If you like henna, no doubt you also are a fan of mandalas — those swirling, enchanting geometric designs. 

The word "mandala" comes from Sanskrit and means "circle." Many mandala designs feature concentric, stacked circles that draw the viewer into a state of meditation, as if you are floating into the circle and through a portal into a different state of consciousness.

They also look amazing. Natural itself is full of mandalas, from the petals of a flower to tree rings to the human eye itself.

I have some beautiful new mandala designs in the catalog. More are being added all the time! Thanks to good ol' fashioned stencil technology, I can make an exact copy of any design, transfer it to the skin and simply trace with henna, jagua or even Henna Glam. In the pix below, I started with a digital design, then used it to create a basic stencil and applied the stencil to the client's back, then traced and enhanced with jagua gel.

What types of designs inspire you? Have you ever wanted a mandala as body art? Tell me about it in the comments below.

​— Amy

You gotta understand.

I live in the Deep South, in the buckle of the Bible Belt, and this question is Important with a capital "I" to a lot of folk. And I get it. A sincere Christian wants to honor God in every aspect of life, and most of us who grew up Baptist or Pentecostal or even Episcopalian didn't also grow up with henna. Thus the question ... is it okay to wear henna?

Usually when people ask this question, they have one of two issues on their minds:

1. Is henna a religious practice?
2. Does henna violate the prohibition against tattooing in Leviticus 19?

So, let's tackle these one by one.

It's easy to see where the confusion comes from. A person Googles henna (also known as mehndi) and sees a photo like this:

And it's easy to think, Oh! A Hindu bride. Henna must be a Hindu practice. And it can be ... if you're Hindu. Ironically, the model in this photograph is actually Muslim — and Muslims worldwide use henna, too.

Henna is a beautification practice that has crossed many national, ethnic and religious lines since it was first cultivated in the Middle East at least 6,000 years ago.  The reason why most people associate henna with Hindus or Muslims is simply an accident of geography: The parts of the world where most henna is grown happens to be mostly Hindu or Muslim: northern Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and the northern Indian subcontinent. Jewish, Sikh, Jain, Christian and many other religious groups in these regions also use henna.

So if you're a Christian and want henna, you're in good company. Many Christians in Armenia, India, Palestine and other places in the world wear henna. It's simply a part of celebrating life!

As some of you know, I get annoyed when people use the term "henna tattoo." Technically, henna is not a tattoo — a tattoo is the surgical implantation of ink in the skin to create a permanent design. Henna is its own art form — it has its own history and was not developed as a way to copy ink tattoos.

Historically, henna and ink tattooing have not been considered the same thing. Henna is widely practiced among Jews and Muslims even though Islam and Judaism both prohibit ink tattoos. (There are practicing Muslims and Jews with ink as well as imams and rabbis who argue against henna, but for the most part, neither Islam nor Judaism considers henna to violate Leviticus.)

But what about Christianity?

Let's take a moment and look at the purpose of Leviticus. The book is a collection of laws and regulations that Moses delivered to the ancient Hebrew people. The Levites — the priestly tribe — not only served as ancient Israel's religious leaders, they also were the police, the health department, the court system, etc. Israel was a theocracy, and the Levitical laws governed just about every aspect of everyday life in ancient Israel.

Let's take a look at some of the other laws mentioned in chapter 19 ...

• "Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material." (v. 19)
• "Do not eat any meat with the blood still in it." (v. 26)
• "Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard." (v. 27)

So ... do you wear cotton/polyester fabric? Eat your steak rare? Trim your sideburns?

Almost no modern Christian considers these rules to be binding today. (A lot of modern Jews don't consider them binding, either.) And the vast majority of Christians I know also eat bacon and shrimp — two things that are very much no-nos according to Leviticus. So, what's the problem with ink tattoos in the first place?

Tattooing is actually an important part of Coptic Christianity. For centuries, the Egyptian Copts have tattooed crosses on the inner wrist as an expression of their faith. They were originally tattooed against their will to be "marked" as Christians (much like Jews in Germany being forced to wear Stars of David), but now they are embracing the tattoos as a potent statement of faith. They are a religious minority in Egypt and have actually experienced persecution because of their tattoos.

But back to our culture ...

For much of our western history, tattoos were the mark of "rough people": criminals, sailors, sideshow performers. No respectable person would be caught dead with a tattoo. It was a cultural prejudice that found a convenient justification in Leviticus. At least, that's my opinion.

Now, of course, tattooing is mainstream. The U.S. has 20,000 tattoo studios, and the number of tattooed Americans is growing. Today, some 30 percent of college graduates are tattooed. So, with the cultural stigma falling away, is it time for Christianity to rethink its stance about tattoos?

If a person has a sincere religious belief that ink tattooing — or henna — is wrong, I respect that. I'm not here to twist anyone's arm or violate their conscience. But from what I know about henna's history and culture, I don't think getting henna should worry a sincere Christian. I have hennaed lots of crosses, fish and Bible verses, and I welcome any client who wants to incorporate henna as a statement of their faith, whatever that faith may be.

But ultimately, it's up to you. What do you think? Let me know in the comments below. :)

I traveled down to Loxley, Alabama, last July to spend a magical afternoon at the Garden at Bella Sera with a coterie of talented, friendly and incredible creatives to create this Bohemian wedding styled shoot! I painted the models' feet with white Henna Glam: a durable body paint that you can use to decorate skin in mehndi-inspired designs. Henna Glam doesn't stain and is removable ... a perfect option for special occasions!

Click here for the blog post and a roll call of the professionals who participated in the shoot, and here are some of the photos I took myself:

UPDATE: Henna master Darcy Vasudev shows us how to do freckles right using natural paste. Link at the end of this post.
​

YouTuber Naomi Jon is at it again.

After racking up more than FIVE MILLION VIEWS on her original "freckles fail" video, she gave henna freckles another go after getting advice from the beauty blogger who inspired her. While she acknowledges that many people advised her to use natural henna, in the video she admits to sticking with an "artificial" product.

She's still turning red! And her skin is burning. (She says so in the video.) And she put that sh1t around her EYES. Lord help me.

The only things she did differently this time were (1) choose a "brown henna" and (2) apply a cosmetic oil to her skin first to protect against some of the nastier effects. If she would just use natural henna, the oil wouldn't be necessary. (It inhibits uptake of the henna dye anyway, makes it less effective.)

Granted, the results one day later looks a heckuva lot better than her first attempt:

Doesn't change the fact that she put really AWFUL chemicals on her pretty skin. And survived unscathed. This time. No immediate damage, but ...

The chemical most likely responsible for causing the burning and redness in her skin is PPD. This chemical is a sensitizer, which means that the more you use it, the more sensitive your body becomes to the chemical and the more likely you are to have an allergic reaction, possibly a severe one.

Naomi definitely enjoys playing with her hair color, and if she wants to continue, she needs to keep artificial henna crap off her face. There was a case not long ago of a British woman who had a severe, blistering reaction to a "black henna" design she received while on vacation to the Middle East. That one bad reaction permanently sensitized her body to strong chemical dyes. She should've been avoiding them like the plague, yet she decided to color her hair using a typical, off-the-shelf brand of hair coloring – something that is (relatively speaking) safe to use under normal circumstances.

Problem was, her body was so sensitized to PPD, she went into anaphylactic shock and died. (That's when your throat swells and shuts off your air supply, causing you to suffocate.)

Folks ... it's possible to use "henna" that contains synthetic dyes with no apparent harm. Many, many times. Some people just aren't that sensitive to those chemicals. Many people from countries with a henna tradition are so accustomed to purchasing these cones at import shops and ethnic groceries that they don't think twice about them. Check out this video by mehndi artist Farrah for her take on using artificial cones. Doesn't mean there isn't a risk. An unacceptable one, in my opinion.

Naomi: You're too pretty to risk your skin and your health with that pre-packaged garbage cone. Please try the freckle test again with natural henna!

And now, let's watch Darcy Vasudev show us how it's done!