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Monday, February 6, 2017

Glitter and Henna: To Use or Not to Use?

Glitter makes everything better!
Let's just say it...Glitter makes everything better even body art! Well most everything. Adding glitter to henna has it's pros and cons so let's go over them so you can decide if glittering up your henna tattoos is right for you.

If you are doing henna in a festival setting, I think glitter is a must! It attracts people to your booth and encourages people to keep the henna paste on longer. When they remove the henna, they also remove the glitter so they are more likely to keep the henna on the skin. Let's face it, teens LOVE it glitter!

If you are doing one-on-one henna or parties, glitter is not as necessary, and can be either an advantage or a detriment. Adding glitter can be fun for guests!

If you are hired for a party, I suggest you clear it with the person hiring you about glitter. Glitter gets EVERYWHERE and the host may not want a fairy-dusted house for the next month. Next, you need to figure out if you have the time to do glitter. If you need to henna 15 people in an hour, it means the maximum amount of time you can spend on henna is 4 minutes a person. If you are also doing glitter, you need to adjust the amount of henna you do accordingly. This may not be a big deal if you are only doing henna on 5 or 10 people an hour, but if you are doing 30 people (only 2 minutes a person), that 10-30 seconds to add glitter is a big deal. Be realistic about how much time you have and how much time you need.

If you do decide to offer glitter, I suggest limiting the numbers of colors you have until you are experienced and have worked out the kinks in your henna business. If you offer too many choices, it takes more time for people to choose. Considering only having one color for your first event with glitter. Slowly offer more glitter colors until you get to a point that you are comfortable with the amount of glitter you offer.

Why Beachcombers Does Not Carry Glitter
(Spoiler: WE DO!)

I was recently asked why we don't carry glitter even though we happen to love it. I try to only carry products that I can offer a value or a convenience. Currently I don't feel I can offer a good enough value/convenience to offer loose glitter for use on henna.

The requirements for a glitter to be considered body safe is that the glitter should be polyester (NOT metal) and should have no sharp edges. The shape of the individual glitter pieces cannot be triangles, squares, or rectangles but can be hexagons, octagons, or circles. Many easy-to-access scrap book glitters meet these requirements, including the Stampendous brand and the Martha Stewart brand. These are both fairly inexpensive and easy to get. Until we can offer something that is a good value to you, we won't offer glitter.

Want us to offer glitter? Let us know! Every single request we get is written down and our request list is constantly reviewed to see what we can make a reality.

Loose Cosmetic Body Glitter for henna
Loose Body Safe Glitter for Henna!

UPDATE! 2/6/2017

Guess who offers glitter now, AND at a great price! Our new cosmetic grade body safe glitter comes in a soft squeeze bottle with a number 19 metal tip. We offer both 10 gram and 20 gram containers AND if you order 4 glitter, you get one free!

Applying glitter with the precision metal tips allows you to poof glitter or use a controlled pour for more precision.

Check out our new loose body safe glitter for henna today!

Didn't I tell you requests work?! Some of the things we carry that are directly a result of requests...
  • Spray Bandage Sealer
    Clients were repeatedly letting us know they were having trouble finding spray bandage sealer at a reasonable price. When they could find it, it was a very small bottle (about 1/2 the size of the bottle we offer) for about $12. We searched until we found an off brand that we could offer to you at a great price!
     
  • Nylons for Staining Henna
    Who has panty hose these days? We kept hearing that clients couldn't find stockings without a reinforced toe at a good price, so we found some!
     
  • Carrot Bags for Filling Henna Applicator Bottles and Henna Cones
    These made sense to put into our beginners henna kits, as the only way to get them was from a specialty shop or craft store. Even then, the smallest package was generally a pack of 12, when you only need one carrot bag.
     
  • Cellophane Triangles to Roll Henna Cones
    We started offering these because I HATE to cut cello for myself. No matter what I would do, it seemed to attract every little bit of dust or hair in the house to the cello. Frustrating. I find cutting cello a pain in the butt, and our clients do too. I also heard regularly how difficult it was to find the right thickness. I finally decided to offer pre-cut cello triangles. Best thing I ever did, lol! I no longer have to cut my own cello! It's worth every cent, especially since it's so inexpensive. You can get 100 sheets of triangle for less than $10! Niiiiice!
We are open to more requests, so keep them coming! We can't honor every request we get, but when we can...we do!

Glitter On!
Jody

Thursday, February 2, 2017

Must-Know Info About Essential Oils and Henna Paste

Sara used ORa henna and 10mL oil

Need the down-low on essential oils and henna?
Need it in easy-to-understand English? Got it!

Are essential oils needed to mix henna? Technically, no, they aren't, but if you want great henna stains, the right essential oils are necessary. Essential oils (EOs) can make henna stains substantially darker, but only the right EOs will help your henna paste.

Essential oils need monoterpene alcohols to create darker henna stains. These terpenes are hydrocarbon solvents and that is what releases more of the dye in henna. Safe terpenes include terpineol, geraniol, cineol, cedrol, and linalool.

Don't worry about all these technical names. Below is a list of oils that work well and are safe for the skin. Yes, there are others, but these are the high-performance mehndi oils.
  • Tea Tree 
  • Lavender (Lavandula Angustifolia)
  • Cajeput
  • Ravensara
  • Geranium


Are there additional reasons to add essential mehndi oils to henna powder?

Yes! Essential oils change the texture of henna paste and add scent to henna paste. Essential oils thin henna paste and create a smooth silky paste. A paste that smells good is always a plus!


How much oil do I mix into henna powder?

Great question! Use the least amount of oils you need to get good color.

Essential oils are the most expensive part of your henna paste so using the least amount you need saves you money. Essential oils are also VERY powerful and are the ingredient in your henna paste that is most likely to cause a reaction. Having the mildest possible henna mix is best for your customers.

Generally you need 10-30mL (1/3-1 ounce) of oil per 100 grams of henna powder. Do not use more than 30mL (1 ounce) of oil per 100 grams of henna powder. The better the henna powder the less oil you need to get great color.

For the hobbiest, 10mL is normally just fine, but for professional artists, 20-30mL is needed.


When do I mix the essential oils into the henna?

You can mix the oils in using a one step method or a two step method. The one step method is adding the powder, liquid, oils, and sugar all at the same time. The two step method lets you add your liquid in first then wait for 4-12 hours (depending on dye release time of the henna powder you are using) then add the oils into the paste. Which method you use depends on what type of henna you use, what liquid you mix with your powder, and personal preference.

- Type of Henna Powder
The essential oils need time to do the job of drawing out more dye from the henna. Different henna powders have different dye release times. Henna with short dye release times (less than 6 hours), should use the one step method, adding the oils into the paste at the beginning. Henna with longer dye release times, like Jamila, can use either the one step method or the two step method.

- Liquid in the Henna Mix
If you use lemon juice to mix henna, you can use either the one-step method or the two step method. If you are mixing henna powder with water, use the one step method. Water will allow the henna to release dye much quicker than lemon juice.

- Personal Preference
If you are new to henna, make it easy on yourself and use the one step method. If you like the idea of really focusing on controlling your henna mix, try the two step method. I personally use the one step method for both our ORa henna powder (my preferred henna powder) and Jamila henna powder.


What do oils do you use in your henna paste?

I use equal amounts of tea tree and lavender oil and I use 30 mL of oil per 100 grams of henna. The smell is positively divine and I get superb color. I use ORa henna powder, lemon juice, a bit of sugar, and tea tree/lavender oil in my henna paste.

You can buy a henna refill kit here that includes 100 grams of ORa henna powder, 15 mL EACH of lavender and tea tree oils, and 25 cello triangles so you can roll your own henna cones. If you want to try more essential oil or the same recipe I use, you can double the oil.

I hope this gives you a clear understanding of essential oils for henna paste!
Jody