Mountain Mehndi

My name is Malynda Tomassian and I have been working with henna as a body art for the past 12 years.  A native of southeast Idaho, I have hennaed all across the Rocky Mountain region at community and music festivals, medieval reenactment events and Renaissance faires and by private engagement.  I have watched henna go from a rare oddity to fashion-forward and it is an honor to have been part of it's popularity rise here in the mountain states. I have recently settled in Salt Lake City and have been delighted to find a concentration of many cultures where henna is a tradition and a local populace eager for a touch of the exotic.  I use only the highest quality natural henna powder, mixing my own paste using lemon juice, sugar, tea tree and lavender essential oils.  The safety of my henna paste and my ability to apply it have been certified by The International Certification for Natural Henna Arts.

Henna is a desert shrub whose leaves contain a powerful, naturally occurring dye. When a paste made from henna leaves is applied to skin, it produces a reddish brown stain that lasts for approximately two weeks.  Henna has been used by many cultures for health and beautification for thousands of years.  

Henna plants thrive in arid, hot climates and in soil too poor to sustain most other agricultural crops. Because of this, it's production is vital to the farmers of land that would otherwise be too harsh to cultivate, especially in the economically struggling regions of Rajasthan, Pakistan, and Yemen. The henna plant is a highly sustainable, renewable crop that requires little to no pesticide, irrigation or fertilizer, meaning it's cultivation leaves very little, if any, negative impact on the environment.  Henna is considered more suitable for women to grow, prepare and use, therefore it's production provides viable economic opportunities for women in these regions.  As interest in henna grows here in the western world, more farmers are turning to this hardy crop as a means to support themselves and their communities.  Awareness of the dangers of chemical hair dye is also growing. PPD (para-phenalenediamine) is the active dye in most commercial hair coloring products, which the FDA has deemed toxic and unsafe. Henna and a combination of other natural vegetable dyes can offer the same results without the harmful exposure to chemicals. Natural, safe, beautiful and best!