What was I thinking?? When in Rome do as the Romans?? I succumbed to peer pressure in a temporary lapse of judgment and had Henna applied to my hands while I was in the Middle East. Although most of the worst is gone, it now looks like age spots, which I don’t need any help with!
Apparently and probably unfortunately for me, my skin contains just the right amount of keratin level for it to bind quite well! I’m sure if I had wanted it to be such a bright reddish brown, it would have faded the first day. But no, it shone for days—weeks! I was wishing almost immediately that I hadn’t let the school show me such kindness as having the intricate patterns applied to my hands by a professional Mehndi artist.
In Arabic countries and others in central Asia, the application of Henna as a temporary (meaning 2-3 weeks) form of skin decoration is used for special occasions. Obviously this school thought receiving their accreditation was special, so they brought two very talented artists to the hotel to paint my hands and those of the other female team chair.
After looking at my hands the next morning (believe me I was stone sober when this was done—perhaps if I had been drinking I might have had the sense to say no), I realized why this tradition is saved primarily for brides or young women during the seventh month of pregnancy. Henna just naturally looks better on young hands than old, and if you don’t believe that check out my photo. Believe me they looked worse in person!! But at least they didn’t talk me into marrying some guy in a white robe with a ghutra on his head. That I’m afraid would have worn off faster than the Henna.