By Britney Vargas |Staff Writer|
Body art is becoming a growing trend to showcase one’s individuality or to simply show your creative side.
Among many kinds of body art, tattoos have always been popular, but for a less permanent and painful way of approaching these beautiful designs, Henna is a better alternative with out the long lasting commitment.
So what exactly is Henna?
Henna, also called Mehndi, is a temporary tattoo that is both safe and fun. It is made of just henna powder and mixed with hot water to create a thick paste.
These products can be bought online or in stores nearest you. Henna is a long standing tradition practiced in many cultures, a perfect example is student Harpreet Deogun who practices henna in her own cultural traditions as well as just for fun, “I’ve been doing henna tattoos for about five years now, I usually do it when I have time or just as a hobby. I come from an Indian background where henna is used as a traditional custom during the wedding seasons.”
Typically, Henna is part of a very important wedding tradition used on brides to accentuate their beauty and represent years of culture. With henna becoming more of an art trend and gaining its appreciation here in the U.S., we are seeing more and more fashion enthusiasts taking on these creative designs.
Harpreet says, “I think henna can be considered both a trend and traditional meaning, and depending on the design done usually traditional designs are more intricate and can have stories behind it, whereas trendy hennas are more easy to understand and easily done.”
Not only is this art expressed culturally, just recently celebrities are discovering the amazing designs and using it to incorporate in their individual style. Just recently celebrity Vanessa Hudgens who was seen at Coachella, arrived to the festival showing off her henna, and embracing her infamous boho-chic style. The red carpet is also becoming a place for celebrities to show off their creative Henna designs, even replacing the idea of accessorizing and instead using henna to pull their gorgeous looks together.
Henna can be applied almost anywhere, another way to use it is as hair dye, which is a permanent process until the hair is grown out.
Cosmopolitan magazine has a online forum dedicated to the use of henna as a hair dye, that can be joined by anyone to communicate with others who have questions about the process or people who have used henna to dye their hair.
If your looking to experiment with style trends henna is a great way to explore what works for you and a good way to add some glamor to your personal look. If your just contemplating a real tattoo in the future, Henna can be used as a test run to confirm your decision.
So, when you get a chance stop by the Cross Cultural Center, in the Student Union, to get your very own henna design.
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