Henna Tattoo • Finished Color from a Walk-In Day

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Henna Cuff • Quick Art! 

Here are photos of a quick henna design. The customer picked a sample from a book and I adjusted the pattern to fit both wrist & budget. 

Above you have a photo of the henna paste on the skin. Below you have a photo of the finished color. 

You may have your own henna tattoo! Walk in to Midnight Sun, 1055 Park Street, Jacksonville, Fl. on Saturdays between 1PM & 5PM.  Visit us on Facebook To Be Sure We are There! 

Finished Solo • Good Shade!! 

Henna Tattoo is not offered during downpours! We can be rained out.

Spirit Vision Henna will not be offering henna tattoo today. It was just raining in Murray Hill and various weather forecast services promise rain, severe weather, or more rain for henna time in Five Points. Rain is not good for a happy henna day. 

Many people do not know that henna is a heat activated body art and that the preparation of a good henna paste requires heat and dry weather. 

Our henna is cured outside on a lovely porch. I leave it on the ledge the first day. I will bring it in to rest, and essential oils and put it out to release the dye again the next day.

Just as we were putting the fresh paste into a henna cone, down comes the rain! 

At Spirit Vision Henna we want you to have the best possible outcome. We feel that  applying henna tattoo during a rainstorm is a waste of your money. 

If you are new to henna, you may not know that you have to wait 10 - 20 minutes for your paste to dry. (Humid days the paste takes longer to dry than on the bright sunny ones.) 

Applying henna paste in humid weather really doesn’t work as well as applying henna  in the Summer Sun. The paste seems to absorb water from the air regardless and this results in a poor quality stain. 

If you come in for a henna tattoo, spend time and money to buy a lovely design, Spirit Vision Henna wants you get the best color possible. We want you to take your henna tattoo out in to the sunshine and allow it to cure for several hours.  

Drying your henna in the sun helps you get good color. The hotter you get, the more you perspire, the more your pores will open. This allows the paste to penetrate deeper into your skin. 

Spirit Vision Henna artists do not want to send your new henna tattoo (paste on the skin) out into the rain! Henna will smudge when it is wet. Rain is wet. Getting rain on your new henna can cause the paste to run, and this paste will leave stains we don’t want! 

Henna designs will take 48 hours to develop. After you scrape the paste off your skin you will keep a light layer of oil on the design area to keep henna in and water out. 

To get a good stain there are steps you can take to keep your henna hot while you stay cool:

1. After you scrape the paste from your skin, you may choose to wear a glove to keep your henna warm.
2. Please keep oil on your henna tattoo to keep the heat in and water out. 
3. You may choose to use a blow dryer to heat your henna up from time to time.
4. If you got henna on your wrist or inner arm, you may also use a plastic film to trap heat and help the color develop. 
5. I am hoping next week we will have good weather!

We look forward to a bright Sunny Saturday next week. 

See you soon. 

Spirit Vision Henna.

How to Get the Best Henna Tattoo

In Jacksonville, Florida, you have the opportunity to be decorated in the “color of love” by an artist with 20 years experience in the art of henna tattoo. 

Henna tattoo is a body art that stains the skin leaving a red to reddish brown design that can last 7 to 10 days if you take good care of your canvas.       

Fresh and fragrant henna paste is made using food grade tea & spices. First quality essential oils and fresh henna powder are combined to make a calming paste that flows easily onto your skin.     

Traditionally applied to the hands and feet, the purpose of henna is to compliment the natural beauty of the client. Every one has different hands!  Some are more square, some long and thing, some are oval and some are rugged. 

Every design will not look good on you. In fact, if you are a tiny person, some of the designs you see online may not fit as pictured on your hand.  

It is good to tell your artist the style of henna you like, or to have a few images in your phone of designs you prefer. Please note that a $15 design will give you a simple, yet lovelyhenna design.

If you would like a full backhand henna design with cuff, then that pattern choice will cost more. Henna pricing is determined by the amount of time it takes to accomplish your pattern. 

Some hennas that take up a lot of room on the hand may cost $15 as the art is open and bold.   Other henna tattoos that cover the backhand with a cuff may cost $30. (Pricing is per hand - or foot. )

If you do choose to have henna applied to your feet here are few tips:

• Wear shoes that do not cover the area where you want the design. 

• Please come when it is not raining! 

• Please exfoliate and do not apply any lotion to your feet at all! 

So, to get the best henna tattoo, tell your artist the styles you like and how much you want to spend. Then, relax and enjoy the experience. 

Spirit Vision Henna has a large portfolio of images to look at when you come to the shop. As well there are many photos on this blog. Like us on Facebook to see even more patterns. 

You can walk in most Saturdays between 12:30 & 5:00 pm to get a henna tattoo at Midnight Sun in Five Points, Jacksonville. We are pleased to work in one of the loveliest shops in town.

If you have a bit of a wait, there is so much to see! 

Henna Tattoo & The Rainy Season in Jacksonville

Spirit Vision Henna will not be offering henna tattoo this Saturday, June 17, 2017 due to the long week of rainy weather. 

It has been raining every day for the last four or perhaps five days in Jacksonville, Florida. 

Although the forecast for Saturday promises 90 degrees and no rain, I am skeptical. 

I prefer to make henna paste when it is at least 80 degrees Farenheit and the weather is sunny. 

If it is 90 degrees, the henna powder will release good color in a day. 

At 80 degrees, I prefer to allow two days for the paste to develop. (I have always made my own henna paste with fresh, first quality ingredients.) 

As a henna artist who has been offering mehandi for 20 years, most often on Saturday, I can tell you that it seems that the weather is conspiring against me. Four or five years ago, henna season began in late February or early March.

As the weather stays cool longer, henna season starts later & later. This year I could not get a really offer first quality henna until early May. 

Many people do not know that henna is a heat activated body art and that the preparation of a good henna paste is required heat and dry weather. 

I cure my henna outside on my porch. I leave it on the ledge the first day. I will bring it in to rest, and essential oils and put it out to release the dye again the next day.

have not been able to make a fresh paste this week. The weather has been humid and overcast. Making henna paste in humid weater really doesn’t work well. The powder seems to absorb water from the air regardless of the protection I take to keep the paste dry. This results in a poor quality stain. 

If you come in for a henna tattoo, spend time and money to buy a lovley desing, I want you get the best color possible. 

If you take your henna tattoo out in to the sunshine and allow it to cure for several hours this really helps you get good color.  The hotter you get, the more you perspire, the more your pores will open. This allows the paste to penetrate deeper into your skin. 

The henna will take 48 hours to develop. Again, after you scrape the paste off your skin, if you will stay warm you will get a better stain. In short - the hotter you get, the better your finished color. 

72 degrees is too “cold” to get the best color.  80 or 90 degrees is just fine for a good stain. I realize that many people keep their homes in the low 70s in Summer. To get a good stain there are steps you can take to keep your henna hot while you stay cool:

• After you scrape the paste from your skin, you may choose to wear a glove to keep your henna warm.
• Please keep oil on your henna tattoo to keep the heat in and water out. 
• You may choose to use a blow dryer to heat your henna up from time to time.
• If you got henna on your wrist or inner arm, you may also use a plastic film to trap heat and help the color devleop. 

I am hoping next week we will have good weather! 

Henna Time!! Finally it's hot enough to get a good paste & dark stain!

Here are a few photos from henna this season. Many people do not know:

1. Henna is a heat activated body art. 
2. The dark paste you see on the skin is Not the finished tattoo.
3. Henna stains darkest on the hands and feet.
4. Henna paste must stay on the skin at least 3 hours to give a dark stain.
5. Real henna is always a shade of reddish brown. 
6. Henna stains all skin colors. 
7. Everyone will have a different finished color. 
8. It takes 48 hours for your final color to show.
9. If you keep vegetable oil on your finished tattoo your color lasts longer.
10. Natural henna will last 7 to 10 days.     
11. An experienced artist can apply a good design in 10 minutes. 
12. Lemon sugar spray helps the paste stay on the skin. 
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    

Henna Tattoo & Those Patterns from the Internet!

Recently I had my first ever (in 18 years ) client walk out with out paying for their completed art work. I was pretty amazed. (Photos on this page are all those from that day. You can see they are bold designs and each client was happy with her purchase.) 

I do custom freehand henna. When I began to learn the art form I was happy to copy patterns from a book of a photos. However, it is quite clear to any henna artist that working from a pattern is not as easy as creating an original design. 

The purpose of henna is to make a woman’s hand (or hands and feet) more lovely. I will ask if you prefer floral, tribal, or traditional henna, or I may ask you to show me samples of styles you like. 

Every hand is different. Every batch of henna paste can be different due to the henna crop, the recipe, the acidity of the lemons used to make the paste or the age of the essential oils.  Sometimes the paste may come out a bit thicker than I like. 

I have become good at creating a consistent paste that is easy to work with and often gives a very fine line.  Sometimes if I add another brand of henna to the paste it may be harder to work with for some patterns people bring in. 

Lately clients have been coming in with photos from Pinterest. Some of those photos show henna tattoo, many are photos of Jagua ink which is a very different product.   

Many of these photos show very lovely but very complex and time consuming designs that do not cost $15.

Most people choose a design style that costs between $15 and $30 dollars. These designs are original, fit the hand, match the style requested and all can be accomplished in 5  to 15 minutes. 

As there is often a line for henna, I do not offer complex art on Saturdays. I do take private appointments for complex henna, but I need several days advance notice. 

To the story - the woman who did not pay for her art did so in a very cunning way. She came in with a photo from the Internet. It was a photo of art that was too big for her hand and too big for the paste I had that day.

I explained that I could not do that pattern, but I would use that pattern to a design that was as close to her request as was possible. She agreed. I was sure to stop after each element of the pattern was completed to ask if she liked the design.

She agreed with each choice as we went on. I explained that due to her small hand size the flower she wanted would not fit as was shown in the photo and that it would have to be drawn closer to her thumb than was pictured.

When the design (from the Internet) was complete, a $30 design, she said “I don’t like it.”  I have never had a client say “I don’t like it” to me before. 

I advised her that if this was true she had best hurry to a wash basin and get the henna off her skin at once! I had made a very fast staining paste.  She was going to have a henna tattoo on her skin no matter what. 

I was using Jamila henna and some from Yemen. The Yemeni henna was more coarse than I expected, and so I did many bold designs that day.

If you are new to henna, the time to say stop is when you first notice you don’t like the design. There is no point in continuing as henna must be washed off very quickly to prevent a stain on the skin.

I would never use a paper towel or tissue to remove the paste for a complex design that ran from wrist to fingers! That  would have left a smeared stain. 

I take pride in my work and could not bring myself to “take my art back.”  I advised her of the location of the closest clean bathroom and watched her walk away, out the door and to her car!

She made no effort to hurry to remove the paste. 

It was an odd experience.  I really do not know what to think, however, I will now be quite sure to refuse to do a henna tattoo from a photo when I see that the pattern will not fit the hand. 

I realize many people in my town are not familiar with henna tattoo. They think the paste on the skin is the finished product. Some think the henna paste on the skin is black henna. Many do not know that the paste stains the skin and takes 48 hours to develop.

I hope the woman enjoyed her art. Perhaps she did not understand that what you see (paste on skin) is not the finished product. I suspect I will never know. 

I offer Walk-In henna every Saturday during the warm season in Jacksonville, Florida. I am happy to work from Midnight Sun in Five Points between 12:30 & 5:00 PM. Please feel welcome to come in, and to bring that photo from the web. 

We will work it out. However, henna will always be different that the photo. Always. Promise! 

© copyright Ann George Studios, Inc. All mehandi by Ann George. 

Some patterns are from the web! (yep, it can be done.) 

Henna Tattoo - Paste On & Paste Off - This is Henna Tattoo

Here is a photo of a lovely peacock henna tattoo. Notice that the henna picture on the right looks like black henna - of course it is not.  

The photo page left is henna paste on the skin. The photo on page right is a photo of the henna paste on the skin.

As you will see from further posts, henna takes a different color for each person. Natural henna tattoo, which is drawn on the skin, will always be a reddish brown.

All colors of skin accept henna tattoo.  Your aftercare determines whether you get dark color or not.

This is a photo of paste on the skin (again page left) and a good finished color on page right.

Those who will keep oil on the skin after the paste has come off will get far better color than those who do not.

As well, those who let their design get good and hot - who spend time in the sun, or use the plastic glove provided will also get a darker stain.

It will always take 48 hours for the finished color to show up. Good aftercare information is available on my site - as well as on this blog.


As you scroll down the page you will see that each client chose her own stye, and that some had a darker finished color than others.

Some clients will give have a more red stain, other more brown and still others may get a black cherry read.

I have fresh henna powder and use a very find mix of organic lemon juice, "henna tea" and essential oils to give you a fine dark color.

I always welcome "after" photos from my clients. It really helps people understand what henna tattoo really is.



The final tattoo is a traditional pattern. I enjoy doing traditional henna style very much.

All the henna on the page is  freehand tattoos, however sometimes clients bring in a design from the web.

Often these designs are done in a body paint, but sometimes they are henna tattoo.

Please enjoy the designs here, or go window shopping for others.

I offer walk in henna tattoo at Midnight Sun, 1055 Park Street, Jacksonville, Florida each Saturday. Just walk in between 12:30 & 5:00.

Designs start at $15. I am not open any other day of the week. Private parties and corporate events may be scheduled.

Henna Tattoo Tips & Aftercare.

I am very pleased with the results of my 5 minute test of my henna paste. Henna powder harvested 2015 stains very quickly, giving a deep reddish brown on my finger tip with no special care taken at all.

After care.
If you want to get the best henna tattoo possible here are very helpful pointers!

1. Be sure your hands are clean!
   
2.  Do not wear body lotion.
3. Do not have hand sanitizer on your skin.
4. Leave your henna paste on at least 3 hours.
5. Remove your henna design by gently scraping the paste from your skin.
6. Use olive or coconut oil to remove any excess paste.
7. Keep a natural oil (not grape seed) on your henna for the first 3 days.
8. Put oil over your design before taking a shower.
9. Keep your henna out of water (chlorine in tap water can bleach the color.)
10. Remember -  heat is good for henna. Walk in the sun, sweat a bit. 

Henna works by penetrating the layers of the skin. The longer the paste stays on the skin the darker the finished color will be.

• How long will my henna tattoo last? 

If you follow the instructions above, you should get very good color because you are taking care to keep the stain in the skin. The complete design should show for at least one week. Henna will then begin to fade as skin cells regenerate. 

• How long will it take to do a henna tattoo?

In general a $15 design can be done in 10 minutes or so. The time it takes to apply depends on where you want the henna tattoo, how complex a design you choose, how large a design you choose. 

If you are on a budget - just tell me how much you want to spend and what style of henna you prefer. I am sure to create something you will enjoy and can easily afford. 

• What else should I know?

Henna is for the hands and feet. You will always get your best finished color there. The henna will provide a lighter stain on the arms and legs. I prefer not to do the back nor the upper arm. I will - however you will not get the same deep stain as you would on your hands. 

I look forward to decorating you this year!! Henna is offered most every Sunday from 12:30 - 5:00 in the lovely ambiance of Midnight Sun, 10055 Park Street, Jacksonville, FL. 32204.

Fine line bridal quality henna paste on & off! See the finished color.

It is always a pleasure to provide the special service of fine line henna tattoo. Usually a client will find something in one of the intricate pattern books on hand. I have a good collection of traditional henna tattoo patterns from India, and often something there will spark the beginnings of a pattern.

In general, the purpose of henna tattoo is to make the woman's had appear even more lovely, and so pattern book designs are adjusted to fit. Here are photos of fine line henna with the paste on and then off the skin.

For this recipe I used three kinds of henna powder from Henna Sooq, home made tea with lots of herbs, spices and flowers as well as a good mix of essential oils to help the henna release the best color. If you watch this blog, you will see that the finished color on many photos is really quite red. I hope to provide this quality of color for the rest of the season. 

Prices are by the design if you are ordering one hand only and by the hours for traditional bridal henna. Namaste. 

Henna Tattoo to Celebrate Preganancies

Here is a lovely hearts and flowers style tattoo that an expectant mother choose to celebrate the birth of a daughter.

It was a pleasure to do this henna, and baby was quite helpful, very still during the process.

I always make a special paste for expecting mothers, and am sure that all essential oils used in the paste are safe for pregnancy.

If you are thinking of celebrating the upcoming birth of your child, please notice that it is important to wear clothing that will allow the paste to remain on your skin in an undisturbed way.

Low rider pants or an elastic waistband in skirt or pant makes it easy to keep the henna safe. A crop top or other blouse that can be pulled out of the way also ensures that the design will be able to rest on the skin as long as possible.

It is also wonderful to have a driver, so that you may recline on the way home, and watch out for the seat belt!! Some bring a towel to place between the henna and the seat belt. It is best to do this kind of henna now.... heat of the summer..... so that the paste can penetrate the skin as deeply as possible. For more information on why henna works, visit my FAQ page.