’m you have bought henna powder from eBay or Amazon or your local grocer, followed one of these random and complicated recipes from the internet and hoped for the best. And it failed, am I right? Otherwise you wouldn't be here!

Would you be relieved to know that you don't need to use unsafe ingredients, synthetic dyes, or sketchy preservatives to get a rich, dark, stain?

Ok, we're almost there, but first I have some bad news. You knew it was coming because you were nodding along while reading this. That "mystery henna" you have in your cupboard, throw it out. Do it now. I'll still be here when you come back.

No amount of doctoring can save a stale or poor-quality henna powder. You will absolutely need to start with high-quality, fresh henna, such as our Organic Rajasthani Henna. The stuff you get at the corner market, health food store, Amazon or eBay may not be Body Art Quality, or it may be stale or contain synthetic dyes, preservatives, or other harmful additives. Does the price seem too good to be true? Then it probably is. High quality henna will include a harvest date and/or and expiration date. It is recommended that you use henna within 1-2 years of the harvest date.

LET’S JUMP RIGHT IN, HERE IS THE RECIPE!

Ingredients for 20-25 medium (15grams) cones of fresh henna:

1. 100 grams fresh Organic Rajasthani Henna Powder

2. 30ml pure essential oil of Tea Tree (you can omit this ingredient for practice cones)

3. 45 grams (approximately 3.5 Tablespoons) Sugar such as Anthony’s Organic Cane Sugar (this helps the henna stick better)

4. Distilled/purified water or rain water, room temperature, pH 7.0 or less

   Watch the video below if you like to learn by watching!

Micro-Mini Henna Recipe:

1. One Tablespoon henna

2. One Teaspoon essential oil

3. One Teaspoon sugar

4. Water to consistency

Useful Tools/Supplies

Before you get started, it’s helpful to have your mixing tools ready. For your convenience, I’ve linked the tools I personally use that are easily available on Amazon. You can also mix with just a spatula and a bowl. I use a stand mixer as I have a repetitive stress injury in my arm, and it’s also great for mixing large batches for festivals, weddings, or selling henna cones. A scale is essential, especially if you need to make odd sized batches, or when adjusting your sugar-content (don’t forget to take notes in your henna journal!). For straining and storing your henna paste, stockings, pastry bag, and clips are both useful and reusable.

Henna Recipe and Straining Tutorial Video:

2. Add some water and mix into a thick paste. Cover and let sit for 15-30 minutes to allow the liquid to begin absorbing. We’ll thin it out later.

Step 3 – Add your essential oil, and then continue to add water, a little bit at a time until a pudding-like consistency is achieved.

Step 4 – Mix thoroughly until all the lumps are gone. Optional: strain the paste through a stocking, I like the L’eggs knee highs, to remove any remaining sediment or unmixed portions (the video above shows the straining process).

Step 5 – Strain your paste through a stocking (watch the video to see how it’s done) into a pastry bag and fill up your henna cones. Freeze any paste that you don’t plan to use immediately.

Henna all ready to go! Now, if you didn't order your supplies yet, what are you waiting for? Now that you know it's not rocket science, stop making excuses, and get some good stuff!

We hope you enjoyed this tutorial! For tips on how to get an even darker stain, click here!