Slow Henna

What is Slow Henna?

When you are a professional henna artist, it's important for you to be able to do good, clean henna for your clients. Whether your clients are hipsters hanging out, or aunties for a a huge Indian wedding, it should be your priority to make sure every single person's henna is the best you can do.

Well, sometimes it's just too much effort and time involved to go and give everyone a really unique design. So you might fall into your standard flower paisley pattern, or mandalas with finger fillings. And after a day or week's worth of henna, you are sometimes just too tired to pick up a cone or pen to make new designs.

The concept of slow henna is very simple. Slow down your henna. Instead of being rushed into slapping on a design (because you charge by the hour or by the design and want to make sure you are able to get through everyone and of course make money!), you are able to slow down your application and make sure that the person has a great experience and a truly unique mehndi design.

Slow henna forces you to quiet down your brain and apply a design that is very different from the normal. This concept is a fairly new concept and made popular in the henna world by Lisa Butterworth of Kenzi Henna.

When you aren't feeling rushed, you are able to artistically release new ideas and create magical henna designs. Slow henna lets you practice your art without pressure. When you are practicing your art slowly, you are able to also put more attention on your specific technique. For example, when you squeeze your henna cone to make small leaves you can focus on your finger pressure and paste release, and can also focus on how you decrease the pressure on your henna cone and the type of leaves that you are to form.

Slow art is to make your art slowly. This way, you are mindful of details and are putting time into creating small things. This practice encourages the maker to be naturally more calm and meditative as they create. The practice of slow henna is beneficial in many ways. It helps the artist come up with different ideas that they would not have thought of in a busy, pressure setting. It also helps the artist relax the mind as new art is being created. For many professional henna artists, doing henna is a one-woman(man) show, and this over time can add a little bit of stress. Slow henna lets the artist come back to his/her roots and really enjoy taking part in the henna application itself. Slow, ends up being a way of being.

It was through the practice of slow henna that I was able to get a hold of doing little leaves in bridal designs. I also had the chance to practice my geometric applications and was able to create intricate patterns that were out of the ordinary for me. Slow henna also gave me a chance to delve deep into sacred geometry as well as go back to peacocks.

So next time you want to henna something, just go slow!