$75

This wonderful henna designing class will guide participants from sketching patterns and motifs on paper using pencils, to gradually moving to holding the henna cone and then shifting the same sketches to a transparent plate for more practice. Once ready and confident to hold the cone steadily, participants will be able to work the patterns on their hand. What You Will Need - Pencil and sketch pad - Henna cone - A transparent hard plastic preferably a plate to sketch patterns Beginner level participants will require a 4-5 hour class Intermediate level participants will require about 3 hours The winner of this item will be put in touch with Samara Mohammad, the teacher of this class. ---- INFORMATION ABOUT HENNA Women across the subcontinent indulge in decorative henna tattoos (mehndi) on Eid, weddings and other festive events, rendering henna a symbol of celebration. Origins of henna Henna is actually a powder derived from crushing the leaves of the henna plant. The earliest use of this plant dates back to the Pharaohs in Egypt, some 9,000 years ago. Cleopatra, the last reigning queen of the ancient Egyptian civilisation is said to have used henna to adorn her body and beautify herself. Egyptians also used to paint nails of the mummies using henna before burying them. Preparation and application The henna cones that we pick off the market shelves are made for commercial use by adding chemicals to the paste. Homemade henna, on the other hand, is prepared by soaking the powder in the water and leaving it overnight. The colour of the fresh powder mix should be a vibrant deep green and the old powder may be slightly brown. The mixture is then applied to the body and left untouched for a couple of hours. When the paste is washed away, it leaves a beautiful orange-brown design that fades in a few days. Generally, a darker shade of henna is often desired as it enhances the design made. Use of henna Through the Years - Cooling agent during summer to relieve effects of the intense heat like sunstroke and headaches. Initially the use of henna was limited to soaking hands and feet in its paste to retain body temperatures in times of intense heat. Gradually, people started applying paste to the hands, feet and arms with fingers and the designs were made with the aid of tiny twigs or toothpicks. - To treat various types of skin problems like ringworm, athletes foot etc. - Effective in treating cracking nails. - A considerable number of women use it as a substitute for nail polish which doesn’t require a nail polish remover. - The bark of the henna plant is known to be effective in the treatment of jaundice and some diseases. Today henna comes in cone-shaped tubes to make intricate designs. This ancient art of hand, feet and arm decoration now consists of thousands of designs including paisleys, geometrical or floral.