At a recent conference on henna some startling discoveries were made that are turning the world of henna upside down. What is creating such an uproar? In a word, terpine, a simple chemical constituent of certain essential oils. Terpine can be found in many essential oils, especially in tea tree, cajeput and ravensara. They oxidize the henna very quickly and effectively, bringing about a deep, dark stain in a few hours.

This discovery is a minor holy grail for the henna community and is already transforming my work as a henna artist. The following are instructions on how to get the most out of your henna paste using these "terp" essential oils: (1) mix your henna paste as you normally would, but without the essential oils, using henna powder, lemon juice and sugar; (2) cover your henna paste with saran wrap pressed down onto the surface of the paste and leave it overnight; (3) check for dye release (when the surface of the henna paste turns a dark shade of green - this could happen anywhere between 3 and 24 hours after mixing); (4) add the terp essential oils (I usually add about 5-10 drops for every tsp. of henna paste); (5) start hennaing. Terped paste can be frozen for several months. You can mix up a large batch and fill up your jacquard bottles and just freeze the paste in the bottles. When you want to henna just grab a bottle from the freezer and let it sit at room temperature until it thaws. I also find that the terped paste retains its staining power longer, up to 5 days.

With terped paste you can leave the paste on a shorter time AND get a really dark color. For designs on the palms of the hands or on the feet, I like to leave the paste on for 3-4 hours. For the backs of the hands, tops of the feet, wrists and ankles, I leave the paste on about 6 hours. Everywhere else on the body, I leave the paste on about 8 hours. You can leave the paste on longer but it won't make the stain much darker; what it will do is make the stain last longer.

When choosing the right essential oil, all the oils that we carry will affect your henna paste to roughly the same degree. Therefore, you can choose by price or by fragrance. Since you are the one hennaing, you will be the one who has to smell the paste the most, so choose a mix that is pleasing to your nose. You can also follow principles of aromatherapy and find a mix that works for your given situation. For example, if you are hennaing a lot of rambunctious children, you could make a mix of frankincense and lavender to create a calming atmosphere. You can also add other essential oils that do not have terps in them without affecting the stain of your henna.

We carry a full line of these exceptional, aromatherapy quality, terpine-rich essential oils for use in henna body art. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or consult the section on recipes and instructions for details.

* Gathered - collected in the wild, in moderation and in pollution-free areas, often on land certified as organic by Ecocert.

** Ecocert - The International Organic Certification is a European organization which certifies farms throughout the world as organic according to their very high standards verified objectively through multiple inspections. Genetically modified or engineered plants are prohibited under Ecocert.

*** Demeter - Plants that are not only completely organic but are also from farms which maintain a healthy and diverse ecosystem and support a broad ecological perspective which includes the earth as well as cosmic influences and rhythms of which the earth is a part. Genetically modified or engineered plants are prohibited under Demeter.