Henna Tattoo Meaning: Mehndi Motifs, Designs and the Permanent Version

Henna paste is made from powdered Lawsonia inermis leaves. The dye in it, lawsone, binds to the outer layer of the skin. When the paste comes off, the stain is bright orange; over the next 24 to 48 hours it darkens to red-brown. It never goes black, and it fades as the skin renews itself.

That is why the classic place for henna is the hands and feet: thicker skin there takes the deepest colour and keeps it longest. The designs below are mostly in that tradition - fine lines, dense fills, fingers capped in solid colour.

Henna has no fixed dictionary, and meanings vary between families and regions. These readings are the ones you will hear most often:

• Paisley (mango or kalka shape): fertility and good luck.
• Lotus: purity and beauty, a flower that rises clean from muddy water.
• Peacock: beauty and grace, common in Indian bridal designs.
• Vines and leaves: devotion and lasting love, because the line keeps growing.
• Mandala or sun at the centre of the palm: wholeness and life.

Treat these as tradition rather than rules. Many mehndi artists choose motifs for balance and flow first, and a bride's design is as much about family as symbolism - one old custom hides the groom's name or initials somewhere in the pattern for him to find.

Indian and Pakistani mehndi is dense: fine lines, small fillers, figures such as peacocks and brides, and coverage up the forearm. Arabic (Gulf) designs use bolder flowers and leaves set on a diagonal trail, with a lot of skin left visible. Moroccan and North African work leans on geometry - lines, diamonds and blocks of solid colour. Most of the designs here are Indian-style or a modern mix of the three.

Natural henna only stains orange to red-brown. Anything sold as "black henna" that turns black within an hour usually has para-phenylenediamine (PPD) added, a hair-dye chemical. The US Food and Drug Administration has warned that it can cause allergic reactions, blisters and lasting scars, and that a reaction can make you sensitive to hair dyes for life. If a beach stall offers black henna, skip it.