Mehndi Beauty ~

With the Deepavali celebrations in full-swing this past Saturday, me and a few friends decided we would get cheeky and join in the fun.


We got ourselves some mehndi done on our hands!

While nothing as intricate as the one in the photo above, it was nevertheless fun, as it was the first time I was getting mehndi done on my hands.


Mehndi means henna in Hindi or Punjabi, and it's the application of henna as a temporary form of skin decoration. It is believed to have originated from India, where it was traditionally used during weddings and celebrations.

Mehndi is actually a paste made from ground henna leaves, but today, there are plenty of ready-made mehndi which comes in little tubes with pointed and fine tips for easy application.

Where I got mine done, there was the option of getting the black or red mehndi, and I opted for the black one when I was told it would last longer. The design is drawn free-hand, and since it was a rather simple design, took merely 10 minutes of drawing for each hand, only cost me RM10 in total.

Mine's lasted nearly a week, but it's gone all flaky now.

(Just a little warning note though, while reading up on mehndi on the Net, I came across instances where people have reacted badly to mehndi (those with synthetic dye p-Phenylenediamine (PPD) added to give it a black colour), with burns and blisters, so it might be wise to do a patch test before you get your hands all covered with mehndi.)

If you're in Kuala Lumpur, one of the best places to pop by for mehndi would be in Little India, Brickfields.

Have you tried it before?