Temporary Tattoos have been a rising trend in the past few years. You can find them in almost any drugstore. If for some reason you cannot find them in your hometown, contact one of the distributors. The World Wide Web is also a great resource for all kinds of temporary body art. Most of it can be ordered on-line. Sometimes the site will list local stores that buy its products.

What exactly is a temporary tattoo? It is really just an image printed on a piece of waxed paper that can be sort of glued to the skin. Usually the skin is dampened and the backing is pulled off of the image. The it is pressed onto the skin for a few minutes, with gentle pressure from a wet washcloth or paper towel. Then the second backing is removed from the image and voila! Usually temporary tattoos last for a few days to a week, even though the packages tend to say they last from ten days to two weeks. Temporary tattoos come in a shapes, sizes, colors, and designs. The motifs are limitless. There are butterflies, lizards, abstract designs, cats, dogs, cartoon characters, words like “love” or “peace” in bubble letters, astrological symbols, and lots more. If you cannot find what you are looking for at your local store, you can probably find it on the web.

The cool thing about temporary tattoos, like mehndi, is that you can keep changing your mind about them. Teenagers tend to get into zillions of styles and ideas all in a short period of time. If you do not know who you are yet, how can you know if there even exists a form of permanent adornment that expresses your true self? Temporary body art saves you from having to make a long-term commitment to your current personality.

Bindis have exploded in popularity over the last few years as well. As explained in an earlier chapter, they come from Hindu culture. They are worn in the center of the forehead, between the eyebrows. This area is known as the forehead, between the eyebrows. Bindis have a sticky backing so that they say on your face, and come in all colors and shapes.

Bindis made in India for traditional wearers are now available in the United States. Sometimes they are made from felt and have a rhinestone. More contemporary bindis are shaped like hearts and bolts of lightning.

Finally, what about instant mehndi? Even though this website has talked about remaking tradition the artistic and arduous way, we will offer some options for mehndi straight from the bottle. There are lots of instant mehndi Web Sites. Many of them offer colored henna. Instant henna comes in bottles with stencils, and is sometimes affixed to paper, like the temporary tattoos just described. Just be careful. All of the instant henna products are likely to contain additives. They are not healing to the skin like natural henna. But if you are going out tonight and you want to look cool with some funky body art, instant tattooing is the way to go.

Although body art has been booming for almost a decade, the thrill of it does not seem to be wearing out at all. In fact, a trip to the local drugstore proves that it is getting hotter and hotter. If you have been thinking about a real, lifelong tattoo, consider testing the waters with temporary body art. (Permanent tattoos are illegal for kids under eighteen without parental consent, anyway.) Remember that as many times as you have changed your mind about what you want to eat for lunch or how much you like your boyfriend or girlfriend, you are likely to change your mind about adorning your body. Mehndi and other temporary body arts celebrate your soul and give your body the freedom to try on new personalities everyday.

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The number five is assigned great significance in Moroccan and Arabic culture. Recitation of the words “five in your eye” (khamsa fi Ainek) is thought to metaphorically poke fingers into the evil eye and control it. Saying the word “five” in front of people is taken as an insult because it is viewed as an accusation of wrongdoing. Khamsas, or symbols representing the number five, are hung on doors to protect homes from bad spirits.

Animals are depicted in Moroccan mehndi, often as symbols of protection. The snake represents fertility. The scorpion is drawn very realistically in Morocco and symbolizes protection very realistically in Morocco and symbolizes protection rather than romance, as it does in India. Of course, as you experiment with your own designs, they will take on new meanings!

When Loretta Roome began her research into mehndi practiced in northern Africa and India, she was disheartened to find that many of the artists were out of touch with the symbolism of mehndi. She even found that many women considered it old-fashioned and unimportant. When she asked about the symbolism of particular designs, many artists told her that they had no meaning. This may be connected to the technological revolution and the fast pace of life today. It is precisely because of the increasingly fast pace of our lives that mehndi should be used in the ancient and meditative way it was intended. Mehndi can be a path to knowledge of Self in the midst of the glut of information we are bombarded with every day. Keeping up with e-mail, television, phone calls, faxes, and school work can be overwhelming. That is why yoga and other stress-reducing practices are becoming so popular. The more life speeds up, the more we need to stop, slow down, and give our bodies and minds a rest. Learning the art of mehndi or going out and getting painted by another artist is a meditative practice you can use to relax and remember who you are. New mehndi looks a little different than traditional mehndi, and it takes on a slightly new role in our very new world. Make it yours and use it well.

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