34 henna designs and meanings to inspire you

We love Henna designs – they're beautiful, intricate and offer a stunning way to express your personality and individuality. The ancient body art has been popular in parts of India, Pakistan, Africa, Egypt and the Middle East for over 5,000 years, and the temporary brown dye is well-known for decorating hands, feet, arms and legs ahead of important celebrations. In South Asia, it forms an integral part of the mehndi party for brides ahead of their wedding day, where it symbolises good health and prosperity, plus a deep bond the darker it goes. It's also used to symbolise joy, kindness, health, wealth and peace across many cultures. But aside from looking pretty, how much do you know about Henna?

What is henna?

While you'd be forgiven for thinking henna was the name of the artwork, “henna is actually a plant,” explains Pavan Dhanjal, CEO of Pavan Henna. Traditionally, “the leaves would be crushed up into a powder and mixed with water,” she says. The combination creates a dye that's been used for generations to create temporary designs on the skin.

“Henna is a form of adornment for women almost like jewellery on special occasions,” adds Nissa Hussain, director at Fusion Henna. Generally, these designs symbolise “prosperity, wealth, new beginnings, and celebration,” confirms Pavan.

As for how henna designs have evolved, “henna designs are often a combination of repetitive motifs such as flowers, vines, mandalas and so on. However, in more recent years, henna has been adapted to more contemporary styles and applied more simply such as henna rings on the fingers or applied in a bracelet style as a temporary tattoo,” says Nissa.

The history of henna

Henna has a long, rich history, but before it was used for adornment, it served a more practical purpose. “Henna was used centuries ago in warmer climates to cool down the skin. It would be spread on the palms of the hands and feet,” explains Pavan. “This would cool the skin down and at the same time give a vibrant colour and fragrance. Over the years this became decorative, and designs would often reflect on the region people lived in and the fashion style at the time. Today, typically big bold designs are Arab style, intricate designs are from India, thick floral designs from the Punjab and tribal designs with symmetry are from the African region,” she adds.

Is henna safe to use?

As with any dye or plant extract, it's important to do a patch test to see how your skin responds. But natural henna is considered generally safe to use for temporary tattoos.

However, watch out for black henna ink (also known as PPD), a chemical version that's banned in the UK for use on skin. It creates darker designs but can cause harm and burns to the skin. Natural henna should be brown or olive in colour (never black) and smell of plants.

Make sure you go to a reputable artist with good reviews. Or, if you're interested in having a go yourself, choose a reliable stockist. “We have our Henna Bar in Selfridges and we also sell our henna there. We've launched online with them, too,” says Pavan. It's the first time Selfridges has stocked henna. “Before, you would only be able to get it at your local Indian grocery store, so this is a big deal for us,” says Pavan.

If you like the look of dark henna, Nissa recommends, Jagua, a natural alternative to black henna. “Jagua is a fruit which has been used by Amazonian tribes for their cultural body art. After I started researching other ways to naturally stain the skin I found Jagua as a great replacement for the harmful black henna,” she says. “The consistency is more liquid so harder to use, but the results are amazing. It develops from nothing to naturally staining the skin a blueish black over 24 hours and getting even darker by 48 hours. My clients love it.”

How long does henna last?

Henna tends to last around two weeks before fading away, depending on your lifestyle. It will fade away quicker the more frequently you wash your hands and feet, or if you use a lot of exfoliating skincare.

Can you do henna yourself?

If you're not artistically inclined, we'd say leave it to the pros, especially since any errors you make, you may be stuck with for a while. But, if you want to flex your creativity, anyone can do henna. It's best to practice on card or plastic before you attempt to decorate your skin, but there's plenty of TikTok videos sharing beautiful designs for beginners.

One artist, @gopihenna shared a stunning beginners design to get you started.

Start with a “luscious dot in the centre [of the hand], outlining with two circles, and then you're going to add some scallops all the way around," she says

“Next, create some guidelines for your petals, which are little brackets which go upwards in the centre. Then you're going to do some shading with some upward strokes using hardly any pressure at all.”

“You're going to go with dots all the way around. Then you're gonna create another dot with some [semi-]circles outlining and some more scallops.”

"You're gonna do some half petals, then repeat this process again on the top of the flower.”

To give more of a “jewellery-style look” @gopihenna suggests creating a ring with straight and dotted lines. She recommends doing “S curves” with beading, before adding a cluster of leaves towards the wrist. And to add interest, she recommends switching between “thick and thin elements”. Finally, to create balance, it's a good idea to recreate elements elsewhere in the design.

Meanwhile, @beauti_on_budget recommends repeating mandala (flower) designs, insisting “it looks complicated, but it's not.”

And @mehndibymanali shared a beginner hack, using a coin and a cotton bud to create beautiful flowers.

What is the meaning behind some of the henna designs?

Henna designs are often purely decorative. "For celebration, it's anything from floral, to big bold designs. Any form of henna is a celebration,” explains Pavan. However, some symbols have religious or spiritual significance.

Sahasrara: (also know as the lotus flower) this is the crown chakra in Hindu tradition and symbolises purity and unity.

Dragons and butterflies: these commonly represent rebirth, change and new beginnings.

Paisley: this is said to symbolise luck and fertility.

Flowers: these can represent beauty and joy.

Vines and leaves: these can signify devotion and strength.

Evil eye: “for protection, people tend to have the evil eye, or pretty symbols like a unicorn," says Pavan.

Names and initials: “some brides add the names of their spouse to find on the wedding night as a little game,” says Nissa. “For weddings, it’s custom to have the groom’s initials put in or we even draw figurines in the designs," agrees Pavan.

Modern henna

Alongside honouring tradition, we've seen more and more designs blending cultures and getting more personal and individual. We've seen modern interpretations of deities, cartoons incorporated, astrology and star signs and with Diwali taking place near Halloween each year, we've seen designs that nod to the spooky season.

How to care for Henna tattoos

The best way to extend the life of your henna design is to avoid anything that will cause it to fade, whilst also ensuring you keep the tattoo hydrated.

Let it dry for 30 minutes: It takes around 30 minutes for henna to fully dry, so make sure you don't do anything to smudge it in this time as it will set like that long-term.

Keep it dry: Try to keep it as dry as possible in the shower and if you're washing dishes or cleaning with water, wear washing-up gloves.

Hydrate: The more nourished and hydrated your skin, the better and more vibrant your henna will look, so make sure to moisturise.

How to remove Henna tattoos

The best way to fade Henna quicker is to exfoliate. This could be manually with an exfoliating glove, a loofah, or a scrub (olive oil and salt or sugar works well). Or you could chemically exfoliate with a glycolic acid or lactic acid body or face exfoliator. Make sure you keep things nice and gentle and slowly polish the henna over time rather than scrubbing too abrasively.

How much does Henna cost?

This will depend on the experience of your Henna artist, the complexity of your design and your location, but Henna can start from as little as £10. On average, it costs between £25-£50 an hour.

Advice for creating Henna designs at home

“The advice I would give to anyone starting henna would be to follow your own style and try not to copy designs but instead gain inspiration from them,” says Pavan. “Everyone will have their unique style, like handwriting and thats what makes henna so beautiful, is that no design can be replicated.”

Henna designs for inspiration