Summer Fun! (cont'd)

some more GREAT shots from the picnic that day

feather

another splashing sea turtle! que cuuuute

Summer Fun!

A few pictures from a BBQ last Sunday:

A couple before we left.

sunflower!

My little corner! ^v^

Some cherry blossoms for my friend a few days later. 

WARNING: BLACK HENNA

Todayyyyy, I want to publish a warning regarding what is commonly known as "black henna," especially since it is gaining popularity readily here in the United States.  You may encounter it in small touristy stores, at the pier, or at festivals and fairs.

I most recently encountered it at my favorite local shop where I pick up emergency henna in a pinch ( my dad and I joke that it's perfect for your friendly neighborhood witch).  I was discussing henna body art with my cashier when she started raving about how wonderful this black henna was that her friend did on her - this stuff he called "tiger's blood" left a really great dark black stain and I should try it if I can. This put me on guard.  Here's why:

**Black henna is black because it has additive dyes found in hair dye, namely a chemical called ParaPhenylenediamine (PPD). Numerous children and teens painted with black henna have been scarred permanently and suffered other reactions.  If you think about it, we usually only leave on hair dye for a half hour or so; we leave henna paste on our skin sometimes for up to 12 hours, and it can potentially absorb through the skin into the bloodstream instantly.  IN ADDITION, if you do suffer a reaction to PPD, you will suffer reactions to everyday things containing PPD FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE.  This includes synthetic hair dyes which also may contain PPD. Imaging breaking out after touching a piece of paper containing print printed with PPD containing toner.  How embarrassing.  

The Florida Department of Health issued a formal warning regarding black henna.

So here's the difference. Henna: natural. red to brown stain. safe  Black Henna: supplemented with unnatural chemical ingredients.  black stain. often instant. dangerous.   Here's some further convincing material:

Toddler Scarred by Bart 'Tattoo'

Although that is a pretty badass scar if you're going to have one.

Five-year-old Boy Left With Intricate Dragon-shaped Scar After Henna Tattoo Goes Wrong

Black Henna Tattoo Inflicts Itch, Pain

Black Henna 'Tattoos' May Leave Lasting Damage

The Henna Page's warning against Black Henna: 

http://www.hennapage.com/henna/ppd/index.html

I prepare my paste myself, fresh for each occasion, and my paste NEVER EVER contains PPD or other synthetic dyes.  All natural baby.

What's in MY Henna?

I already talked about what goes in a basic henna paste so I might as well share mine.  Here's my newly developed recipe.  I'm quite proud of it.  Nifty for me since I never seem to have lemons or prepared lemon juice, nor do I enjoy the extra hassle of buying/keeping it.

Instead, I boil chunks of pineapple, which I always have frozen for the best smoothies in the world made by moi.  That I simmer for 20 minutes, adding and dissolving sugar in a 1:3 ratio to the water.  The pineapple sufficiently passes on its acidic properties and also adds a little extra fructose to the syrup. Paste has been deliciously crack-resistant thus far.

yes, I did say best smoothies in the world.

photo credit: Beth

Leave it till dye release in a warm corner covered in saran wrap.  About four hours before I package it up for use, I add tea tree oil as my terp of choice.  About 1 to 11/2 teaspoons for 100g of powder has been suggested, but I always adjust since I rarely make that much.  I'd like to play with cajeput and frankincense a bit sometime.  I always default to tea tree even though it smells funny because I always think of it as an antiseptic and its healing properties.  I used to add lavender because my sister likes it, but honestly I'm not a fan.

So that's all that goes into my paste.  All random kitchen ingredients (well, in my home tea tree oil was a common household material). All natural.  Always fresh :)

The only other component that may be a part of my henna would be a sealant.  A lemon sugar combination is very common and works really well, but I always get annoyed with the stickyness.  Instead, I'll use a watered down white glue.  Just water and elmer's glue.  Completely safe, non-toxic, and washes off in case you've changed your mind.  When it comes time to remove the paste, it also makes it much easier to peel off the remaining - all in one! ALL in ONE!  Adding glitter makes it even purtier.

Now that's really it.  Promise.

Breaking down lawsonia: What's in Henna?

There really is something magical about henna.  You apply this dark, wet substance on your skin in pretty patterns, it peels or flakes off, and it looks like you had fun with markers in its place.  The magic is in the biology of lawsonia inermis, or the dye within the leaves of the henna plant.  Since most people, myself included, do not have access to fresh henna leaves to crush ourselves and make a fabulous paste, dry henna powder substitutes instead with ease.  There are a few main aspects of preparing a paste that are consistent across the board, but artists all over the world disagree on what they consider "the perfect recipe."

The primary necessity when turning powder into well-staining paste is an acidic liquid.  Most often this is lemon juice, however I've also heard of vinegar being used - although it is odorous, due to its pH it should work just as well.  Anyways, the two are combined into a paste and left to sit in a warm corner for hours and hours while we wait for dye release.  Basically it's developing.  The time varies by how warm the weather is, although an entire 24 hours is fairly standard.  The event of dye release is fairly visible,  the top layer will be a darker layer of green than the bottom, and the dye will seep through any plastic, visible as an orangey tone.

ALAS! We are still not yet done.  Many artists add their own cocktails of essential oils at this point, a few hours before application.  Why? They smell good of course! Just kidding! These, and the freshness of the henna harvest, can make aaaall the difference in a beautiful stain.  Aromatherapy grade essential oils contain terpenes, organic compounds made within plants.  When added to henna paste, the terpenes in the oils yield a darker stain that lasts longer and must be left on the skin for shorter lengths of time.  Kerosene also has terpenes, but I would not suggest applying that to your skin.... Everyone has their favorite combination - of not kerosene- including but not limited to: cajeput, lavender, frankincense, eukalyptus, tea tree, ravensara and many more.  The addition of these terpene-containing essential oils is called "terping."

But STILL, there are even more variations completely unrelated to terping. Often sugar in some form is added to the paste to alter its consistency.  The addition of sugar, honey or molasses makes the paste more flexible and less likely to crack or flake in dried form.  Some claim that using tea or coffee strengthens their stains.  Some use wine. The list goes on.

I know I've been using the term "dye" to refer to the pigmented molecules in henna, but I want to stress that real henna is completely natural and has no added dyes in it.  See my post regarding "black henna."

Random Tuesday Evenings

Played around with some new henna on my cousin and aunt last week since they were in town.  Came out beautiful, but unfortunately they wrapped it all up for bed before I could get pictures. :(

I did get a snap my feet though! [design credit to Rina]