


Mehndi paste is usually applied to the skin using a plastic cone, a paintbrush or a stick. In Assam, apart from marriage, it is broadly used by unmarried women during Rongali bihu. In Rajasthan, the grooms are given designs that are often as elaborate as those for brides. It is typically applied during weddings - for Sikh, Muslim and Hindu brides. Mehndi is a ceremonial art form common in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and occasionally Afghanistan. Mehendi decoration of palms and feet of a bride PPD may cause moderate to severe allergic reactions when applied to skin. Likely due to the desire for a "tattoo-black" appearance, some people add the synthetic dye p-Phenylenediamine (PPD) to henna to give it a black colour. For women, it is usually drawn on their palms, backs of their hands and on feet, where the design will be clearest due to contrast with the lighter skin on these surfaces, which naturally contains less of the pigment melanin.Īlta, Alata, or Mahur is a red dye used similarly to henna to paint the feet of the brides in some regions of the Indian subcontinent. Conversely, men usually have it applied on their arms, legs, back, and chest. In Hindu festivals, women often have henna applied to their hands, feet and sometimes the backs of their shoulders. Muslims in South Asia also apply mehendi during Muslim weddings, festivals such as Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Adha. Mehendi in Indian tradition is typically applied during Hindu weddings and festivals like Karva Chauth, Vat Purnima, Diwali, Bhai Dooj, Navraathri, Durga Pooja and Teej. The standard color of henna is brown, but other design colors such as white, red, black and gold are sometimes used. Women usually apply mehndi designs to their hands and feet, though some, including cancer patients and women with alopecia occasionally decorate their scalps.

Īccording to A Dictionary of Urdu, Classical Hindi and English Mehndi also refers to "the marriage-feast on the occasion of the bride's hands and feet being stained with henna (ḥinā)" or "an ark, or tabernacle, carried in solemn procession by some Muslims on the eve of the anniversary of the death of a person who died just as he was about to marry:-meṅhdī bāṅdhnā (-meṅ)." It was originally used for only women's palms and sometimes for men, but as time progressed, it was more common for women to wear it. In the West, mehndi is simply known as "henna."Īccording to a 2013 study, henna has been used as a dye for the skin (as well as the hair and nails) for more than 4,000 years. It is a popular form of body art among the women of South Asia such as India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Maldives, and Sri Lanka, and resembles similar practices found in North Africa and the Middle East. Mehndi is a form of body art and temporary skin decoration usually drawn on hands or legs, in which decorative designs are created on a person's body, using a paste, created from the powdered dry leaves of the henna plant ( Lawsonia inermis).
