I was nine years old, in the 1990s, when my best friend's Bangladeshi family introduced me to henna around Eid. I had never seen anything like it. I was hooked, and I spent the years that followed practising on friends, learning with every hand I was trusted with.I've worked as a professional henna artist since about 2014. I offer Gulf, Indian, Indo-Arabic and Fessi (Moroccan) styles. I work mostly on hands and feet, and I stay close to traditional patterns. I don't use henna as a stand-in for a temporary tattoo, as a trial run for a tattoo, or in any way that cuts it off from where it came from. I think it's beautiful just as it is.
Henna
belongs to a vast number of cultures and religions, each
with its own traditions, and it appears in the holy books of many faiths. It is used to welcome children into the world, sometimes applied before childbirth. It welcomes new relationships at weddings, and it celebrates existing ones during the festivals that married women keep. I have loved getting to know some of these practices, and I continue to learn more with each event.
Sharing cultural practices is a natural development across the globe, and I see much of it as anthropology speeded up. What I don't believe in is taking a tradition, renaming it, changing it or making it simply fun. Henna/mendhi/hina carries so many meanings and practices that it deserves the respect I try to give it. If you learn from a tradition, credit where it comes from, take the time to educate yourself about it, and take the time to educate others too. Credit it wherever you practise it. That is the least we owe the people who kept it alive.
I make my own paste from Sojat powder
from Rajasthan, mixed with essential oils, lemon juice and sugar. Nothing artificial goes into it.
Nearly thirty years after I first started, I did the bridal henna for the same friend who introduced me to it, which fulfilled a promise I made back then. It remains one of the most meaningful things I have ever done.
At the moment I offer henna at various festivals, and I take private appointments through the web form. I charge £60 an hour, with a minimum booking of two hours.
A small hand design takes me about five minutes, and a complex one around half an hour. That means you can book me for something detailed, such as a function or a simple bridal set, or gather a few friends and have everyone leave with something small. Either way, you'll go home with a design made with care.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to get in touch through the web form.
From December 2026, I will be based in Edinburgh.
Sharing cultural practices is a natural development across the globe, and I see much of it as anthropology speeded up. What I don't believe in is taking a tradition, renaming it, changing it or making it simply fun. Henna/mendhi/hina carries so many meanings and practices that it deserves the respect I try to give it. If you learn from a tradition, credit where it comes from, take the time to educate yourself about it, and take the time to educate others too. Credit it wherever you practise it. That is the least we owe the people who kept it alive.
I make my own paste from Sojat powder
from Rajasthan, mixed with essential oils, lemon juice and sugar. Nothing artificial goes into it.Nearly thirty years after I first started, I did the bridal henna for the same friend who introduced me to it, which fulfilled a promise I made back then. It remains one of the most meaningful things I have ever done.
At the moment I offer henna at various festivals, and I take private appointments through the web form. I charge £60 an hour, with a minimum booking of two hours.
A small hand design takes me about five minutes, and a complex one around half an hour. That means you can book me for something detailed, such as a function or a simple bridal set, or gather a few friends and have everyone leave with something small. Either way, you'll go home with a design made with care.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to get in touch through the web form.
From December 2026, I will be based in Edinburgh.