You might have seen Indian women with intricately designed henna, or mendhi, on the palms of their hands during weddings and other joyous occasions. Traditionally, mendhi was used in India for its cooling properties. Now, it’s used as a sign of celebration — even getting your mendhi done is a bonding experience. Female family and friends gather a few days before the wedding and to celebrate and get their mendhi done on their hands. Until it dries, you can’t touch anything, or the dye will stain — so I guess we have nothing to do except talk, feed each other, and dance 🙂
It is derived from henna leaves and made into a paste, that is applied to the palms or skin until hardened. Afterwards, some people like to apply a sticky mixture of lemon juice and sugar so it remains longer on the skin, because the longer it’s kept on, the deeper the shade will be.
The bride gets the most intricate design. Tradition goes that the darker the color, the more her husband loves her. I remember not always being a fan of the smell but always admiring the beautiful designs growing up. My sister and cousin were among those who got it done last weekend and I loved how beautiful and dark their mendhi designs turned out so I had to take pics.
I’m not sure if you can tell how pretty it is but I tried!
x
Shy
wow i thought that the whole deal with darker the mehndi the more your husband loves you was just a silly thing in my family. haha guess not.
also, i know a lot of brides get their husband’s names written somewhere in the intricate design and the husband has to find it. as if that’s what any guy is gonna wanna do on his wedding night. well i guess it could lead to a lotta other things 😉
i got mehndi done this wkend too!
i love how it looks but i cant stand the smell of it so dont wear it…theres gotta be something to help with the smell…
me to I love them too , you can see me here http://www.theandazstudio.com
man my mehndi;s already gone.
i’ve heard that keeping your hands warm helps with the color. sarah, i think you should get yourself some mj style gloves the next time you get mehendi done!