Nika
Alicja (and Artemida and Mara, see bio)So after some more or less blind stumbling with henna body art, I've decided to start doing Science! with it.
So the first experiment was mixing up four batches with the same amount of henna, and four different ratios of the henna to lemon juice (2.5 to 4 of the henna's weight). And I drew short lines and left them on for 2 hours and 20 minutes. I drew lines with the same mixtures but with added "terping" (tea tree essential oil drops, which the Internet recommends for making the colours stronger).
To my extreme surprise, the thickness of the mixture made little difference and also the more diluted henna actually gives a somewhat stronger colour. I expected the opposite. And given that it's easier to apply a gooier mixture than a thicker paste, there's no actual reason to use more henna. At least with this length of skin exposure.
The "terped" henna stains much, much stronger though, so that part is not a myth. The colour is almost twice as strong after this short exposure.
Next experiment will likely be to see how the length of exposure impacts the colour. I need that one to maybe be able to make multiple-colour designs in the future.
So anyway, if anyone wants to make henna #bodyart , here's some henna science xD
SpringGnoll
Fabien de Saint pern
Amanda-Peter
