Try These 5 Hacks to Darken Your Mehndi Naturally

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Mehndi is a huge part of the Indian festivities and culture. The 'Mehndi Function' is considered to be a crucial function among others. Mehndi adds to the glow of the bride and makes her more beautiful.

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The dark colour of the mehndi is often associated with how much a husband loves his wife. The darker the mehndi, deeper the love. You have been patiently sitting through the mehndi application and the hard part is over and now you want your mehndi to be dark and bold but have no idea how to do so. We are here for your rescue... these are some of the tips on how to make mehndi darker.

1. The good old Lemon and Sugar for Darkening the Mehndi 

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The mixture of lemon and sugar is an age-old home remedy that darkens the mehndi. Also, be sure not to overuse the mixture.

How To Do: Boil some water with sugar in it. Add lemon drops in it.

Apply your mehndi as it is and once it dries, apply this mixture at least thrice on your mehndi. The sugar keeps the mehndi in contact with the skin for deeper penetration, while the lemon juice acts as a catalyst for dye release and deep penetration of colour.

Does it work: This is a tried and tested home remedy which seems to have great results. Applying this mixture helps a great deal in retaining a darker colour of the henna. The myth is that lemon is the key ingredient in getting the desired colour but, the truth of the matter is that an effective sealant can be made with or without lemon juice as the real determining factor isn't the liquid, rather the sugar.

2. Run your hands over the fumes of cloves

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Another widely followed home remedy to darken the mehndi colour is running your hands over the smoke of cloves on a hot pan.

How To Do: Take some cloves and place them on a pan over a medium flame. Allow the cloves to heat up and then run your hands over the pan in order to soak up the fumes of the cloves. Hold our hands over the pan as long as possible.

Does it work: The fumes of the cloves helps lock in the colour of the henna for a long lasting design. The fumes work wonders when used with the lemon and sugar mixture.

3. Using Balms to Darken Mehndi Naturally

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This step is to be followed once you get rid of all the mehndi from your hands.

How To Do: After scraping off all the henna from your hands, apply balms like Vicks Vapour Rub or Tiger Blam all over your hands just like you apply hand lotion. make sure all of your henna design is covered. Leave it overnight and you'll wake up to beautiful and dark henna design.

Does It Work: These balms are said to have active agents in them which help in stimulating colour development and penetration of henna into the skin. These balms create heat under your skin and darken the colour. The menthol present n the Vicks helps in darkening colour.

4. Leave the henna for a longer duration

The easiest quick fix to get a darker mehndi is leaving the mehndi on your hands for a long period of time.

How To do: Wash off your henna after a good 6-7 hours. If you can afford to keep it a little longer, keep it on for at least 12 hours before applying any water to your design. When the henna comes in contact with water, it starts to lose colour.

Does It Work: Keeping the henna for a longer duration helps in locking colour and yields better results.

5. Wrap It Up

How To Do: Once the henna is dry and flaky, wrap it up with some cling film or a thin plastic sheet. You can also use gloves and socks to wrap up your henna designs.

Does It Work: The wrapping of henna with cling film locks in heat and heat is possibly the best thing to help darken the colour of henna.

Given below are some of the pointers to be kept in mind for further care and long-lasting effect of your mehndi:

• Make sure your hands are clean without any traces of lotions and oil because such products can be a barrier in between your hand and Mehndi.
• Take a bath before your Mehndi application starts so that you can delay your next bath for as long as you want.
• Avoid waxing after applying Mehndi because wax may scrape off the upper layer of your skin.
• Do not wash your hand with soapy water, doing so fade your mehndi.
• Do not wash your hands immediately after application. Steer clear of the water for a good 6 hours. If possible avoid a shower for at least 12 hours post application.
• Do not overuse the sugar and lemon mixture; else the mehndi will turn a deep brown colour.
• No matter what, do not use a blow dryer to dry the mehndi on your palms and legs! This may ruin the design and the colour even more.
• Avoid drinking too much water or any juice just before application.
• While good light is necessary for the henna artist to see her strokes, avoid sitting under direct sunlight.

You have spent hours and hours with your mehndi artist and you're worried about how it's gonna turn out? Follow these simple tips to keep your beautiful mehndi design intact and long-lasting. Get in touch with your mehndi artist now!

Tell us about your go-to quick fix for making your mehndi darker in the comment section below.