Hands-on henna

Making henna is like making a cake.

You can tweak the ingredients to change the product, said Kayla Mansfield, a local henna tattoo artist and founder of Kayla's Face Painting.

She has been doing henna tattoos for four years in Albuquerque, often at UNM.

"I didn't know how to make the henna at first, and my friend Pam, who is also a henna artist, taught me how to make it," Mansfield said. "She made me make my own batch."

Mansfield developed her mixture after familiarizing herself with how different ingredients affect the end result. Making the stain darker and longer-lasting is what most henna artists strive for, she said.

"You can use lemon juice, sugar and dextrose - which will make it more stringy, so it will go on the skin easier," she said. "I use henna, which is just a really fine powder, and the lemon juice and black tea, which will also make the stain last longer. I use essential oils. Some people use mustard oil, eucalyptus and lavender. I use lavender."

Mansfield said most people ask her to design something for their hands and feet because that's how it's done in India. Heat from hands and feet make for the darkest and longest-lasting stains, Mansfield said.

"The sun usually helps it get darker, and the other stuff that goes in it helps it get darker," she said. "I have been on YouTube, and the people who do this in India are amazing. I am just blown away by how detailed and fast they do it."

Mansfield said it's key to let the henna sit for about 12 hours and add heat.

"Then when you go back to it, you can use it," she said. "But the heat is the main ingredient."

Between birthday parties and weddings, Mansfield said her business generally picks up in the summer.

"Usually I get teenagers, but I have a variety of everyone who likes it, from little kids to older ladies," she said.