I’m sharing the secret of my final success and sincerely wishing luck to everyone who wants to know how to make henna paste for mehndi.
A fine henna and eucalyptus (not peppermint, not citrus!) oil is everything you need. I used Indian henna “Aasha”, it’s very fine, like a good flour, it doesn’t contain any hard particles.
It’s also recommended to use Indian henna “Nupur”, “Neha”, “Karishma”.
To begin with, I tried to make a paste using just a bit of henna – for practicing. I got such small mehendi cones.
Tried them on paper. My inscription says: “The paste goes through the cone wonderfully. But I can’t make a dot. The paste is too elastic and stretches behind the applicator. Less of eucalyptus oil, a bit more of henna”.
And now finally – how to make mehndi paste!
And the most horrible thing for those who are used to recipes (that was horrible even to me) – there’s NO recipe! What you can find in the net you may consider approximate proportions because everyone has ingredients of different quality. That means that you should make everything “by eye”.
Still I’ll try to show what I was doing.
Okay, so you need Indian henna, eucalyptus oil and a teabag which you should brew in 1/3 glass of boiling water. You don’t need any refinements such as coffee or spices. Thoroughly brewed tea with eucalyptus oil and sugar is a very good colouring component with pleasant aroma.
All photos have descriptions – to see them just move your mouse pointer above.
To check the consistence of the paste I took a match, dipped it into the paste and tried to make a dot on paper (like in that photo above). If you get long drop (a dot with a “tail”), you probably won’t get an accurate mehendi because you won’t be able to interrupt lines where necessary. So, if you see that henna stretches behind the match you should add a bit more of henna and stir again. If you see the paste is too elastic, add 1/2 teaspoon of warm water. And proceed this till you get flat points on paper, without any “tails”.
Now thoroughly screw up your container and leave it in a warm and dark place for 40-60 min.
How to Make Mehendi Cone
Meanwhile you can roll cones from such paper in which you wrap gifts or flowers. You’ll probably get 3 cones. For beginners, it’s better to make cones out of triangles. I can make them out of square pieces (15x15 cm).
You can find instructions in the net - here is a video.
My piping bag is made out of thick cellophane, its cutoff is fastened with a wide Scotch tape. To prevent henna from going out I not only twisted the cellophane but also used a clip for papers. It’s very comfortable.
After filling your cone on 2/3 you should seal its upper part as shown in the video.
Ready!
And at last – a video from an Indian master. Simple elements make complicated mehendi pattern.
A fine henna and eucalyptus (not peppermint, not citrus!) oil is everything you need. I used Indian henna “Aasha”, it’s very fine, like a good flour, it doesn’t contain any hard particles.
It’s also recommended to use Indian henna “Nupur”, “Neha”, “Karishma”.
To begin with, I tried to make a paste using just a bit of henna – for practicing. I got such small mehendi cones.
Tried them on paper. My inscription says: “The paste goes through the cone wonderfully. But I can’t make a dot. The paste is too elastic and stretches behind the applicator. Less of eucalyptus oil, a bit more of henna”.
And now finally – how to make mehndi paste!
And the most horrible thing for those who are used to recipes (that was horrible even to me) – there’s NO recipe! What you can find in the net you may consider approximate proportions because everyone has ingredients of different quality. That means that you should make everything “by eye”.
Still I’ll try to show what I was doing.
Okay, so you need Indian henna, eucalyptus oil and a teabag which you should brew in 1/3 glass of boiling water. You don’t need any refinements such as coffee or spices. Thoroughly brewed tea with eucalyptus oil and sugar is a very good colouring component with pleasant aroma.
All photos have descriptions – to see them just move your mouse pointer above.
To check the consistence of the paste I took a match, dipped it into the paste and tried to make a dot on paper (like in that photo above). If you get long drop (a dot with a “tail”), you probably won’t get an accurate mehendi because you won’t be able to interrupt lines where necessary. So, if you see that henna stretches behind the match you should add a bit more of henna and stir again. If you see the paste is too elastic, add 1/2 teaspoon of warm water. And proceed this till you get flat points on paper, without any “tails”.
Now thoroughly screw up your container and leave it in a warm and dark place for 40-60 min.
How to Make Mehendi Cone
Meanwhile you can roll cones from such paper in which you wrap gifts or flowers. You’ll probably get 3 cones. For beginners, it’s better to make cones out of triangles. I can make them out of square pieces (15x15 cm).
You can find instructions in the net - here is a video.
My piping bag is made out of thick cellophane, its cutoff is fastened with a wide Scotch tape. To prevent henna from going out I not only twisted the cellophane but also used a clip for papers. It’s very comfortable.
After filling your cone on 2/3 you should seal its upper part as shown in the video.
Ready!
And at last – a video from an Indian master. Simple elements make complicated mehendi pattern.
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