As a bride who wants to look her best on her big day, you don't want to have anything but the best.

To get a beautiful and unique henna design for your wedding, these are some of the things you need to know.
1. Scout for a professional henna artist: Behind every Wow!! henna design is a talented henna artist. Search online for a henna artist in your area, there are lots of henna artists online these days. Just take to your social media page and use the search button. For ease of searching, you can search hashtags. Also, you can ask around for trusted henna artists.
2. Does the henna artist do the kind of designs you want? Yes, that's one of the things you need to know. Although some henna artists are all-rounder, they can do any kind of henna design, it's not the same for some other henna artist. You need to find out the speciality of the henna artist you have choose to work with. Ask them if they can work with the design you have in mind, if yes, then boom!! You are two steps good to go, but if not, you need to keep searching.
3. Check with the henna artist the kind of products she uses: You can call the henna artist and ask what kind of henna she uses, because you don't want scars on your body for your big day. But, it's better if you can do a henna skin test with her to check if you are allergic or sensitive to the henna.
4. Book down before your big day: Don't wait till a week before your wedding day before you start looking for a henna artist. When you get a henna artist, make sure you finalize plans with her atleast one month before your big day. You don't want to be dissapointed or disoriented.

Before I go further to discuss things you need to do on the day you are getting your henna done, I want to advise to make sure you check up on your henna artist. Don't just wait till the day she is supposed to come before calling her. Call her a week before and then, a day before.

5. Take your bath, eat and use the restroom before the arrival of your henna artist: To avoid moving around and discomfort during your henna session, make sure you eat and use the restroom before starting your henna session. Also, for a long lasting henna design, you need to have a clean body free of dirt, that is why taking your bath before your henna session is important.
6. Free your schedule for the time you are having your henna done: For those hours you will be having your henna design, make sure you delegate what you want to do to a friend or someone else, or you can cancel your plans for those hours totally. Standing up or going about during your henna session can make you end up with a bad henna design.
7. Take care of your henna design: Leave your henna designs for the number of hours specified by your henna artist. Avoid water for the time being, also avoid things that will make your henna design smear and fade fast.
8. Treat your henna artist well: Last but not the least, be nice to your henna artist, don't keep your henna artist waiting and don't waste her time.

May your wedding day be great and grand as you want it to be. Wishing you a happy married life in advance!!!

I always say bad henna paste is my enemy, oh!  I hate bad henna paste. But, what is more? bad henna powder, i realized it is worse than bad henna paste. Let me tell you why?
You know that moment you are feeling so great and want to have a henna design on your hand for the next day outing, and you want the natural feel,  you want to do away with all the chemical henna,  and you are already fantasizing the smell of the fresh henna paste (I love the smell of fresh henna mix, Wait until you see me sniffing my fingers when I have natural henna on, and you will know how much I love it). Back to my story, so, In the spirit of wanting to get that natural henna for the next day, you couldn't concentrate on the work you were doing, so, you got up, took a shower, changed into a casual gown, pick up your purse and go out in this scorching Ilorin Sun to go buy henna powder at Oja Oba (Oja Oba is the only market you get natural henna powder and is about 6kms drive from my house), after going through all the buzzing and huzzing of the Oja Oba market, you got your henna powder and took a cab back home.
Because of that trouble, you needed to spend an extra naira on chilled water to cool off first, run into the bathroom to take a shower again, and then finally sit. Now time to mix the henna, first of all you have to sieve your henna because they won't sieve it in the market. So you take out your sieve and bowl and triple sift your henna, after sieving it three times, you still don't get that very powdery feel, so you double sift again, Yes, again!  That makes it five times. You finish seiving and now want to mix the henna proper. let's say you are lucky enough to have all the other ingredients (sugar, lemon juice(distilled or rose water), ready made cone, and essential oils) at home, or if you are unlucky, you have to start looking for how to get those o. But being your lucky day, you have all, so you will just mix all the ingredients with the henna powder to give you your paste. As you are mixing your henna, you see that the paste is not creamy and stringy like you would want it to, but you were just hopeful that it will do the magic, so you finish mixing and put your henna into your ready made cone...........
*Let me take a glass of water o*
............. Now time to draw the henna design, you have this beautiful 'pepper dem' design you want to draw in your head, or you can browse through your phone to see the latest design rihanna did, so you starts to draw, you have not even finished that small spiral design, the henna paste begin craze, it isn't coming out well, it is all clogging, and it feels terrible. Do you know what I get when my henna paste is giving me such problem? Headache, instant headache, bad henna paste triggers headache for me (that is why it is my Enemy). Let's say that day, your sister was there with you, and she was encouraging you to finish that henna design, with all your possible best, you tried to finish the design.....  THANK GOD, you finished...... THANK GOD O.
You think you are done? No o, that was just the part 1. Now it remains for your henna to dry, Natural henna have to stay on your hands for 6 hours before peeling off, then you don't allow contact with water for like another 24 hours so it stains can be maximized (but because I am muslim and I will pray, I did my henna after Ishai (1)  and allowed it stay overnight. Peeled it off in the morning and apply coconut oil, because I wanted to pray fajr (2)). So let's say, you allowed your henna to stay for 18 hours before putting any water on it, What do you expect? I expect at least 80% stain but what did I get? The same stain (faint red stain) I got after peeling it off in the morning. If you were me, what will you do?
Because as it is, I am already crying, I can't rock my 'pepper dem' design to my today's outing after wasting time, energy and money.
You see why I said Bad henna powder is worst? it gives a bad henna paste, a bad henna stain and a whole lots of headache.


(1) last prayer of the day for the muslims.  (2) first prayer of the fay for the muslims

 Although I am a henna artist today, do you know I once disliked having henna designs on me? It wasn't because I hated henna itself, but because we use to get punished in school whenever we applied henna on our hands, even our nails. So, not having henna on me became an habit. Now you know why I disliked henna then. When I got to the University/College, things got a bit better, there, I had my freedom, I could do as I wished, it was all good. Do you think I started doing henna then? Oh, no. Even though, I see people with different beautiful henna designs, and I am usually in love with their designs, you will never see me do henna. 4 years went by, and I graduated. So, that means in those 4 years, no henna.
After graduation, I wanted to learn a skill, I thought of all the skills that were common around me (catering,fashion designing, hair dressing, and others), but I didn't just like them, no passion. So my sister suggested henna art, I was like huh? Henna art? Me? No way. I don't like drawing henna on myself, so why would I learn it? She said you would love it, so I gave it a thought, and I said, let's give this a try, and that was how I started learning, that was in 2014. Although I love anything art, But learning henna art has never once crossed my mind.

Today, I am a proud henna artist, I love to adorn myself with henna, I love to adorn people with henna, I love henna arts and I love the henna plant because it is a gift from God. Although I still have a lot to improve on and a lot to accomplish, I believe that I will soon achieve those.
 Now tell us your henna stories.