Mehndi Hands Photography Challenge 31 | by @aminasafdar

When I saw this contest I thought to participate in it. However, seeing this by a Pakistani organizer and in the Pakistani community made me think about how to keep it interesting. We have all applied Mehandi since our childhood to weddings and Eids and know about it.

Therefore I did some research on Google about its history and came to know about some interesting things.

The word mehndi has its origin in Sanskrit as Mendhika

^{1-My cousin applied this mehandi on my hand after Eid, we missed it on eid hence the delay}

We all know mehandi/henna comes from a henna plant, whose leaves are crushed first followed by making its thick paste by adding water, and finally applying it to skin and hair.

Transition of Mehandi:

• Green-its leaves and stem: for luck and prosperity
• Brown-In paste form: for hearth
• Red- After removing it when dried on skin and hair: For Fertility

However, did you ever wonder what gives it orange and red color

It is said that some shepherds had discovered its staining properties. When they were herding their grazing animals, who had maybe eaten henna leaves and their mouth got stained.

Later it went for an inquiry to see what caused the stanning.

The culprit behind it was Lawsone which is present in henna leaves, also called Hennotannic acid, in copper Brown color.

Its color is released slowly while crushing it. And when it binds to a protein (keratin) it fully gives a red or orange shade.

You must be wondering about the protein. As we know our skin and hair are primarily protein making us ideal customers of Lawsone :)

^{2.1-It was applied many years ago on Eid by my cousin, we googled some designs and tried on our hands for the first time. Actually she did on both of her and mine, i don't know this art}

^{2.2Her and Me}

Some mehandi cones have synthetic dyes added in it, to give dark brown and black color instead of red. It is extremely harmful for skin and often cause allergic reactions.
It's advised to not wear such mehndi for more than 20-30minutes.

I remember using sugar and lemon solution on our mehndi to get darker red colour for the whole night. Those mehandi cones were organic and free of chemicals unlike emergency mehandi cones in the market today for instant colour.

Another interesting thing I found is the smoothing and cooling effects of Mehandi.

It's applied ideally when the temperature is hot in the Middle East, South Asia and North Africa. It cures headaches when applied on the head and soles of the feet.

Its staining properties are retained when it is grown in temperate regions, if grown in cold countries lawsone will not be present in henna leaves.

It reduces inflammation also and cures allergies as it has antiseptic characteristics.

Interestingly it is very common to apply mehandi at weddings in Pakistan, India, and Bangladeshi.

Weddings are very stressful and often give headaches to the bride and other people😉 That's why it's applied to soothe their nerves.

^{4-My cousin's wedding mehandi, it is 12years old picture. During those days floral and vine designs were in, unlike these days}

It builds a strong community when women sit together and apply it on each other's hands and share stories. It's the most attractive aspect of mehandi.

On chand rat the anticipation of Eid the next day mixed with the joy of applying mehandi late at night are unmatchable.

One last interesting thing about it is the fact that its history is traced back to Egypt.

What is Egypt famous for? What is the first thing that comes to your mind about Egypt? It's Mummies...Right? OR Mummy of Firoun.

Egyptians have been using henna paste to conserve and store bodies for centuries. Lawsone prevents the body from decay.

They stain expired bodies' hair, and skin, and it's wrapping them with henna. Isn't it peculiar?

Ending it here @uzma4882

^{I would like to invite fellow Pakistani @samina-meenu, @wakeupkitty and @yaladeeds (do you guys also apply mehandi? )}