How to Make Your Mehndi Dark and Long-Lasting

If you believe the old wives’ tale, “The darker the mehndi, the deeper the love between the couple,” you must be seeking ways to keep your mehndi darker for longer. Even if you don’t believe in this folklore, you may still be concerned about the deep henna stain for your big day. 5-Minute Crafts brings peace to everyone’s minds by suggesting tips on enhancing your mehndi color in no time.

1. Go for beauty treatments a day or 2 prior to the occasion.

Before getting your hands painted with mehndi, it’s highly recommended to go get a wax, shave, body polishing, a manicure, and a pedicure. These treatments will wipe away the top layer of your henna and will fade the color away too.

2. Wash your hands before applying mehndi.

The gist is to remove all moisture from the hands as it doesn’t let the mehndi penetrate your skin. Wash your hands with soap and water and pat them dry with a towel. Make sure not to apply any moisturizer or lotion to your hands.

3. Apply some good-quality eucalyptus oil to your hands.

After you wash your hands, dab your hands with premium-grade eucalyptus oil and add a few drops to the mehndi paste as well. This will help in getting a darker mehndi stain on your skin.

• You can also soak some tea or coffee in water and add the mixture to the henna paste for a deeper color.

4. Let your mehndi dry naturally.

It takes some patience to let the henna dry out. When it comes to bridal mehndi, it may take around 6 to 7 hours to dry. Avoid using a dryer or fan on your henna at all costs as it will only fade away the natural glow of your mehndi, plus it damages the intricate design too. Hence, it’s best to leave it overnight and scrape it off in the morning.

5. Apply a moderate amount of lemon and sugar.

This is one of the oldest tricks in the book as lemon is acidic in nature and allows the henna to release its dye. Also, sugar plus lemon helps the mehndi to stay on the skin for a longer time. Avoid dabbing this mixture on your hands more than 4-5 times.

6. Try clove steam.

Begin with mashing a few cloves and roasting them on a hot pan. Run your hands over the fumes released to let the steam seep in.

7. Apply Vicks Vaporub or Tiger Balm.

After leaving the mehndi overnight, it’s time to scrape it off. Gently rub a dollop of Vicks Vaporub or Tiger Balm over your hands instead of water to have a darker henna stain on your hands. These products have menthol in them, which helps draw heat to the skin, enhancing your mehndi effectively.

• If you don’t have Vicks, you can also try mustard oil or any pickle oil to boost the mehndi color.

8. Tie a plastic polythene bag over your hands.

The most important rule to keep the mehndi color dark for as long as possible is to keep your hands away from soap and water, as they’re mehndi color killers. So, when you’re about to take a bath, wrap your henna-applied body parts with plastic polybags and a rubber band. Then you can use a loofah and rinse to take a nice bath.