Learn to Make Henna Paste!
You will learn the basics of mixing your own henna paste in this blog post. There are many benefits to mixing your own henna paste at home! Henna artists everywhere have their own strategy to mixing henna paste. This is how Joey of JoHenna Design mixes her natural henna paste.
Some of the items needed below are available for purchase in my Henna Supply Shop, here. Henna kits are also available, which includes all of the ingredients you need to make henna (excluding water or lemon juice). I hope you enjoy this blog post and have fun mixing your own henna at home!
INGREDIENTS LIST
*Bold denotes what I use for my mix*
Henna Powder – 33grams
Water or Lemon Juice – to desired paste consistency
Essential Oil (Cajeput or Lavendar) – 10ml
Sugar – 10 grams
SUPPLIES NEEDED
Measuring Cups/bowl
Scientific scale/Kitchen scale
Kitchen-aid Mixer, Hand Mixer or other mixing utensil
Timer
Spatula
Plastic Wrap
Carrot Bag
Rubber Band*
Cup
Scissors
Cello Cones/cello sheets
Tape
Straight Pins*
*-denotes optional fields.
MIXING TIME!
Before you start, make sure you have gathered all of the ingredients/supplies mentioned in the lists above. Remember, you can purchase some of these items in my supply shop and have them delivered to your door at no hassle. Please note that henna will stain bowls/mixing utensils that are not made out of glass/stainless steal. The henna paste has stained my kitchen-aid mixing head which doesn't bother me, but it may bother you. Keep this in mind when mixing your henna paste. Don't use your favorite ceramic bowls unless you are ok with staining them!
1. Measure the henna powder, essential oil and sugar and add it to your mixing bowl. Add a small amount of water at a time to the mix until the paste forms the consistency of thick mashed potatoes. Mix well until the paste is as smooth as you can get it at this consistency. *Photo Below: add ingredients and begin mixing. At first, it will be difficult but it will get easier and creamier. The second and third photos below contain the same amount ofwater. Keep mixing until you achieve this result! Elbow grease required! (unless you have a mixer)*
2. Place a sheet of plastic wrap over the henna. Make sure the plastic wrap is TOUCHING the henna, eliminating the air contact as much as possible. Let the henna sit like this for 4 hours. Set your timer and wait.
3. After your four hours have completed, do a 5-minute spot test to see if your henna is ready. Take a small amount of paste and create a small circle on the palm of your hand. Wait 5 minutes and wipe away the henna. If there is a bright orange stain left behind after wiping, your henna is ready to go! If not, wait another hour or so and test again. This step can be done for up to 24 hours if the paste has now shown a good spot test.
*Premature spot test: faint orange stain shown on middle photo. The last photo shows a good 5-minute stain test*
4. After your paste has shown a good spot test it is time to add more water to get to your desired consistency. This part depends on your preference. I don't keep track of how much water I generally add because it changes each time. I add about tablespoon of water at a time to see how creamy the henna gets before adding more. Once you get to your desired consistency, set the mix aside. See the video below of my perfect consistency.
5. Gather the cup, spatula, carrot bag and rubber band. We're getting ready to fill your henna cones! Place your carrot bag inside your cup and fold the excess over the sides of the cup (see photo below). Use the spatula to transfer the henna paste to the carrot bag and secure it shut with the rubber band. Cut a SMALL tip of the carrot bag off. Be sure not to cut too large of a whole because the henna can be difficult to control.
6. Retrieve the pre-made henna cones OR make your own. Supplies for this step can be found in my Henna Supply Shop. Remove the straight pin in each cone prior to filling. If you do not remove the pin, the air will have no where to go and it will be difficult to fill the cones. Fill each henna cone, leaving about an inch and a half of empty space at the top and replace the pin. Securely tape each henna cone shut. For help with this step, please look at the information below.
