MEHNDI

Temporary body art, more widely known as "henna"

Mehndi is a form of body art and temporary skin decoration usually drawn on hands or legs, in which decorative designs are created on a person's body, using a paste, created from the powdered dry leaves of the henna plant (Lawsonia inermis).

Henna was first applied as a means to cool down the body. A dot was applied to the palm of the hands and helped to cool the body. After becoming bored with the look of the single dot on the palm, the early users of henna began to add lines and other shapes. Eventually this elaboration became the beautiful designs we see today.

It is a popular form of body art among the women of South Asia such as India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Maldives, and Sri Lanka, and resembles similar practices found in North Africa and the Middle East. In the West, mehndi is simply known as "henna." According to a 2013 study, henna has been used as a dye for the skin (as well as the hair and nails) for more than 4,000 years.

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