Henna Paste Making 101 : Ingredients

Author : Nikita Sankar | Date : 13 May 2020

Hello henna enthusiasts, artists, entrepreneurs, and/or beginners!

There must be a million of luscious paste making tutorials out there for your reference, but here’s my version; Henna by Nyx tips, tricks, and secrets of the trade for your disposal. While I've seen and tried various different proportions of ingredients, there has been only one version that has tickled my fancy, and I’m going to share it with you! Let's start off with the ingredients, shall we?

I alwaysssssss start with a 100% organic, triple-sifted Rajasthani henna powder. This is the foundation of your paste. A good quality powder will give you a good quality stain with the right preparations. Henna powder is made from the henna plant, or lawsonia inermis, and the dye power comes from the amount of lawsone content in the powder. The grit of your powder can be the difference between a clogged cone tip and a beautifully flowing henna cone.

Anyone have a sweet tooth? This one's for you because the next ingredient is sugar! This is an important step in henna paste making if you want your paste to stick to your skin tight and last through the night. The ratio is important as well, as too much sugar can create a melty paste while not enough sugar will allow the paste to flake off the skin quickly. I personally use brown sugar, but any regular granulated sugar will work as well!

Next, the yummy smells! Here’s where the essential oils come in. Adding certain essential oils can increase the staining power of your paste. Don’t be fooled, an essential oil is very different than any regular old vegetable kitchen oil. Unlike the thick and greasy consistency of a vegetable-based oil, an essential oil is usually steam distilled or pressed and has a thinner consistency. My favorite essential oil to use is Eucalyptus, but there are many other commonly used oils that you may prefer the scent of, such as; Lavender, Cajeput, Tea Tree, and Naiouli essential oil. You want to make sure that your oil is pure and will blend well with your henna powder without irritating the skin, so I would always recommend buying your essential oil from a reputable henna artist supplier.

The last ingredient you need is good ol’ H2 O. Some prefer to use lemon juice or black tea, but water gives you the same stain results!

So here we are, at the end of this blog post where I’ve outlined the importance of each ingredient required to make an awesome, silky smooth, dark stain-making henna paste. In my next post, I’ll give you all the deets to make your very own paste using these ingredients!

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