Getting Inked || Henna Tales.

Henna or Laali as most people call it is majorly used by the hausas and muslims for beautification of their body and also sometimes as a part of their marriage celebrations.
I’ve always thought it a really lovely thing but I never had an interest in getting one done on myself because of how elaborate most of the designs are. That was till I saw the creative, minimal and out of the box way Bubu of IamIsigo utilized hers to make a fashion statement at the last Lagos fashion and design week.
You know that moment when you see something and wonder why in the world you never thought about it? Yess! (Happened to me also with the bandana neck scarf trend I talked about here)
I wonder if she got the inspiration from somewhere else or if the idea just popped into her head. Either ways, I thought it was absolutely genius and I just wanted to get inked myself.

I set out to find a henna place to fulfill my fantasies but I couldn’t find anywhere (or maybe I didn’t put in so much effort) – I found someone on twitter who said 5k or so and there’s also thehennaplace on Instagram but I didn’t want to bother asking because I know how these Island people behave with their prices, and so I let it go for a while.

When my friend Banke proposed the idea of we both having a ‘Henna date’ to me again recently, I decided to actively search for somewhere to get it done and that was how I came across a facebook page which led me to my new henna artist Dami.
We called her up and a date was set – She did a great job but the only downside was having to go way further than we originally anticipated from the address she gave us.
Luckily she does home calls (which we found out about later), and I’ll share her details/pricing at the end of the post.

I didn’t really think about what exactly I wanted done before heading there. I just knew that I wanted something minimal with a lot of straight lines and that I wanted it on my neck, wrist/fingers and ankle.
I was basically making up the designs there and then so I messed up the ones on my right hand – I think it looks like a child’s play. Lol
The one on my ankle is Arabic for love.

My advice will be for you to have a clear picture of what you want because once you’re inked, it can’t be erased again till it eventually wears off by itself a few days – a week later.

I’ve been getting quite a lot of stares and people have decided to use it as a conversation starter ( Its no longer  ‘wow you’re tall’ *sigh* ).
I think its a really good way to live out your tattoo fantasies without having to commit to it being permanent.

I did a little digging/study and found out that Henna is actually the name of the plant where the dye is gotten from as well as the art of temporary body staining using the dye. The dye can also be used for the hair as well.
I can foresee it becoming a fashion trend soon. Lol. That’s if it isn’t already.

P.S – 
The henna lady’s contact :
DAMI || 08092288057 || 29 Ejire street, off  Itire, Surulere. I paid 1k for everything.

P.P.S – 
– The raffia hat trend.
– Weekend Bits and Things.
– 7Style Tips for every lady.
– On choosing happiness.
– Style || Work Chic.