Mehendi or henna has been an integral part of celebrations in India. From festivals to weddings, mehendi holds a special place and women just can’t do without it! Especially, when it comes to weddings, mehendi is considered really auspicious and it has been a part of our culture for centuries. If you love getting mehendi done and want the colour to come out darker every time, then there are simple ways to make your mehndi colour deeper and darker. Let’s see them,
1.Clean your hands well
Wash your palms thoroughly with soap before you sit down to apply mehndi. Make sure you don’t apply any creams or lotions. By eliminating any possible layers on your skin, mehendi will be completely absorbed and you will naturally get a darker shade.
2.Smoke it
It is believed that the smoke from heated cloves helps darken mehendi. Place some cloves in an iron pan and turn on the heat. Let the smoke coming from the cloves come in contact with your mehendi. Hold your hands out for as long as you can bear the heat and stop only when they start to hurt a bit
3.Apply a mix of lemon and sugar
This method of darkening mehendi is being used since years now.Boil some water with sugar in it. Add lemon drops in it.Apply your mehndi as it is and once it dries, apply this mixture at least thrice on your mehndi. The sugar keeps the mehndi in contact with the skin for deeper penetration, while the lemon juice acts as a catalyst for dye release and deep penetration of colour.
4.Keep it for some hours
The best way to dry out mehendi is following the natural way. Keep the mehendi on your palms as long as you can, preferably overnight, if possible. Once it’s dried, you can ask someone to gently bandage your hands so the mehendi stays on and doesn’t leave crumbs in bed.Steer clear from heaters and blow dryers, as it will not help the colour to set.
5.Apply eucalyptus oil
Make an exception with eucalyptus oil. After washing your hands apply this essential oil to your hands and feet. Not only does it smell good, but the oil actually helps darken the colour of mehendi.
6.Apply in advance
If you have your wedding or a special occasion, you can try getting the mehendi 1-2 days before. It takes around 30-40 hours for the mehendi to get darker and show the true colour.
7.Apply a balm
You can also apply any pain-relief balm on the mehendi, once you have removed the dried mehendi. Make sure you apply it on the same day. Ointments/balms can help make mehendi darker in just a night.
