Henna..The body art

Henna or Hina (Lawsonia inermis) is a flowering plant used since antiquity to dye skin, hair and fingernails. The name is also used for dye preparations derived from the plant, and for the art of temporary tattooing based on those dyes. Henna is a tall shrub or small tree, 2–6 m high. It is glabrous, multibranched with spine tipped branchlets. In several parts of the world it is traditionally used in various festivals and celebrations.Henna is commercially cultivated in western India,Pakistan, Morocco, Yemen, Iran, Afghanistan, Somalia,Sudan, Tunisia, Libya, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

For skin dyeing, a paste of

ground henna (either prepared from a dried powder or from fresh ground leaves) is placed in contact

with the skin from a few hours to overnight. Henna stains ca

n last a few days to a month depending on the quality of the paste, individual skin type, and how long the paste is allowed to stay on the skin