My Vow
I promise
to call you by your name
your name
the shape of it
built from your bones
your body
the one you built
the one you chose
for the mind you grew
your mind
a wild garden
that lush and sacred place
that vast and winding place
and I promise
to tend to it
to protect it
to remember it
to say it aloud
Your Mind
Your Body
Your Name
Becoming Moonlight® gilding paste, used in combination with Becoming Moonlight® gilding powders and glitters, is a beautiful and versatile alternative to traditional henna. “White henna,” and “glitter henna” are becoming increasingly popular. These designs look especially stunning when the wearer is out in the sun, where the designs catch the light. They contrast beautifully with tanned skin. Spring and summer are great times for offering Becoming Moonlight® gilding paste designs. Becoming Moonlight® is available exclusively at www.mehandi.com.
If you would like to learn more about the product itself, read “White Henna” and Becoming Moonlight® Gilding Paste, and see the product here.
If you are a body artist interested in offering Becoming Moonlight® gilding paste, here are a few tips to ensure success with this new medium.
Play with the materials before you begin to use them on customers.
If you are familiar with using traditional henna paste in a cone, Becoming Moonlight® gilding paste has a very similar feel. It was developed specifically with body artists in mind. That being said, it is always a good idea to practice with new materials before using them on clients. Most of the artists I've talked to who were not happy with the product did not take enough time to play around with it before offering it to customers. Don’t assume that it will work just like henna. It is similar, but has its own personality. Check this blog, as well as www.becomingmoonlight.com for tips, tutorials, videos, and patterns. If you are completely new to this product, check out the Introduction to ‘White Henna.’
Becoming Moonlight® gilding paste feels a little different from regular henna, and there are some things that one can do that the other cannot. Becoming Moonlight® gilding paste does well with fine lines, but large, solid shapes do not work as well. Like with traditional henna, the tip of the cone may clog from time to time due to product drying there. Keep alcohol swaps on hand to keep the tip clear and the paste flowing easily. Unlike traditional henna, Becoming Moonlight® gilding paste works best if the tip of the cone is gently touching the skin rather than floating above it.
After practicing with the gilding paste you may find that you develop a style that is different from the one you use when applying traditional henna. I’ve found that gilding is great for soft, lace-like styles, and floral themes.
Remember that the design must be sealed. The paste itself is only the first step. It is an adhesive, not a body paint. Once the paste has become firm to the touch, the surface will be tacky. Finish the design with Becoming Moonlight® gilding powders, body art quality glitters, and gems. This second step is not optional. Even if you want to keep the design white, you must apply a white powder over top of it.
Becoming Moonlight® gilding paste can be used alongside other body art media. It looks great as a highlight on traditional henna stains and works well with Temptu paint and Pros-Aide liquid. The wonderful thing about Becoming Moonlight® gilding paste is that it remains opaque and raised, and can be set with any color powder or glitter. Don’t limit yourself to white; try metallics, bright colors, and rainbow effects!
Becoming Moonlight® gilding paste and gilding powders, used in conjunction with Temptu white body paint, create a unique lace effect. Body artist: Rebecca Chou. Photography by Roy Jones. Graphic montage by Alex Morgan.
Wear it on yourself to advertise.
Becoming Moonlight® gilding is very eye-catching. It looks like henna, but it’s sparkly and colorful. I have had numerous people stop me and even take pictures of my body art when I wear it out and about. It is a gorgeous, modern twist on traditional henna body art, and that’s why it is becoming so popular.
While you’re working the fairs and festivals, and any other time you like, wear gilding paste on your arms or legs, and keep your business cards on hand. Be sure you feel comfortable answering questions about the product, like how it works and how long it lasts.
Gilding looks absolutely stunning on darker skin tones. Body Artist: Wendy Rover. Photography by Roy Jones. Graphic Montage by Alex Morgan. Words by Gwyneddh Jones
Make sure the customer understands the difference between Becoming Moonlight® gilding and traditional henna.
Traditional henna is applied to the skin and left on for several hours to allow the paste to stain the skin. The resulting design comes from the lawsone molecules that have migrated into the skin’s outer layers. With Becoming Moonlight® gilding paste, the paste itself is the design. It does not stain the skin. When the paste is removed, the design is gone. However, the paste is flexible and water resistant, allowing it to last for up to a week with proper care. Make sure your customer knows exactly what they are getting before you start.
One of the great things about using Becoming Moonlight® gilding paste is that once you have set the design with powders and/or glitters, it is done. Customers don’t have to worry about wrapping their body art or moving carefully to avoid smudging. It is great for people who can’t have a stain on their skin for work or school. They can simply peel it off or rub it away with baby oil. This works well for kids whose parents don’t want something that will stain their child’s skin. I used to bring my body art supplies into the after-school program where I worked, and it was a huge hit. However, younger kids will have a tendency to pick at their designs within minutes of getting them done.
Remember to ask customers whether they are sensitive to adhesives.
Becoming Moonlight® gilding paste is developed from a medical adhesive. It is non-toxic, skin-safe, and is latex-free. That being said, those who are sensitive to adhesives, such as those on bandages or medical tape, may want to avoid using Becoming Moonlight® gilding paste. Ask your customer if they are sensitive to adhesives before starting.
Know that Becoming Moonlight® gilding paste does not comply with wudu for Muslim clients.
People of Islamic faith practice ablution, or ritual cleansing. They may do this several times a day, usually prior to prayer. This requires that the water freely and fully reaches the skin on the hands, feet, and face. While traditional henna is acceptable, as it is a stain, Becoming Moonlight® gilding paste covers the surface of the skin and is water-resistant. Be sure that your client understands this. You may want to suggest that they have their design placed on their upper arms, above the elbow, or on their legs, above the ankle. Luckily, these areas of the body work better for Becoming Moonlight® gilding paste, anyway. Read the next section to find out why.
Know that religious practices differ, and that some may follow wudu more strictly or loosely. Remember to be respectful in the way you discuss this, and allow the client to make the final decision for themselves.
Additionally, ask if it is okay to use alcohol to clean the area prior to applying the design. Skin needs to be clean, dry, and free of oils in order for the gilding paste to adhere well. If you believe you will have clients who cannot have alcohol on their skin, keep other alternatives such as soap and water available.
Becoming Moonlight® gilding paste works best on flat areas where there is little joint movement and stretching.
The best areas to use Becoming Moonlight® gilding paste are often the opposites of the ones where you would use henna. Sure, it looks gorgeous on the hands, but all that bending and stretching will cause the design to come off more quickly. Make sure your customer is aware of this when deciding on placement. Hand designs are good for one-day events, like weddings or parties.
Becoming Moonlight® works beautifully on the chest, torso, back, and upper arms and legs. Use this to your advantage to create new and interesting designs for body parts you might not usually work with. You can find tons of inspiration on The Henna Page, and BecomingMoonlight.com.
Use Becoming Moonlight® body art products to make a beautiful belly design. Body artist: Alexander Limbach. Photography by Roy Jones. Graphic Montage by Alex Morgan.
It is also important to be aware that the paste is more difficult to apply and remove from hairy skin. Hair will interrupt the flow of the paste, causing uneven lines. Because the paste is an adhesive, removing it from hair skin can be painful, and pull out hairs. Have client shave their arms or legs prior to a private appointment. At a festival or fair setting, politely suggest a different placement, such as on the inner arm, the upper arm or the upper back.
The image on the left shows areas where henna stains well. The image on the right shows areas where gilding works best.
Figure out how you will manage the flow of clients if you are working a stand.
If you are offering Becoming Moonlight® gilding at a stand or booth, you will need to figure out the best way to keep your clients moving through smoothly. Decide whether you want to offer both traditional henna and Becoming Moonlight® gilding, or only the latter.
The paste needs to set for about 5-10 minutes before you are able to seal it with powder or glitter. If it is particularly humid out, the paste will take longer to dry. This means there will be customers waiting around between the first step and the second. If the event is slow, you can simply hang out and chat. If there is a line, you may want to have a partner seal the designs after you have done them, and have a space where customers can wait off to the side. Make sure that the customers don’t run off after the first step, thinking it is done. This will happen. Maintain a clear system for cycling customers through your stand in a timely manner.
Decide on pricing.
By weight, Becoming Moonlight® gilding paste is pricier than homemade BAQ henna paste. In addition, you will need to have a few gilding powders, glitters, and perhaps gems. (If you offer body art as a business, contact Customer Service about getting a 25% body artist discount on Becoming Moonlight® body art products.)
You may want to charge more to make up for the cost of materials, and because it is something unique and different in comparison to traditional henna. On the other hand, many customers are unfamiliar with gilding and are deterred by its shorter duration. Pricing will depend on region and client demographics, as well as your personal business sense. Advertising is important. Make sure you have several lovely images of your gilding work where they can easily be seen, to draw in customers.
Start by offering a few simple patterns and a limited color selection.
Part of maintaining a seamless flow is not overwhelming yourself and the customers with too many options. Have a pattern book ready with around a dozen designs which you can complete in ten minutes or less. Offer a few powders or glitter colors to choose from. It works well to offer white, gold, and silver, as those will be the most popular. Decide if you want to offer gems as well, and whether you will charge extra for it.
If you are doing a private appointment, have more options available and consult with your client beforehand to decide on a color palette. Remember that glitters and powders can look different in the jar than when on the skin. Doing a test run of the design, or creating color swatches can be helpful.
Becoming Moonlight® gilding powders are cosmetic-grade mica powders. They come in a wide variety of colors. Find the whole selection here.
Make sure your customers know about proper aftercare.
Your customers will want to be careful when washing and drying the area where you have placed the design. The product is water resistant, but will be a little softer and prone to peeling when the skin is wet. They will want to avoid harsh rubbing, and only use gentle patting motions when washing and drying. They will also want to avoid using oils, lotions, and alcohol-based hand-sanitizers on the area.
The design may peel more quickly for those who sweat and move a lot when sleeping. I find that dusting the design with more gilding powder, or a talc-free body powder before bedtime helps keep it dry and intact. If you do a large design for a special event, you may want to consider leaving them with a small sample of the powder you used, which they can reapply to keep the design fresh.
This design stayed impressively long for being on my foot. I dusted it with more powder every night to protect it while I slept. This is about five days after application. You can see where some areas are peeling. On another part of the body, the design would stay even cleaner.
When applying gilding for special events, it is best to do it close to the time of the event.
Becoming Moonlight® gilding lasts for up to a week with proper aftercare, but it will always look its best when it is fresh. After a few days, the surface can become slightly tacky, and pick up bits of dirt and lint, dulling the colors. Some parts of the design may lift, and begin to peel. You can avoid this wear-and-tear, and prolong the beauty of the design by dusting it with powder or glitter daily.
If someone has hired you to apply Becoming Moonlight® gilding paste for a wedding, party, or another special event, it is best if they are able to have the appointment the same day as the event. This will ensure that the body art looks its best, and gives it less time to dull or peel. Make sure you feel comfortable doing large designs, know roughly how long it will take you to complete it, and allow time for mishaps.
Create a stunning collar piece to match an outfit for a special day. Use gems and ribbon to make the piece stand out even more. Body Artist: Alexander Limbach. Photography by Roy Jones. Graphic montage by Alex Morgan.
Final Notes
Becoming Moonlight® gilding is a wonderful addition to any body artist’s repertoire. As white and metallic henna-style body art gains popularity, it benefits you to be able to offer it. It is especially good for weddings and proms, and it is in high demand during the summer months. Make sure you are familiar with the product, and have a plan set for how you will offer it in your own business. Offering Becoming Moonlight® gilding will set you apart from other body artists and is sure to bring repeat customers.
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to comment below or contact customer service at www.mehandi.com.
Happy Year of the Dog!
Chinese New Year follows the lunar calendar, so it falls on a different day of the Western calendar each year, always some time around January or February. The zodiac consists of twelve animals, repeating in a specific order: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. This year, 2018, is the Year of the Dog. It is my mother’s year. I was born in the year of the Horse. Similar to astrology, it is believed that each animal has specific personality traits.
The legend goes that all twelve animals participated in a race. Near the end of the race, the animals had to swim across a river. The cunning Rat hopped onto the Ox, who was swimming across in the lead, and hopped off once they were back on dry land to win the race.
As a child, I remember seeing dragon dances, hearing fire-crackers popping, and cymbals and drums crashing in parades and performances in the Chinatown area of downtown Cleveland, Ohio. My aunt taught traditional dance, so I’d often watch family and friends perform, waving fans, flags, or silk ribbons, or pounding drums. Seeing the red and gold decorations appearing in restaurants and stores during the preceding weeks always filled me with excitement. The cold, gray, Ohio winter would come to life once again. I remember family gatherings, huge tables of food, and... hong bao (red envelopes)! It is traditional to give younger family members red envelopes of money during Chinese New Year. What kid doesn’t like getting some extra cash?
A packed and decorated temple.
(These next couple images are from my family’s celebration in Taiwan. I was here in Montreal.)
Here are a few more traditions and superstitions for Chinese New Year:
1. Wearing red and gold attracts good luck and fortune. It is bad luck to wear black or white, which are colors associated with death and funerals.
2. Firecrackers, drums, and cymbals are used to scare off evil spirits and bad luck.
3. Homes are cleaned before the New Year, but cleaning is avoided the day of, because good luck might be thrown out or swept away with the dirt and trash. Trash is not thrown out for the first three days of the year. People will also avoid bathing on New Year’s Day.
4. Similarly, one should not get a hair cut near Chinese New Year, as it symbolizes cutting your life short.
5. Mandarin oranges are displayed and eaten, as they are a symbol of good luck.
6. Fish are also another sign of luck and fortune, which is why many New Year’s decorations involve fish. A fish dish is placed on the dinner table on New year’s Eve, but it is not eaten then. It is saved for New Year’s Day, so the “leftover” fortune from the old year can flow over to the new.
In the bottom right corner, you can see the fish dish, which is covered with plastic so it can be saved for later.
7. It is common to go to the bank to exchange old money for crisp, new bills. The money given in red envelopes is always brand new money.
8. The number 8 is always a lucky number in Chinese tradition! But avoid things in groups of four, especially when giving gifts, as the word for “four” in Chinese sounds similar to the word for “death.”
My beautiful grandparents getting ready to dole out some dough.
The Body Art
I realized I hadn’t ever done a body art piece specifically for Chinese New Year, and I was excited to give it a try. Henna is not traditionally used in Chinese culture. I saw this as an opportunity to blend boundaries, and create something with a new medium. Henna stains are a lovely deep red color, which pair well with the red and gold gilding I added. I used common images associated with Chinese culture and the holiday: plum blossoms, which are Taiwan’s national flower, and red lanterns. As it is the year of the dog, I placed the silhouette of a dog in the center of my hand. The arched pattern on the fingers is a common pattern seen in Chinese decoration and art.
I did my makeup to be a modernized version of traditional Chinese makeup. Historical artwork, and images from Chinese operas show women with pale faces, straight, soft brows, red and pink hues on their eyelids, cheeks, and temples, and small, red lips. Styles varied through dynasties.
I wanted some of the photos to feel like they were from an earlier time. I grew up in the United States, and I loved looking through my family’s photo albums from Taiwan, seeing my mother and grandparents in sepia and soft colors, my young grandmother in an elegant but western dress of the ‘50s. My much of my heritage is held in memories that others made long before I was born. My identity is a mix of Eastern and Western traditions, and they way they came together. Old photos and new celebrations. Hong bao with American bills. Dragon dances in Cleveland slush.
You may have seen images of beautiful henna-style body art done in white, silver, gold, or other colors. This technique is often referred to as “white henna,” and has gained popularity in both regions where henna is traditionally used, and in western societies. “White henna” is an interesting new twist on traditional henna. It’s great for formal looks in weddings or events, as well as casual summertime adornment.
What is “White Henna?”
“White henna” is not actually henna. The red-brown stain of traditional henna paste comes from the dye that occurs naturally in the leaves of the henna (lawsonia inermis) plant. To make traditional henna paste, the leaves are harvested, dried, ground, and sifted into a fine powder. This powder is mixed with a mildly acidic liquid, such as lemon juice, which releases the intermediary dye molecules which bind to keratin in skin, hair, and nails. This stain oxidizes from a bright orange to deep red and brown tones. The color stays in the surface layers of the skin until the skin cells shed, allowing the pattern to last a couple of weeks.
On the other hand, “white henna” is a style of body art that involves applying a product to the surface of the skin for a temporary, henna-like effect. It has been done with body paint, adhesives, homemade flour-based pastes, and—as a quick search on YouTube would reveal—acrylic paints, white-out, and other materials that are not safe for skin. Some “white henna” products on the market claim to “stain” the skin white, and may contain some kind of bleach. The problem with many “white henna” products or DIY techniques one might find online is that the product is not safe for use on skin, and/or does not stay for more than a few hours before cracking or washing off.
Although “white henna” has gained popularity in the past couple of years, Catherine Cartwright-Jones, PhD, began exploring “white henna” work in 2003. In 2012, Becoming Moonlight® Gilding Paste was developed through a collaboration between Catherine and her company, TapDancing Lizard® LLC, and Olena Wilshanetsky.
What is Becoming Moonlight® Gilding Paste?
Becoming Moonlight® Gilding Paste was the first product developed specifically for creating henna-like patterns on the skin. It is based on Pros-Aide medical adhesive. It is water resistant, flexible, and latex-free. It is not a paint nor a dye, but rather an adhesive paste that can be applied with a cone just as henna would. The paste dries after 5-10 minutes, and is tacky to the touch. The artist then seals the paste with any body art quality glitter or mica powder for the desired effect.
Pros-Aide adhesives were originally produced for medical use, but have been widely used by body artists to apply durable, colorful, and sparkling patterns to skin. Both the liquid and cream adhesives tend to dry flat, and transparent. Becoming Moonlight® worked directly with the manufacturers of Pros-Aide to create a skin-safe* adhesive specifically for body art use. Unlike the original Pros-Aide cream adhesive, Becoming Moonlight® gilding paste dries raised and opaque white, making glitters and powders “pop.” The formula is thicker, allowing it to be applied in thin lines and intricate patterns, the same way as traditional henna paste.
Setting the paste with white or pearlescent mica powder creates the classic “white henna” look. However, any color or combination of colors can be used over the paste. This makes it wonderfully versatile. The design stays in place for up to a week, depending on placement and aftercare. It can be easily removed with mineral oil or by rubbing sticky tape over the design.
Because Becoming Moonlight® gilding paste does not stain the skin, it is an ideal product for school children and workers whose dress codes would not allow them to have visible “tattoos.” The design can be worn for the desired period of time, and then removed prior to returning to school or work.
How to Use Becoming Moonlight® Gilding Paste
Mehandi.com sells Becoming Moonlight® gilding paste in both single-use cones and in 4oz jars. A single cone contains enough gilding paste to create several small patterns, or 1-2 large patterns, depending on intricacy. A 4oz jar contains enough paste to fill about twenty cones. Becoming Moonlight® offers body art quality glitters, mica powders, and gems in a large assortment of colors. You can also purchase pre-rolled cones, or mylar triangles to roll your own cones.
The following videos demonstrate how to roll mylar cones, and how to fill cones with Becoming Moonlight® gilding paste.
If you are familiar with applying traditional henna, applying gilding paste feels very similar. Simply snip the very tip of the cone, enough to draw thin lines. Clean the skin with isopropyl alcohol, and create the pattern. Allow the paste to become firm and tacky. Once the paste has set, apply your choice of Becoming Moonlight® gilding powders and glitters to seal the design, and dust off the excess.
Here’s a video tutorial for creating a simple but elegant Halloween look.
For more tutorials and patterns, visit www.becomingmoonlight.com and http://www.hennapage.com/henna/white_henna/index.htm
* Note: Those who are sensitive to adhesives, such as those ones used in bandages, should conduct a patch-test with Becoming Moonlight® gilding paste first.