Henna Color and Longevity

The color and longevity of a henna tattoo depends on several factors including low long you leave the paste on your skin, what part of the body you decorate, the cleanliness of the area, your skin chemistry, and how you care for your henna.

Henna aftercare is very important to the color and longevity of your henna tattoo.

A hand using a henna cone to apply a mandala henna design on top of another hand

Henna Aftercare

  • The paste will be wet for 10-30 minutes.
    Avoid smudging your henna.
  • Keep the paste on as long as possible, ideally 4-8 hours.
    Some of the henna is going to flack off early. Don't stress about that, but don't help it out either. RESIST the urge to pick at your dried henna paste!
  • Avoid water for as long as possible (try to avoid water for the rest of the day).
  • Keep the skin warm while the henna paste is on the skin.
  • Avoid exfoliation.
    Anything you do that is exfoliating will fade your henna stain. This includes swimming, cleaning chemicals, facial scrubs, and anything else that exfoliates the skin.
Graphic of henna oxidation with a picture of the same hennaed hand at each of the four stages.

Henna Takes Time to Darken

A henna stain starts off orange and darkens over 2-3 days to a red/brown color. The hands and feet get the darkest color, and the further away from those areas you get, the lighter the stain.

This is one of the ways to recognize safe henna. If it's full color right away, it's NOT safe henna!

Generally, you can expect good color for 4-10 days and all traces of henna will be gone in 1-3 weeks. The best color is 2-3 days AFTER the henna is applied.

  • Mandala design on teh palm with half the paste scrapped away and a bright orange stain

    Preparing for Henna

    The better prepped your skin, the better your henna color!

    • Avoid all oils or lotions on the area you want hennaed.

    • If you use a heavy body butter, avoid using it a day or two BEFORE your henna appointment.

      Body butters and take some time to clear out the skin cells. Henna requires clean dry skin for the best color.

    • Avoid self-tanners in the area to be hennaed. Henna has trouble bonding to skin cells that have self-tanner.

    • Remove jewelry or clothing that will potential smudge your henna,
  • Henna Fun Facts!

    The science of henna is complicated, but here are a few other things to consider…

    • Everyone stains differently.
      Some people naturally stain darker or lighter than others.
    • Henna is a transparent stain. It uses your skin tone as its base.
      This means it will stain every skin tone, but it will stain different skin tones in different ways. The browner and darker the skin, the more red or maroon your stain. The lighter and pinker your skin, the more brown the henna stain.
    • Medication and hormones can affect henna stains.
      For example, your henna stain may be lighter if you are on medications, hormones, or are pregnant. The only way to know how these things will affect you, is to have henna done.
    • Cold skin does not stain well.
      When you are warm, your skin cells expand to release heat, giving you a larger area to stain. When you are cold those cells shrink trying to save heat, making it substantially harder to stain teh skin.
    • Hands and feet stain darkest.
      The further away from the hands and feet you get, generally the lighter the henna color. By contrast, these lighter stains tend to last longer because the hands and feet exfoliate quicker.
    • Henna is a permanent stain.
      The henna doesn’t fade away, your skin cells exfoliate off, thus “fading” the henna. THIS is why you should keep your henna on as long as possible. We want many layers of skin to be stained.