Karwa Chauth is approaching and married Hindu women are gearing up for the big day as they observe the nirjala fast for the longevity of their husbands. Karwa Chauth will fall on 4th November this year. On this day, married women keep a fast throughout the day until they sight the moon. In the evening, they dress up beautifully with new clothes and jewelry and apply henna or mehendi on their hands. Applying mehendi or henna is considered to be auspicious and is also a significant part of the wedding rituals in India. It is believed that the darker the mehendi, the more you are loved and adored by your husband. Well, this may or may not be true. But, scientifically speaking a lot depends on the quality of mehendi you use. Apart from that, we have found some natural ways to darken your mehendi. These kitchen ingredients may help you get a deep hue. Instead of using dye or other chemically infused mehendi, try using these ingredients to darken it naturally.
Here are some natural ways to darken your mehendi and get the perfect colour on your special day.
1. Lemon and sugar mix
Take a bowl and pour some lemon juice and mix it well with some sugar. Do not put water as it may reverse the effect. Now, when your mehendi has dried off, just take a cotton ball and soak the mixture in it and dab lightly on the mehendi; make sure you are not rubbing the cotton ball on your hand as it may scrape off the dried up mehendi. This mixture helps the mehendi to stick for a longer period, giving it a darker colour. Do not over use this mixture as excess usage of acid may make it discolored.
Do not over use this mixture as excess usage of acid may make it discolored
2. Cloves
Once you remove the mehendi, take a small-sized sauce pan and heat at least 8-10 pieces of cloves until they start to release fumes. Now, place your hand over the pan; be careful so it may not hurt your hand. Place your hands for a few seconds and let the your hands be exposed to the fumes and then remove them. Repeat this process at least four times in order to get a good colour. The heat of the cloves is believed to give you a darker colour or if you have clove oil, you can use that too.
Take a small-sized sauce pan and heat at least 8-10 pieces of cloves
3. Apply mustard oil
Most of us have mustard oil at home; all you need to do is, once you have removed the dried henna, apply mustard oil, which gives your mehendi a darker colour. It is believed that mustard oil is hot in nature and produces heat in your body. Therefore, applying this oil will release heat that will help the mehendi to become darker.
It is believed that mustard oil is hot in nature and produces heat in your body. Image Credit: iStock 4. Lime powder or chuna
Some beauty experts suggest the idea of applying a thin layer of chuna or lime powder soaked in water to change the colour of mehendi instantly. This works only if the hands are not exposed to water at all. Chuna is also believed to have heating properties that makes it dark instantly.
Some beauty experts suggest the idea of applying a thin layer of chuna or lime powder. Image Credit: iStock
5. Tea or coffee mix
You can add some tea or coffee soaked in water to the liquid mehendi before applying it. It is believed that the dark brown and black colour mixes in the mehendi, giving it a beautiful deep hue.
You can add some tea or coffee soaked in water to the liquid mehendi before applying it
So, try these simple ways to darken your mehendi. Let us know if you have any tricks.