Mehndi is a type of body art which is temporary on the skin; usually drawn on hands or legs. It’s known for being in the Indian culture, however many people from other cultures do wear it.

 

Mehndi is a dark brown (sometimes red) type of paste which comes in a cone packet and can be used to create decorative designs on the body. The paste originally comes from powdered dry leaves of henna plants which is then added to a solution to become this paste. After applying the paste, it is important to let it dry, so that the design will stay perfectly on the body.

 

The Mehndi is used for many Indian cultures; typically for Indian weddings and other festivals such as Diwali. It’s not only Indian weddings which use it, but also it is used for Muslim weddings. Recently, it became a trend to wear little dots of mehndi across to face to be shown as freckles.

 

Many may think that Mehndi originated from India, however it was discovered in the tombs of Ancient Egypt- it was these South Asian weddings which gained its popularity in India.

Mehndi can also show positive spirits and good luck. My aunty Jancy Ramesan, said that ‘Mehndi is a beautiful type of temporary body art, it allows people to express themselves and is overall very easy to put on'.