Henna help!

[ScootchsMom]

Allright, so I'm having fun with the henna, but it keeps cracking really bad and falling off. I tried sealing it with the lemon-sugar mix from hennapage.com and it made it a MESS. I ended up having to scrap the whole thing I did on my foot after about an hour, so I only got a really light orange stain. HELP!

Liz

[1stimestar]

There are a few things you can do. First, add some type of sugar to your mix. What is in your mix right now? You can put it all back in a bowl, add your sugars and recone it. I use honey but any type of sacharide. It will make your paste more stringy so it is easier to do long, draping lines. I normally add a couple of tablespoons to my bowl (probably about 50 grms).

The second thing you can do is steam your pattern to keep it from drying out so much. Multiple steamings will make the stain darker as well. Let it dry in between steamings.

Thirdly, you can use medical paper tape to tape it in place.

Good luck. Sorry about your "adventure".

[ScootchsMom]

Thanks for the tips. I added dextrose to the mix, but I guess not enough. I'm going to try regular sugar tonight, I just made a new batch of henna last night and it should be ready tonight

How do I steam it? I can't use medical tape, I'm allergic to the adhesive on it and get nasty rashes from it

It actually doesn't look that bad, the color has darkened a bit since last night. I guess its a good stain though for only being on for an hour, lol.

[1stimestar]

Hold it over a pan of boiling water or a teapot.

[ScootchsMom]

Thanks for all your help! I ended up wrapping it with a piece of Glad wrap, the one that is slightly sticky on one side, with a napkin underneath, than a sock on top and it came out great! I just unwrapped it and the color is amazing. I'll post a pic later when I have a chance

Liz