Henna Tattoos at Epcot

[Hey|Crazy|Beautiful]

My mom got one! I really liked it - she's considering getting it as an actual tattoo!

eta: You can't get it wet for 24hours after you get the henna and I believe you can't swim in chlorinated water for a few days as well. I don't remember the exact guidelines but it takes a few hours to dry and then it peels off on its own. The longer it stays on, the darker it gets.

 

[Desnik]

I had both my hands done once in Epcot. It took a long time to do but was so worth it! The woman doing it was excellent. It looked so authentic, unfortunately I don't have any pictures. It was a few years ago and they had a big book to choose the designs from. It was expensive because it was both my tops of my hands and fingers. I have sensitive skin and was not bothered by it at all. I do remember it was brown and I was told to put oil on it. The "puffy" part flakes off and I was left with a beautiful design. I think I will do it again, maybe on our trip in Jan!

 

[bluerendezvous]

Oooo!!! Maybe a tattoo I can tolerate? I'm so scared of needles. Is a Henna Tattoo painted on?

Also, I'm loving the pictures! Any more out there?

 

[DisMN]

My daughter had this done in Morocco, I think it cost $35. It lasted 2 weeks at the most.

That's a beautiful design but can you fill in the blanks for me please? I thought henna was dying the skin but from the photos I'm seeing it looks like the *paste* stays on the body? It doesn't get washed off?? I thought you'd clean off the paste and underneath would be the dyed skin........no?

 

[Ember]

Just some information: Henna (or Mehendi) is from a plant called Lawsonia Inermis, which grows in dry climates. In addition to a decoration for the skin Henna is also used for hair dye, as a skin conditioner and as a reliever for rashes. (So real Henna should rarely cause a reaction and if it does it's probably do to whatever was used to mix the Henna paste.)

The recipe can be as simple as water mixed with Henna powder, or can use tea, coffee, lime juice, and/or Eucalyptus oil. The additions make the paste stain a darker color on the skin.

Henna is then applied to the skin as a paste, usually using a cone. The idea is then to keep the paste on the skin for as long as possible (at least 4 - 6 hours), which is why some places will use a mixture of sugar and lemon juice (sticks the Henna to the skin) or oil (keep it moist longer) applied to the paste after it has been allowed to dry a little. If the temperature of your skin is warm it will also create a darker stain. Once the paste comes off it will take 12 - 24 hours for the stain to deepen from an orange color into a beautiful deep brown. Keeping your hands out of water during this time is another trick to deepening the color.

When my girlfriend does Henna she has her hands wrapped in plastic (to trap the heat) and sleeps with the paste on. She then scrapes in off in the morning. This is a little extreme, but her designs last forever.

ALWAYS stay away from "Black Henna." It uses dyes and chemicals and it not good!

Hope this helps! My best friends are all East Indian and I've had Henna done several times a year for almost 20 years! It's a really fun (and addicting) thing to have done!

 

[bluerendezvous]

Thanks so much for the info! I'm ready to try a henna tattoo!

 

[Ms_Butterfly]

Yes, many ppl have reactions - some extremely severe - from the chemical used in black henna. Just do a Google search and you can read and see photos of many a horror story of such reactions. Ppl who have reacted to it cannot take certain medications because they will react to those medications, too.

Pure henna is safe. That is what you'll usually find in the US.

Thankfully, I had learned this before I went to Mexico on a cruise last year. The beach we went to had a black henna booth and I knew it wasn't safe. If I hadn't known, I likely would have gotten a design done. Knowing my sensitive skin and body, I likely would have gotten a reaction, too.

 

[TroyE]

My kids all have sensitive skin, just to be on the safe side, we will stay away from the Henna Tattoos. This should be easy as they never were planning on getting them, but it is good to know to keep them away from them, just to be safe.

 

[Ms_Butterfly]

Troy, regular pure henna is safe. The only reason the black henna is not safe is because the dye added to it to make it black is a chemical that can cause mild to very severe reactions in some people. It is only that dye that makes the black henna not safe. The henna at Disney and most other places in the U.S. is safe.

 

[fairycat]

First I want to agree 100% natural Henna like seen at WDW is completely safe! It has been used for 1000's of years and is very safe for pregnant woman and children. It's the black stuff you see at Fairgrounds and cheapy tourist locations that is terrible and should be avoided. If the effect of what the booth is doing looks like some one drew on you with a sharpie and it stays black walk away. If it turns brown and smells earthy you are safe.

I never posted these so I will now These were from Oct 07, I asked the lady to do what she wanted for a set price and let her have fun.

This is right after the piece was done with the paste still on and added glitter.

This is what your henna piece will look like after the paste is removed, this look will slowly fade over time. If you look some areas are brighter then others, that is because henna takes to certain areas of skin better then others. I also have very dry and sensitive skin so some areas are lighter on me.

I love to get henna done and it was a really fun break in Epcot to get it done, though we did have to arrange our day at the water park around it

 

[inkkognito]

Snopes has some good information on this:

http://www.snopes.com/horrors/vanities/henna.asp

(But please DON'T pass it on to everyone in your email address book, no matter what the snopes sample says!)

 

[tink too]

I didn't know that Henna tattooing was offered in Epcot! I might just have to give it a try in April now that I've seen all those gorgeous designs.

 

[Schmeck]

Will they do the traditional palms/soles designs, or just on the tops of the hands/feet? I like the history of the Mehendi - brides had their palms and soles done, and the longer it lasted, the better the husband was, as it meant his bride didn't wear off the henna by doing housework, LOL!

Brown Sharpies make nice henna designs too!

 

[fairycat]

Will they do the traditional palms/soles designs, or just on the tops of the hands/feet? I like the history of the Mehendi - brides had their palms and soles done, and the longer it lasted, the better the husband was, as it meant his bride didn't wear off the henna by doing housework, LOL!

Brown Sharpies make nice henna designs too!

I am sure they would do them, but I would never suggest getting the bottoms of your feet done at Epcot. You would have to sit a long time for it to set in, then you would do a lot of walking which would wear down the designs while barely seeing them.

The palms of the hands though are a great place to get mehndi I have done mine many, many times. They look stunning when finished, but honestly I did not want to be that careful at the parks since you can't really wash your hands well or touch stuff while the henna is setting. Which is why I did the top of my hand.

 

[PatriciaH]

Wow-mine only lasted about 3 days when I got it done at Epcot. 20 days is great.

 

[katebug92]

Does anyone know if they will do a design that you request that they dont have? i have a tattoo that i want and would like to get it as a henna before i spend the $ on the real thing

 

[dml]

both my husband & I had henna tattoo's last time we were in disney and I go soo hooked on them that I bought a kit for my husband to "tattoo" me every couple of weeks b/c I couldn't find anyone to do it here.

 

[VillianinVogue]

These are so beautiful! I have to get one! Does anyone have more pics?

 

[coastgirl]

I have a question for those of you who have had it done...would it be a good idea to use extra moisturizer or maybe an exfoliant scrub before we go? I sooo want to do this, and I'd like it to have the "best chance" I can give it!

 

[fairycat]

I have a question for those of you who have had it done...would it be a good idea to use extra moisturizer or maybe an exfoliant scrub before we go? I sooo want to do this, and I'd like it to have the "best chance" I can give it!

Don't use anything oily or that leaves a layer of moisture behind, this can actually cause the henna to have more issues staining. Covering the piece with a little olive oil or veggie oil after it has set, before you go in the water will help it last longer.