How can I make Henna?

When buying henna make sure it's 100% pure body art quality henna. You want to make sure of this because it has the highest dye content, it's triple sifted, and contains no chemicals or adulterants. I stress not to buy any pre-made henna at any retail store. I say this because henna has a very short shelf life because it's made from a plant, and many of these pre-made henna's or henna powders are expired, contain chemicals to preserve them, or are dyed to look fresh. Also, some henna at cultural stores are imported from places that aren't required to list ingredients. It is possible to find good henna at such establishments, but you have to do your homework and ask what products are good and which aren't. As a henna artist, I order all my henna through henna artists and retailers specializing in body art or henna. Most of these vendors are online, and I suggest buying through them rather than brick-and-mortar. These same vendors also offer henna kits with everything you need to make your own henna paste. To make henna, first you need body art quality (BAQ) henna powder. The most basic henna recipe calls for a slightly acidic liquid (lemon juice, tea, or coffee), sugar, and an essential oil with monoterpene alcohol (such as tea tree, cajeput, or lavender oil). Below is a link to the best henna resource out there, as well as henna retailers you can purchase supplies from. I hope all this helps! If you have any more questions, please feel free to contact me any time. Good luck!

It is sold in any Indian grocery shop.

The how to linked above at henna page covers about everthing. Just remember the four S's. Beside henna powder you need Sour, Sweet, Sticky, and a Safe for skin essential oil with terpinol or similar compound. Usually sweet and sticky is sugar or honey, but could be fructose and okra slime, or dextrose and boiled fenugreek, it really depends on what you have on hand. The Sour is mandatory. The oils get more dye out, and the Sweet and Sticky is for texture, so not stricly necessary but helpful. You can design your own complex recipe, or dump old coffee into henna powder and be done. My basic recipe is henna powder, fresh squeezed lemons, honey, and some combination of cajeput, tea tree, and clove bud essential oils, but I improvise frequently. From improvising, i've learned some things i'll pass on to you. White vinegar smells terrible and is so acidic your powder may degrade too quickly, other vinegars works well though. Red wine works well, smells kind of gross. Soda's not a good choice, lots of acid but I think the carbonation doesn't help.

Here's a video I made showing EVERYTHING you need and EVERYTHING need to know. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLVACezR4Fg However, henna is not only part of hindu culture, but is part of many others including south asian, african and arabic I also have some videos on henna design Here's a simple beginner one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lPreD81pKc