Indian weddings are incomplete without a henna event, also known as the Mehndi ceremony.

One way to spot a newly married Indian bride is to look at her hands.

You’ll notice beautiful henna designs, in many cases, extending to her forearms all the way up to her elbow.

This ancient form of intricate art is brought to life by henna artists around the world.

In this interview, we wanted to showcase the best henna artists in the San Francisco Bay Area and ask her questions about the Mehendi ceremony.

Our guest today is Neeta Desai Sharma, mehndi designer, henna artist, and a teacher, who has been practicing this form of art for over three decades now.

Neeta was kind enough to share with us lots of valuable information that brides usually are not aware of.

For instance, the importance of using natural henna products and why brides should stop fantasizing applying mehndi at the same time sd their guests, are some of the topics we dig into deeper.

We hope you enjoy our conversation with the all amazing Neeta on the Indian Wedding Podcast.

Mehndi Designer (website)

Mehndi Designer (Instagram)

Show Notes:

• History and significance of a mehndi ceremony 
• Mehndi (henna) is a plant dye, the leaves of the plant give the color 
• The traditional application of mehndi was to cool the body when there were no air conditioners 
• Styles of mehndi 
  • Traditional India with bride and groom art
  • Arabic with no depiction of animals or faces
  • Gulf with floral patterns and ribbons
  • African – Morrocan
  • Fusion
• Neeta creates personalized designs for her brides
• Getting your favorite mehndi artist to your destination wedding  
• Qualities to look for when selecting a mehndi artist
  • Ensure the work is original and not plagiarized. Ask questions and references. 
  • “Homemade” henna 
• It takes 2-3 days for the color to pop and looks nice and dark
• The ratio of mehndi artists to wedding guests can vary. One artist can generally get through 13-15 single designs per hour. They can work with four guests in an hour, assuming each guest is getting mehndi on the front and backside of their hands 
• Practical tips to get a great mehndi stain 
• The best time for the bride to get her mehndi done is when no one is around her
• Mehndi for grooms

Resources mentioned:

Mehndi Inspirations

Henna by Divya

Bharathi Sanghani Mehndi

Poona Mehendi Artist

Harins Mehndi

Kiran Sahib Henna

Spring Fling Henna Conference