Henna tattoo and khol

Henna or Hina is a flowering plant, Lawsonia inermis, used since antiquity to dye skin, hair, fingernails, leather and wool. The name is also used for dye preparations derived from the plant, and for the art of temporary tattooing based on those dyes. The name is also misused for other skin and hair dyes such as black henna or neutral henna which do not derive from the plant.

Khol has been worn traditionally as far back as the Bronze Age (3500 B.C. onward) by the Egyptian queens. It was originally used as protection against eye ailments. There was also a belief that darkening around the eyes would protect one from the harsh rays of the sun. India's oldest caste, the koli, used kohl as a cosmetic. In addition, mothers would apply khol to their infants' eyes soon after birth. Some did this to "strengthen the child's eyes", and others believed it could prevent the child from being cursed by the evil eye.

Nowadays the preparation of khol can be done in many ways. The danger is when in khol composition it is added lead or galena (PbS). A good and harmless khol is made from amorphous carbon. Plant oils and the soot from various nuts, seeds and gum resins are often added to the carbon powder.
Consumers should verify that any cosmetic product is lead free before usage.

My first henna experience was in Marrakech, in the famous square Djamaa El Fna. It costed me about 3 euro for a tattoo on my arm. Usually when you decide to make a tattoo they ask you the color you want. Me, I had to choose between black and red brown. So, I choosed black and it was a mistake to do this, because real henna has only red color. But this I was about to discover later on when my husband came home and saw my tattoo. So, be careful when you decide to have henna on your body, because chemicals added in some of henna products can harm your skin.
From my husband (who is Moroccan) I also found out that henna is a very good treatment for hair and women in Morocco use it a lot.

Khol is a make up product and it is very used in Morocco by women and men also. If it is natural khol recipe, it can help cleaning your eyes and protect them from sun. In desert, men use khol to protect their eyes from sand. So, khol can be very useful if it is prepared corectly.

The khol I bought from Morocco was a powder in a small glass bottle and next to it they gave me a small wood stick to use it as a tool to make up my eyes. The seller told me that I can buy dark black or lighter black khol. The lighter one, he said it is used only on Friday. Anyway, both colors look great for a make up. Even if it is a little bit difficult in the beginning to use that tool, if you practice few times it's easy.

When I first make up with khol, my eyes burnt a little and started to tear. This effect is normal considering the fact that this product is made to clean your eyes from dust. So no need to worry or to panic.

Khol can also be normal or picant. Picant khol has a stronger effect on your eyes. I wouldn't recommend it to a beginner.

Hmm....I think that's all about khol. If you know more, I invite you to post a comment and share your experience on this page.

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