This is a question I have been asked many times. Why get a henna tattoo?
Well there are several reasons.
Firstly, a henna tattoo or henna body art is semi-permanent. It will last up to 4 weeks but usually around 3 weeks. This means that you can get rid of a tattoo every 3 or 4 weeks and get something entirely different if you wish.
The down side is that there are only really three colours. This means it is more like a black and grey tattoo in subtle colours. . The coloured ones are not real henna and mostly used for children. Real henna is all natural. They only tend to last a day or so.
*The best part about henna is that it doesn’t hurt to have it applied. It is a natural paste that is applied to the skin with a tiny tube like an icing bag. It goes on wet.
After about an hour it is fully dry, (depending on the size and design) and then it is time to peel or chip it off. You peel it off or chip it off with a finger nail or nail file or something similar.
When it comes of it could be quite faint, don’t worry the depth of the colour with intensify over the next two days. The morning after you have it done it will look great and will be darker. The second day even darker and more like the design you asked for. Try not to get it too wet within this time.
No swimming and no fully submerge, but washing hands will be ok.
After the two days you can do as you wish. If you do go swimming in a pool it will lose its colour more quickly as the chlorine will bleach it off.
Ink tattoos are much different. The colours and designs are definitely defined and like a photograph, (if you get a great artist). You can have almost anything you can possibly draw or photograph transferred onto your skin with the ink.
The ink is transferred onto your skin with lots of tiny needles that puncture the skin with ink. It can take many hours just to do a small tattoo if it is very detailed. Depending on the time needed to fully finish a tattoo it may take several sittings, as the artist can only do so many hours at a time, due to the intense concentration and stress on the hand.
Depending on the area where the tattoo is situated on your body it can be extremely painful also and you may need several sittings to enable you to cope with the pain. Areas such as the foot, shin and ribs are very thin and have no fat and is much more painful than say the thigh or the arm.
This needs to be taken into consideration when having a tattoo also, as you may think it would look great, but in reality you may decide to choose another place which would not be as painful.
Of course it depends on your pain threshold as well. Some people tolerate pain better than others.
I have several tattoos and fell asleep during one and have had no pain problems when having the others. Others I have spoken too have not shared that feeling.
So in the debate henna or ink, it is a choice and a matter of preference as to if you want it to be permanent or semi-permanent. (Just remember it is very difficult, costly and extremely painful to remove ink tattoos by laser treatment). Pain or no pain is another biggie. Just think seriously before you decide.
I love both and will probably still have both as I go through life. Each to their own!
Just enjoy your tattoos no matter what you choose and enjoy life!
*In saying that henna does not hurt, there are some cases that can cause serious pain and scarring to people who have an allergic reaction. Anyone having henna carried out for the first time should have a skin patch test first to ensure they are not allergic to it. An allergic reaction can be as mild as itching to massive blisters, difficulty breathing and severe anaphylaxis. If you have a reaction of any kind, you seek medical attention immediately, as you do not know how severe it will become.
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