Girls always have been the source of beauty in a family. There is no bigger blessing than a daughter being born into the family. All parents pay close attention to their children's' education to their hygiene and presentation. And maybe that is why we parents like to always doll up our daughters whenever possible. It is important to show them the ropes of how to get ready for all the different occasions we have.
I believe the most profound use of Mehendi really kicks in during Eid. The girls love to design their hands, palms, nails and even feet with Mehendi. And it is never limited just to the girls, all the ladies are very excited and get in on the excitement. The designs by Mehendi are only limited to the imagination. And mehendi is natural, there is nothing harmful. It can also be applied to the hair without fear of it having any adverse effects on the head or hair.
Mehendi has started building a reputation in the cosmetic market as a healthy alternative to hair dyes. The hair is very nicely moisturized, too. Mehendi leaves can be picked from the tree and made into a paste and designed by hand, it does not require anything super complicated. At present, there is no time to use fresh leaves. These days there are powdered Mehendi with different additives readily available at stores, instead. You can start prepping the mix with your own hands and it isn't toxic at all!
For example, make a paste from the raw leaves and apply it directly on the hair and leave it for 1 or 2 hours and wash the hair to get a beautiful colour.
Alternatively, heat some tea leaves with the dried Mehendi leaf powder and mix it with water, oil, lemon juice and leave it for at least 5 hours. Then apply it on the head and leave it for 2 or 3 hours and rinse it all off. This will give an extremely dark colour and will also last longer.
Saloons often use chemicals with henna leaves which can cause damage to skin on the head. Many men apply henna on their heads and beards. We have to take care of the harmful aspects. So it is always better to apply homemade mehendi!
But like I said, Mehendi is most popularly used from making designs on the limbs. We usually use them on Eid or weddings. After the paste is prepared, it is filled into a cone from which various designs can be applied. I cannot assert hard enough how important it is to use natural and homemade Mehendi. Many times on different social networks we can see people getting rashes and burns from Mehendi bought from stores.
The tradition of Mehendi has been passed down many generations. My mom used it, she applied it on me and my sisters, I picked it up and applied it on my daughters, they grew up applying it on themselves, me and their friends and now all the way down to their kids.