As the summer season begins, and I look forward to new clients, and fun parties and events where I get adorn people with my art, I thought I'd take a moment to talk about an important topic that is close to my heart. In 2016 a very close family member came out as transgender. It has been a wonderful journey for us to see this person transform into their authentic self, finally after 22 years of living as the opposite gender. It didn't take me long to refer to her by her chosen name and pronoun, because I love her, and more than anything in the world, I want her to be happy. I can help contribu ..read more

If you don't know who Munira Premji is, it is definitely time to meet her. It was 2012 and I had just started as a henna artist with Henna Heals the year before. One day I was called by Frances Darwin, the founder of Henna Heals, to go to the home of Munira to do a henna crown on her. When I got there I was greeted with the biggest warmest smile, which I soon learned was connected to one of the warmest, friendliest, most gregarious people I have ever met. This was a surprise to me, as Munira Premji, as I came to learn, had been diagnosed not only with an incurable blood cancer called Multiple ..read more

Natural henna creates a beautiful reddish/brownish stain on the body and has been used for thousands of years for therapeutic reasons, beautification, as well as rituals, rites of passage, and celebrations. Bridal henna is one such practise that is beloved in many cultures and countries in the world. Intricate designs are applied to a bride's hands and feet before her wedding day and, historically it is said, the darker the stain the stronger the love between the husband and wife. Therefore, traditionally throughout history, women have wanted get as deep a henna stain as possible. Not only is ..read more

My Story: Before I first started doing henna in 2006 henna was not really on my radar, I didn't know much about it. Many people are curious about how I got started in henna and I tell the following story over and over to my clients. My daughter was 6 when she got a henna kit for her birthday. She was too young to apply it with her tiny hands and lack of fine motor skills. So we mixed up the paste together and I started putting henna designs on her, copying the art work that came with the kit. I had a lot of fun applying the henna to her and wanted to keep doing it, but the henna soon ran out ..read more

Ever worry about the stories from other people about how henna is unsafe, how it hurt them, sent them to the hospital, caused scarring on their skin? Well it's partly true, there are some nasty substances out there that are very harmful to you. However, many people do not know the difference between natural and black henna. Black henna is actually not henna at all, it is a toxic chemical called PPD (para-phenylenediamine). People use it in a similar way to natural henna to create black henna designs on the skin. However this harmful ingredient can not only cause severe skin blistering, itching ..read more

This past weekend I taught a Henna Workshop for beginners at ,Esther Myers Yoga Studio in Toronto. There were four people who participated, and topics that were covered included the history of henna, henna's use, natural henna verses black and premade market cones, henna's meaning, as well as how to mix paste, fill cones and get started with simple designs. The following are the three ingredients for a perfect henna workshop! 1. Good Henna Paste All great henna paste starts with good quality, fresh henna powder. The participants learned how to mix henna powder with lemon juice to release the d ..read more

Today I had the honour of creating a henna crown for Leslie, a beautiful woman who is going through chemotherapy. When people look at my work, they often comment on the henna crowns I've done. They are not only struck by the beauty of the design itself, but they are also deeply moved by the underlying 'healing' aspect for cancer patients. Of course henna does not cure people of cancer, but on another level the experience itself can have psychological healing powers that are very real. My Involvement with Henna Heals My henna crown journey started in 2011 when I was fortunate enough to meet Fra ..read more

If you don't know who Munira Premji is, it is definitely time to meet her. It was 2012 and I had just started as a henna artist with Henna Heals the year before. One day I was called by Frances Darwin, the founder of Henna Heals, to go to the home of Munira to do a henna crown on her. When I got there I was greeted with the biggest warmest smile, which I soon learned was connected to one of the warmest, friendliest, most gregarious people I have ever met. This was a surprise to me, as Munira Premji, as I came to learn, had been diagnosed not only with an incurable blood cancer called Multiple ..read more

Natural henna creates a beautiful reddish/brownish stain on the body and has been used for thousands of years for therapeutic reasons, beautification, as well as rituals, rites of passage, and celebrations. Bridal henna is one such practise that is beloved in many cultures and countries in the world. Intricate designs are applied to a bride's hands and feet before her wedding day and, historically it is said, the darker the stain the stronger the love between the husband and wife. Therefore, traditionally throughout history, women have wanted get as deep a henna stain as possible. Not only is ..read more

My Story: Before I first started doing henna in 2006 henna was not really on my radar, I didn't know much about it. Many people are curious about how I got started in henna and I tell the following story over and over to my clients. My daughter was 6 when she got a henna kit for her birthday. She was too young to apply it with her tiny hands and lack of fine motor skills. So we mixed up the paste together and I started putting henna designs on her, copying the art work that came with the kit. I had a lot of fun applying the henna to her and wanted to keep doing it, but the henna soon ran out ..read more