DEARBORN — She stirred the henna mixture slowly with a wooden spoon, and continued adding water until it was thick enough. 

Making a cone out of wax paper, she scoops the henna with a spoon pushing it into the cone. After twisting the top and taping it, she punctured a tiny hole from the bottom tip. Now Huda Mohamed, a local henna artist is ready to decorate the bride’s arms and legs.

Henna is a flowering plant in which dye is extracted from for the art of temporary tattooing. It can be used to dye skin, hair and nails. The dry powdered henna is used to make a paste that can be craftily drawn on the body, or to turn gray hair into a fiery red color. 

Often in the Arabic culture, the day before a wedding, the bride visits a henna artist to have her body decorated with intricate designs.

Wearing a tank top and mid-thigh shorts, a bride sits down on the black couch to have henna designed on her, in Mohamed’s house. Her henna is different than the traditional-brown henna; it is black.

There are two colors to henna, black and orange. Brides  mostly use black henna, while orange henna is used for any occasion.

Starting off with the left arm, Mohamed draws beautiful flowery designs in a spiral. When Mohamed first began working with henna art, she practiced designs in notebooks with a pen. “It takes time and patience to be able to draw perfectly and quickly,” Mohamed said. 

Now onto the left leg, the henna artist asks the bride if she has any specific preference to how it should be applied. The bride leaves the idea up to the henna artist but replies adamantly that the design has to be “perfect and amazing.” Mohamed is happy to create her own designs because this gives her a chance to innovate new ideas into her patterns. 

As she works, Mohamed recalls a superstition that is going around in the Dearborn community. If a bride has done henna on her body and one side is lighter than the other, than she will be divorced shortly after. “It has happened to two brides that I personally know,” said Mohamed. 

Being a henna artist is a growing profession for stay at home mothers in the Dearborn community. The henna powder is usually obtained from relatives overseas who send it wrapped and duct-taped tightly in a Ziploc bag. It can also be bought from Arabic and Indian stores. 

Unlike tattoos, henna is not permanent. It stays on for a week or two and then fades away. Many wives and young girls request elaborate designs on their arms and legs. While the older women slather the soles of their feet with henna and turn their graying hair to a bright red color. 

A 64-year-old grandmother, Sana Shayef said, “I put henna on my feet only so it can cool them off and on my hair to cover up my gray hairs.”

As Mohamed continues designing, the bride looks bored and exhausted because it is a long process. While she is drawing designs, she asked the bride if she wanted henna done on her back.

“There are brides who request black henna on their back and on their chest. Sometimes they even ask to have the groom’s name written on their collarbone,” Mohamed said.

A mother of two, a wife and a college student, the 35-year-old henna artist does black henna only for brides and when there is a festival. 

“I get a lot of phone call requests to do black henna for no specific occasion, but I refuse because I do not have the time,” Mohamed said.

When there is a holiday or a festival going on at a local community center, Mohamed is called on to be at the henna booth. She says there are long lines of girls who rush to get henna done on their hands. For a little hand design the cost will be $5. 

After six agonizingly long hours, Mohamed is done decorating the bride. She slathers Vaseline on top of the henna and wraps it with plastic wrap so the henna will not smudge. The henna runs from the tip of her fingers to her shoulders. While the henna on her legs is from the toes all the way to the bride’s thigh, midway. As she is walking out the door, the bride slips Mohamed a $50 bill and an invitation to the wedding. 

The henna is not only for the body; it can also be put on the hair. It can be a conditioner or even a hair dye. “The older ladies who have graying hair, put henna on their hair,” said Nadia Hamed, a henna artist. “It turns their hair color into a fiery red.” 

When Hamed’s henna dries and is brushed off and cleansed, the markings are orange. But it darkens over the next few days to a brownish red color. The ingredients she puts into the henna are the green powdered henna, water and lemon juice. 

Not only does Hamed draw the henna, she sells stencils of already-made henna designs, where customers can apply the henna paste on by themselves. 

“Women usually keep the henna on for six hours for a richer and darker color. The best time to do henna is before you sleep,” Hamed said. “So when you sleep you will not get tired from waiting to take it off.” 

Besides the long wait, the smell of the orange-brown henna can be very strong. To get rid of the smell cinnamon sticks and cardamom are boiled. They are then strained, and the water is added to the henna.

Hamed explained that even though she is a 31-year-old housewife without an education, she hopes to help out her husband with the money she receives from being a henna artist.

Faozeia Hussein, 20, a University of Michigan-Dearborn student, does the Indian-style henna. While the first two henna artists had drawings of flowers that are well designed and spaced out, Hussein’s henna drawings are Indian style shaped and feature small patterns. 

“This is my amateur drawings of mehndi (Indian henna) designs,” Hussein said, while taking out a composition drawing book from her bag. The exquisite patterns are so precise and perfect. Her drawings consist of traditional designs of leaves, peacocks and flowers. Her customers often pick and choose designs from her book.

Hussein has created business cards and passes them to people walking by as she sits next to UM-Dearborn’s library. Her prices depend on the length of the tattoos and can vary from $5 to $50. “I do house calls,” Hussein mentioned to a potential customer. 

Her clients come from diverse backgrounds, which shows how popular henna art is becoming in different communities. 

“Because henna is becoming a flourishing type of art, and some people are too timid to put on permanent tattoos they turn to henna. It is temporary, and they enjoy this type of body art,” Hussein said.