Free Henna Designs

There are many places to find free henna designs. Henna is a non-permanent form of tattoo art that dyes the skin that got its start in the eastern Mediterranean. Although making the dye is easy, application can be challenging without an intricate design.

Henna is a flowering plant (Lawsonia inermis) that is native to Africa and southern Asia as well as other subtropical, tropical, and semi-arid zones. The plant is more of a tall shrub or a small tree that has several branches. Henna has several variant words such as Mehndi in Pakistan, North India and Bangladesh. It is also known as Gorintaaku and Marudhaani.

Dying of the skin with henna is completely temporary. Unlike other forms of temporary tattoos, henna can last up to 6 week but the dye itself may not remain visible for more than seven to ten days. The dye is only absorbed by the skin in a very thin layer and as your skin naturally exfoliates, the dye comes off with it.

You should also know that henna is a completely organic substance with no unnatural properties (though some add a chemical to make henna designs darken faster). Despite being all natural the United States FDA has not approved henna for application to the skin and can only be imported to the country as a hair dye. Henna that is seemingly used for body art is subject to be seized by the government.

Henna designs are used for a variety reasons including festivals, rituals and weddings. Henna is also used at many carnivals as a sort of face painting booth for fun and decoration.

When henna is processed for use, it becomes a thick paste that can be thinned out a bit in order to make subtle shading. The application can be done several ways, including using a tube much like one would use to put icing on a cake. This is a lot easier if you have a purchased stencil, one you made yourself, or one of the hundreds of free henna designs you can find on the Internet.

With a steady hand you can create very intricate patterns and scroll work like swirls, outlines, dots and paisley patterns. The designs can also be used on hard parts of the body like the wrist, very similar to the work found with traditional tattooing and very high quality temporary tattoos. Besides the use of a bottle or bag you can also use toothpicks for small applications or intricate designs, thin spatulas and such can also be used.

Henna is as much a culture as it is an art and those artists that work with henna are proud of the work that they have done and many wish to share it with the world:

Free Henna by Heather: A very talented artist; Heather has provided several very beautiful henna designs. Her designs are not made for stenciling but you can go the traditional tattooist route and make your own tattoo transfer.

Winnipeg Henna: Many henna designs are available for use by Winnipeg Henna including those for use on the hand, foot and even full finger designs.

Henna Tribe: One of the largest resources for free henna designs. This site offers a large collection of henna artists that have freely released their designs for use by you. You can download the designs in PDF file format.

Henna King Free Designs: A retailer of supplies, Henna King has a few designs as a “gift” for visiting their site.

Henna Sooq: Several free sheets of henna designs primarily for the hand and small with a couple larger sizes.

Mehndiskin Art: Several very lovely and beautiful henna designs free for you to use.

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