If you have been following us on Instagram, you know that one of our artists will be in Hawaii for several weeks this winter.
One of the best things about being a henna artist, or rather an artist at all, is the immediate ability to connect with others, in different cities, countries, or continents. Being in Hawaii, there are so many henna artists everywhere! It is a little unfortunate to bump into some of these artists as they have signs and places of business that offer "henna tattoos". While henna is certainly not a tattoo, many of these places offer henna designs that are very tattoo like.... Kanji, tribal, dragons, and other standard tattoo like designs.
None the less, one of the best things about henna in Hawaii is the fact that it is the United States and very touristy, so regulations are strict. All the henna shops offer natural henna mixed fresh everyday. With the high volume of people coming through, these artists use jacquard bottles instead of the standard cones that many other artists use. Henna prices start at $5.00 for a small piece and larger designs cost around $20+. Many of the artists are able to freehand designs seen on Pinterest or Instagram and give a true henna experience. The laws of the state prohibit freelance businesses on the beach, so henna shops are forced to go through the proper protocols for doing business.
Many of the henna shops offer jagua as well. With the unfortunate linking of henna with tattoos, jagua offers the customer an opportunity to get a body art piece that looks like a tattoo. There was one artist that was trying to sell his henna powder, because he purchased it, but did not use it due to a high demand of jagua.
So far, there is a henna shop, stall, station, kiosk in the tourist areas of Honolulu and Waikiki, including at the mall and in the beach shopping district. Come back to read more about henna in Hawaii.