ep. 009 • How to Prepare the Best Henna Paste

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Chelsea Stevenson: Welcome to the Hennapreneur podcast. The exclusive podcast of its kind, dedicated to giving you an honest look at the reality of making a living as a henna professional. I'm your host, Chelsea Stevenson, professional henna artist and business strategist. I teach budding henna artists and seasoned henna pros alike how to build vibrant, profitable businesses doing what they love. I went from being the girl who could barely piece together a fluid design to being owner of the most celebrated henna boutique in my city. And with years of experience growing my own business and helping others to do the same, I'm here to spill all the tea on what it takes to be a bonafide hennapreneur. Our show starts in just under 60 seconds, but first, here's a quick shout out to my sponsors.

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All right, let's get to the show! Hey, hey hennapreneurs! This is Chelsea and I am so excited to share a new episode here on the Hennapreneur podcast. Today I am bringing it back just a little bit and I have a special episode just for those new hennapreneurs who are wanting to really get started in their business and who realize that there's something important they need to learn. And that, my loves, is preparing henna paste. So in this episode we're going to be diving into a little bit of the intricacies of um, creating the best natural henna paste possible for your clients. And I'm going to just gonna— I'm going to share a little bit with you about um, my own experience in prepping henna paste for the first time, and first multiple times actually, because it was a hairy, hairy game, I have to tell you.

Um, but then, you know, I'm also gonna share a couple of, uh, little tips on how you can prepare the best henna paste for your own clients as well. So, first things first, let's like— let's start at the top because I feel like it's really important for us to lay a little bit of a ground, like a— a foundation here, uh, for this episode, right? And this is something that I want to say and I'm going to pause, and I'm gonna say this 100 percent unapologetically. There are no filters here. This is how I feel. You will not change my mind. This is, this is my position. If you are a henna artist who is doing business with other human beings, meaning you are applying henna paste of any type on anyone else's skin besides your own, you need to know how to prepare henna paste.

Now, I've said this before in a mixed forum and in saying this, I have managed to piss off some people. I have managed to offend. And you know what? I sleep well at night because my opinion stands. I believe that if you are going to work in a professional capacity as a henna artist, you need to know, you need to understand the ins and outs of henna paste preparation. Now, that's not to say that you cannot, um, choose to purchase, uh, you know, fresh paste from a qualified supplier or someone who is offering, you know, who's hand mixing their paste and they’re, they’re um, providing you with good quality paste and things like this. This is fine, right? That's a business decision.

If you, within your business, choose that you'd like to outsource the task of prepping paste, that's fine. But, and this is a huge but, if you are doing henna on other people's skin, I believe firmly, 100 percent, no questions asked, like, no, you don't get to pass go and collect a hundred. You need to know how to prepare the paste, even if you're not doing it yourself. And the reason I believe that is because there are so many instances where natural henna, um, can still go wrong. Like, there are still instances where the, um, the product that you receive, um, may not be up to par. It could be that you're ordering for— you know, you choose to order from someone and they include an ingredient and that ingredient may not be harmful per se, but for the client who you're serving, that particular ingredient might cause adverse reaction. For example, as a henna artist, you need to know and you need to be aware of whether that paste is including lemon juice and whether that lemon juice base paste is going to be acceptable for you to use at an event based on, um, you know, the location of the event, the temperature of the event, where your clients are going to be exposed after that event and so forth. Because did you know, even with lemon juice, you know, that's a natural product; It's safe by all, you know, intents and purposes, it's fine to use in henna paste, except for when your clients are going to be exposed to extreme heat or be in the sun for a long time because it does still have, um, a bit of phototoxicity about it. And in applying that to someone who has sensitive skin, they can still have a reaction that appears almost like a chemical burn.

So, this just gives you a little bit of insight as to why I think it's important for us as hennapreneurs to really understand the ins and outs of paste preparation so that we can be best prepared to serve our clients. And, um, so I'm just going to put that out there first, right? I'm putting it out there first. I'm just letting you know I'm drawing a stake in the ground. This is what I believe. If you're doing henna on another human being, definitely if you're doing henna on another human being in exchange for money, you need to know how to prepare the paste. You need to know what ingredients are included in the paste. You need to know why those ingredients are included in the paste. What purpose those ingredients serve. If there are any contraindications for those ingredients, and so forth. This is nonnegotiable in my book.

So, to that end, I want to just, you know, spend today's episode chatting with you guys about how to prepare the best henna paste. Because, if I'm going to purport that a henna artist, a henna professional, needs to know how to do it, then, I mean, why not? Why not just shout about it? Right, right. I mean, I'm here to be helpful for you.

So here's the thing, there are so many recipes that you can try for henna. And um, and the truth is that many of them will produce very similar results. There are different ingredients that you can choose that will provide a little bit of variation in the color that's presented. There are, um, different ingredients that you can use, um, to create a particular consistency with your paste, and so forth. And that's worth mentioning. And even from like the artist's perspective, when you think about quality control and, um, just being able to best serve your clients, you're going to be able to best serve your clients if you know how to work that paste, right? So even when it comes down to, um, you know, uh, just creating clean and cohesive designs, if you're going to create a clean design, it starts with a good quality paste. And if you don't know how to prepare a paste that works well with your design style, then it's going to be an uphill battle, you know?

So many times I'll find that there are, you know, artists who even- who've been doing henna for a, you know, for a long time who struggle with getting their paste just so. Getting it so that it's sticky enough or getting it so that it's flexible enough. Getting it so, um, that it's not flaking off of their clients too quickly. Uh, perhaps getting it so that it's not having clumps inside of it as they're working. Um, it may be that they're just struggling with, um, getting the right consistency between a creamy and a stringy paste. And, even those things, right? You guys, like there are things that you can do to your henna to get it to be more creamy or more stringy, based on your preference. And depending on what type of designs you work with, depending on your speed, depending on your signature style, that's also going to inform the type of paste that you want to use, right? And so, um, there are so many recipes that are out there and I'm not here to knock— I'm not here to knock any of them.

You, as the artist, are going to have to come to learn the recipe that works best for you. Um, and that's just going to come with trial and error. But it also comes down to knowing the chemistry of henna and it comes down to knowing the chemistry of those additional ingredients that are included inside of your paste. You know, I want to tell you a story about when I first started, um, making my own henna past because, I have to be honest, it was a little bit of a nightmare.

Um, I remember, I was just starting. I was, you know, within the first year of my business, um, that I was like, okay, I'm— you know, I'm going to do this. I'm not going to buy henna from anyone else anymore. I'm going to start making it myself. Because it was really important to me. I wanted to learn, um, you know, all of the things. I wanted to be sure that I had the best quality ingredients for my clients. And I really, honestly, I was tired of having a bunch of henna in my freezer. Like, I really was excited about the idea of making paste in small batches for my clients. And that's something that I still do today. I love prepping small batches. I prep henna twice a week for my clients. Um, and of course I recognize that not everyone can do that, is interested in doing that, has a need to do that.

Uh, but for me, you know, I'm a full time artist. I work out of my henna boutique, um, throughout the week. And so it makes sense for me to make my paste in small batches. Um, I love the process. I enjoy it, you know? So typically on a Sunday evening and then again on Wednesday, um, I will create, you know— mix up my handcrafted batches of henna for my clients based on, um, you know, my bookings and what I've got going on in the upcoming days. Uh, but when I first started, I just— I knew that I wanted to create small handcrafted batches. It was exciting to me, the idea that I could customize my paste. I was really, um— I wanted my paste to smell like what I wanted it to smell like. And I wanted it to move the way that I wanted it to move.

And I was tired of using someone else's paste. And, um, you know, you know, sometimes it was a little bit more runny that I wanted, or sometimes it was a little bit more dry than I wanted. And so I got to a point where I started to do these experiments, and before I could even get to the point of experiments, honestly, I had to master the basics of mixing fresh henna. And let me tell you, I wasted so much time and so much money. So like, let me give you some context, right? Because I started my business back in 2011 and when I first started there wasn't, um, as far as I knew, at least there wasn't a henna community out there that I could lean into and gather information about how to prep. So I took to the internet, I took to Google and I'm like, okay, "How do you make fresh henna?" And there were a handful of websites that were available and um, honestly, many of them had really strange things, very strange things.

So I found myself making all sorts of concoctions, things that are called everything from witches' brews and other things where you would have all sorts of just, rare and bizarre ingredients that you would mix into the liquid of your henna paste to provide a little bit of extra, um, boost, if you will, or to create a liquid that would cause the most dye release for your paste. And um, I distinctly remember it being winter time and me, you know, sending out for these orders of ingredients that I'd never heard of or going to the store and buying things that I'd never bought before. Things like okra, and fenugreek seeds, and dried lemon, and I mean, just, essential oils from plants that I'd never heard of before, and other, just, random items that I read somewhere online that if you add them into your brew— your tea brew for your henna, that you would get the best stains. That they'd be nice and dark, that they'd um, you know, stay in for a long time and that the dye release for, you know, for your henna would be beautiful. And I remember being in my kitchen, you know, and looking out the window and seeing the snow on the ground and it being super cold and me being so frustrated because the window sill that I wanted to put the henna in so that it could get light and stay warm was too cold because the window wasn't insulated enough. I mean, it was just a whole fiasco and I just remember the frustration. Like, honestly, when I look back at my experience of learning to mix henna paste, I just think of frustration.

I just think of, "Oh my gosh, this is taking so long. Why do I have to buy these ingredients? It's not working anyway." And ultimately that's what would happen. I would make tea brews, coffee brews, brews with all sorts of seeds and vegetables and plants and lemon juice and things that I never had used before. And um, you know, making these, these mixes and mixing it in with the henna powder and, um, was the henna powder even any good? Like, I remember times where I had ordered, you know, multiple different types of henna powder because I wasn't sure, is this powder good enough quality? Does it— is it going to deliver a stain? Does it have enough, um, you know, of the dye molecule to make it even potent enough to dye the skin? Or is this, you know- and that's not even getting into the whole, is it body art quality really? Um, or is it really going to be for hair?

There were so many, there were so many just questions that I had. There are so many, there was so much trial and error in that time and in that space. And I do, I just remember overwhelm and frustration. And I remember it got to a point where, um, I was booked for a party and I had this collection of materials that I, you know, had gathered, and I was making this paste, and my, stains kept coming out weak, and they just, they weren't good. They weren't lasting. And I was so angry because I had spent, I don't even remember what ungodly amount at the time, um, on all of these products. And then I was booked for this party and I couldn't even use the henna paste that I had made and I had to buy, um, you know, buy paste from another artist, um, and worse, I had to buy paste from another artist and I needed it on rush so that I could get it in time for my, uh, for my client.

And I just remember being so angry and thinking, "I have to master this, like, this cannot happen again, like, I— I'm done!" And so I, you know, took a step back and I was like, "All right. I've got to figure out the whats and the whys of what's happening here." Like, I needed to figure out, why are we choosing this thing or that thing? Why are we choosing, um, you know, why, why lemon juice? Why lemon juice versus water? Why water versus tea? Why tea versus coffee? Is there really a difference here? And I'm seeing that there are people who are using things like vinegar and things like red wine and are those— like, what do those have to do with anything? What about those people who are using apple juice or using cranberry juice? What's the difference there?

And so I, the more I would dig in and the more I began to educate myself, not only on the what, but on the why and on the how each of these ingredients would affect the henna paste, I became a little bit more, and a little bit more, and a little bit more confident that I could mix the paste myself. And I became a lot more confident that I didn't need all of the trash that I'd been buying because I was looking at these random websites online telling me that this was the traditional way to make henna. And let me tell you what, it can get really weird out there, like, no lie, I distinctly remember coming across a blog that told me that if I wanted the best henna paste, the traditional way to do it would be to collect camel urine and that would be, you know, that creates great stains in henna. I mean, come on! Like, camel urine? I was living in Nebraska, guys, where— first, where was I going to find a camel and two, why would I want to make paste with that? Like, I would put that on my body? No thanks.

So, so you can see that it was really an uphill battle. But, you know, the good thing is just because that was my experience doesn't mean that it has to be yours. And so today I really want to talk to you guys about, um, you know, just how— how you make that paste. So, um, the first thing is, I want to take a step back and I want to let you know, if you are trying to master henna paste mixology right now and you're finding it difficult, you're finding it challenging, your paste isn't coming out the way that you want — either it's too watery or it's too dry, or it's not sticking, or it's not staining, all of those things — it just means that something, something in the recipe isn't right. At some point there's some sort of disconnect.

And so I want to give you the little tidbits that helped me, um, to better understand what I was doing and why I was doing it. Um, and that is— just kind of give you a little bit of an overview of the ingredients that you're going to use in your henna paste and why they're there. Right? So the first thing is, of course, we need to have a really good quality henna, and there are different types of henna on the market. Not all henna is created equal. There is henna that's body art quality and there's henna that's intended for hair. The difference here is that henna that's body art quality has been ground finely. It's been sifted, and it's um, it's smoother, it's softer, it's a more velvety powder. And that's the powder that you need to use if you're going to be using your henna for art.

Now you can still, you know, if you come across a good quality henna and it's not sifted down and it's still hair art quality, you can choose to manually sift it down. That takes time. I don't necessarily recommend it unless you've got a bunch of extra time on your hands, but I'm not above collecting hair quality henna to use for myself that I, you know, that I can just sit down into smaller batches, especially if I know that it's coming fresh. So like, if I'm importing henna from Morocco or from Sudan or from wherever, or if someone brings me a henna fresh from a souq, you know, after they're traveling, then I can expect that there's going to be, um, there's going to be twigs in it, there's going to be little, you know, bits of the leaves in it and I'm going to have to sift it to make it fine enough for me to use for body art. Whatever is left over, the thicker bits, the pulp, you can use that still, you know, to— you can use that one. You can use that to practice your, um, your paste preparation because you're still going to have to follow the same process to have a really good dye release. And then once that henna has dye released, then you could use it on your hair or you can use it to do, um, you know, your fingertips or do the soles of your feet or whatever. Like you can still use that for more rustic design.

Uh, but the important thing is that you start off with a really good quality henna. And um, the biggest thing is, again, making sure that you have purchased a henna that's body art quality that's been at least triple sifted. And then it's also important to realize that the henna that you get, depending on where it's from, meaning where it was cultivated, where it was farmed, there are going to be different variations in the way that it behaves, the way that it looks, the color that it has, the way that it moves once it's been, um, hydrated and mixed into a paste.

So all of those things are also something for you to kind of keep in mind. But the basics here are that you want to make sure that it's a really good quality 'body art quality henna' and we're looking for a paste that's as fresh as possible. So, um, you're going to look for, you know, for the most recent crop possible. Now, after that, our next ingredient is going to be our liquid. And this is this— here is where it- it really, oh my gosh, I can't even tell you. I just think about- I just think about the headache that I had, um, coming down to what liquid to use because of all of the things that I had consumed while I was in the period of learning.

But, um, you know, for you, I really want you to look at liquid from a single standpoint. Do you have a liquid that is mildly acidic? And that's the bottom line. That's what we're looking for. We want something that's mildly acidic. And the reason for this is that acid inside of your liquid is what's going to release the dye molecule from the leaf of the henna, from that henna powder. That's ultimately going to, um, to cause that dye release to take place. And so you want a liquid that's going to be a little bit, um, on the acidic side. Now, that means, of course, that you do have a lot of options. You can use water, you can use tea, you can use coffee, you can use lemon juice, you can use any— honestly, um, many different sorts of liquids, um, for your paste. But again, you need to know, um, any sort of, uh, corresponding, uh, components or corresponding implications of those liquids.

So, for example, you know, we talked about lemon juice. You would not use lemon juice if you're working at an outdoor festival where you're going to be in high sun in the middle of Texas. Like, that's not a smart idea. Also, you might, um, you also might not want to use something like coffee, especially if you are working with a population that's sensitive to caffeine. Like, there are things that you kind of just want to be mindful of. And so, uh, personally, I enjoy just making my paste with water. I use water to prepare my henna generally. Um, and it's worth, you know, it's worth knowing that making my paste as gentle as possible, using the most simple ingredients as possible, makes me a lot more comfortable in my business just from a liability standpoint. There's a lot less risk of someone having a reaction to water than there is them having a reaction to, um, you know, perhaps an ingredient that was included in a tea blend.

Um, and I can talk to you even about that, you know, in, in my own business, my— my local business is Cardamom and Clove henna and I was given that name, if you will, from my client base because I used a tea blend; a beautiful, lovely rich tea blend. It was my favorite, my favorite from a small— um, another small business who, who provided these tea— who created these tea blends. I would make my henna and I would add in extra cardamom and cloves and it smelled like chai. And that's how my audience came to know me by that name. Um, but I— in doing that, I remember having my first appointment with someone who when they booked, they said, "I noticed that your business is called cardamom and clove and I want you to know that I have allergies to basically any spice that would go into a pumpkin pie. So is it possible for you to prepare a paste that doesn't have anything like this?" And I remember thinking, wow, I would never have considered that. And that's not something that I would have thought to have asked. Like, are you allergic to clove? You know? And so, um, choosing to switch and, and um, move from that, that signature blend into just starting with a very simple, um, paste made with water was something that made sense for me at that point in time. Just given that new level of clarity and that new level of insight and perception. But the bottom line is, you're going to want to choose a liquid that a little bit acidic, just enough to begin to release that dye molecule from your henna powder. Now, the next thing is going to be that you're going to want to include some amount of essential oil.

And this is where I'm going to, like, pause and we're going to get a little bit ranty, okay? Just a little bit, not too much!

We need to be, as henna artists, as henna professionals, we need to be acutely aware of the safety perspective, the safety aspects of the essential oils that we're using. It is not okay for us to just operate under the impression that every essential oil is safe for everyone because they're not. And the truth is, in many other places, for example, in France, you have to go through a complete certification program. It takes two years of schooling for you to be able to utilize essential oils on other people, on the public. And so this is som— I mean, we're dealing with medical grade products and here in the US at least, there tends to be a culture of, um, we can just use essential oils all willy-nilly. And, um, I don't agree with that at all, at all! And I'll tell you, when you use essential oils without understanding the safety aspects and the safety implications of those essential oils, you can put your clients at risk. This is really important. So please hear me here. So when we talk about using essential oils, it is not that every essential oil is fair game. One, there is, of course, the safety component. But also you're looking for very specific types of essential oils that are going to work inside of that paste. So it's not like, "Oh, I just— I like the smell of sweet orange essential oil. So that's what I'm going to use in my paste". No, my friend, when you're selecting your essential oils, we're looking for our particular chemical component of that essential oil that's going to create a chain reaction, if you will, inside of that, um, henna dye molecule's dye release process as well. That's the goal of the essential oil. It's not actually to scent the paste, it's to terp the paste.

Now, the word '"terping" um, "to terp" is like, it's like a verb. It's a verb, but it's very jargony. It's specific to our industry. We're— with this, we're talking about, um, the monoterpene alcohol content of that particular essential oil, right? So, an essential oil with a higher monoterpene alcohol, uh, alcohol content level is going to provide a little bit of a, um, a boost, if you will, to the stain that's provided by that henna. It helps to extract that dye molecule from the leaf. And so, um, as you are, you know, as you're selecting your essential oils, you want to look for those that have that chemical component. But, more importantly also, is that you want to have that chemical component and also have a paste that's still going to be safe for your clients.

Now there are things that you really have to know, like, cajeput oil for example, cajeput oil, which is very commonly used in the preparation of henna paste is, um, also contraindicated for pregnant women because cajeput oil— cajeput essential oil, can cause for uterine contractions to begin. And so if you have a client who's expecting you would not want to use a paste that is cajeput based, right? So there's little things like this that you really have to know. And, um, which brings me back to my point, you know, initially. If you are working as henna artist, you need to know the intricacies of henna paste preparation because if you don't, you really can put people at harm even if that paste is natural, even if that paste has ingredients that are generally acceptable and are generally known to be safe.

So, um, you are going to use an essential oil still. Um, typically what I would recommend if you don't have a lot of knowledge about essential oils, if you don't have a lot of knowledge about, um, the safety aspects of different essential oils, one, you're going to want to educate yourself about those things, but in the interim, I would recommend starting with lavender essential oil exclusively. And is it going to cost you a little bit more? Yes, it is. Lavender essential oil is more on the costly side, however, it is recognized as being one of the most gentle essential oils and it is safe for those who are pregnant and those who are nursing as well. So this is something that kind of will be like your catchall as you begin to learn what other essential oils you might include in your paste. And you certainly can use additional essential oils to scent your paste, but that's something that you don't start to get into until you've done your homework about essential oils and the implications that using them might include.

And then the final thing that you're going to include inside of your paste, at minimum, is sugar. And it doesn't necessarily have to be table sugar. It doesn't necessarily have to be organic, raw sugar. It can be molasses. It can be, um, you know, turbinado sugar. It can be— you can use different sugars that are ground and that are processed in different ways. But, the goal here when you're adding sugar into your paste, you want to add in just a little bit more of that saccharine content that's going to allow your henna to string, um, a little bit further. And when you add sugar into your paste it does, it will allow your paste to drape longer lines. It will help to, um, keep those bonds connected in your henna paste so that you can drape lines, so that you can create a little bit more of a stringy paste if you like stringy paste. If you like snotty paste, then adding sugar in is a great way for you to do that. Um, but this also helps to create a paste that will stick to your clients like nobody's business. I use a ton of sugar in my paste. And I'm noticing now that it's becoming a trend, um, within henna circles to have elastic pastes. Where you really do have a paste that's very sugar heavy and— to the point that you can sleep with it, you can move around with it, you can flex your hand with it, you can do all of the things and the paste doesn't come off. It won't- it just won't budge.

This is something I've been doing for years. Years! And I love it so much and my clients love it because it means that once they've seen me, they can, you know, dry their henna and go on about their business. And they don't have to worry about that paste coming off all over the place, all over, you know, as they're going about their day or in the bed if they're keeping their paste on overnight, like, that's not a thing. And you don't have to wrap it either. It stays on really, really nicely.

So, these are the four different elements that you're going to need at minimum to create your, you know, the best henna paste. You are going to need to have a really great quality henna powder to start with. Then you're going to have a good liquid with a slight acidic content to it so that you can extract some of that— um, extract some of that dye molecule from the henna. Also you have that essential oil and I'm going to again recommend that you start with lavender essential oil from the top. And then once you start to learn more about essential oil safety and so forth, then you can move into something perhaps a little bit different, but have that lavender essential oil as well so that you can terp the paste and really boost its color. And then finally, you have sugar. Um, and that sugar content is meant to help you create a more manageable paste. You can add sugar in, um, to give the paste the consistency that you want, but also to allow it to be, um, more sticky for your clients so that they can move around and they can go about their life properly with their paste remaining intact.

Now, I know that I— you know, I'm sharing that these are the things that you need to put into your paste. Now I hope that you really understand why you need to include those so that it's not just like, "Oh, well, here's a list of ingredients." And then just, "Here! Just go wing it." No, you really need to know the why behind the why, if you will, right? And the why behind why we select these particular ingredients because that will give you the confidence to also be able to explain those things to your clients as well.

Now you're like, "Chelsea, okay, great! So now I know what to put in, but like, how much do I need?" I've got you! I've got you. I've got you. Listen, I've created a recipe card for you, just for the basic henna instructions, right? So you have a basic henna recipe that you can use, like, today! Go to the show notes. Download the recipe. You'll just type in your email and I'll send it right to your email inbox. Boom! Easy. Done. And then you're welcome to use that recipe as a base as you start to build out, um, your own recipe. Your own signature recipe, right? But I'll give you that base recipe and my step-by-step instructions on how to prepare that henna as well. But, in the interim, if you have questions about your henna paste, like, come and join me inside of the Hennapreneur Community on Facebook. Ask your questions. Get, you know— get the answers so that you can feel more confident in prepping your henna paste as well. All right! With that, I'm going to go ahead and let you guys go! And I will talk to you next time. Bye.

Hey babe! I wanted to give you a quick thank you for tuning into the show today. That was super cool of you to hang with me all the way until the end. Of course, I've got all the links that you might need from this episode inside of the show notes that you can find at hennapreneur.com/podcast.

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