Preparing for the start of your wedding festivities is exciting and stressful, but your Sangeet or Henna night is the kick-off! The beginning of all the festivities of your amazing wedding events to come. Here’s our advice on ensuring your henna is scheduled correctly and you are prepared to relax and enjoy:
Bridal Henna should be applied 2-3 days before the big day.
Henna needs up to 36 hours to fully darken and be camera ready. The areas that will darken quickest, from the orange to the maximum shades of brown-reddish-burgundy are the palms, fingers, toes and edges of the feet. These areas have a more calloused skin quality, therefore, darkens the fastest. The rest of your skin is softer, which requires the full 36 hours to mature. So, to be fully henna camera ready, plan accordingly.
The best time of day to apply the henna is in the late afternoon to evening.
The best time is when all your errands are done and you can relax without having to do anything after the application. Allow at least 2-5 hours for your henna application, depending on if you are getting a modern design or the full traditional coverage. We will tell you how long to plan based on your selection and personalized designs but, always ask this question of your artist. How long do you think it will take? Because, each artists’ speed is different. Doing your henna in the afternoon or evening also allows for you to wrap the henna and sleep with it over night, a trick that pushes your henna stain to be the darkest.
If your Mehendi/Henna night or Sangeet is scheduled on the same day as your bridal henna, we highly recommend setting your appointment 2-3 hours prior to the start of the Sangeet. This allows you to be almost done by the time your guests trickle in, giving you the freedom to walk around, give and receive hugs and not be interrupted. All hugs and kisses move the canvas (aka the bride) and make the quality of the work for the artist much more challenging and time consuming.
If you have the time and flexibility to do your bridal henna in a private appointment prior to any festivities, that is usually the best and most relaxing option.
It almost becomes a part of your spa day. Without any interruptions, the application is faster and the quality is uniform. We do recommend having someone from your bride tribe a.k.a. maid of honor around, so you can be fed and attended to as a Maharani (high queen), since your hands and feet will not be in use.
The other benefit of having a private bridal session is clothing! You can be in PJ’s and not have to change from fancy attire risking the henna getting damaged.
Comfortable seating is so important when you will be stuck in a chair for hours.
The best chair is an office chair with wheels, this way we can move you around instead of having you move. Other essentials: lots of pillows ready to service your arms and legs as needed, folding tables and foot stools. Keep the room temperature warm or have a blanket around in case you get chilly. Remember, keeping still for hours at a time can make you chillier.
And finally, shower before, don’t apply any lotions or creams and dress comfy! Don’t wear long pants or skirts that will have to be hiked up and pinned to protect your henna from smearing, go for capris, or leggings that can be scrunched up, same goes for any fabrics covering/touching the arms.
