Frequently Asked Questions: Oils and Terps

I have a bottle of "..." Mehndi Oil. Will it darken my stain?

The entire Mehandi, Mehendi or Mehndi Oil thing is really interesting. No two such oils are alike. They are always a mixture of various oils that can present a problem when containing ingredients that are not listed on the bottle. Most are pretty harmless. But not knowing what is in it is tricky. I have yet to find one that enhances henna stains. Some of it smells really good. Some of it burns your nose. So you never know what you have with something called Mehandi Oil.

If you have some and like using it, just store it away for a purpose other than stain enhancement. Oils can really last a very long time if kept in a dark cool place. If yours still has a scent, it can probably be used to add fragrance to something. However, it will not now or probably ever effect the staining capabilities of henna.

You have a minimum order for your essential oils. Does that mean I can't buy just one bottle of cajeput from you?

I sell small quantities of the terps to henna artists. The large quantities are more for soap-making people and people really into aromatherapy. I have Cajeput, Tea Tree and Eucalyptus (Globius) oils available in 15 ml and 30 ml quantities. Let me know which one you are interested in, and in what amount. You may want to start out with 15 ml (1/2 oz) or an ounce (30 ml) to see what terp works best for you. But later you will find it much more cost-effective to get a larger bottle and keep it in the refrigerator or some other dark cool place. At least that was my experience... especially when trying new powders, recipes and processes. Also, I would suggest that you start with only 15 to 20 drops of terp per 2 tablespoons of henna powder. That is sufficient. To add more would not change the results.

I have found that people who were experiencing the most problems with terps and their pastes in the past were using a lot of different essential oils for fragrance as well as the terps and getting either an oily mess or an oily mess and a strange consistency for their paste. Too much oil can cause bleeding of the design and feathering of the oils into the lines of the skin. It is important to identify the "terp" that works best for you with your henna powder. It is important to differentiate between oils that work as terps and those added just for fragrance to the henna paste. Recognizing the roles the oils that you are adding play in your paste will cause you to use them more economically.

I keep hearing about terps...what do they do?

Terps is short language for a group of essential oils that help to deepen and darken the stains produced by henna powder.

If you are using eucalyptus oil, make sure it is eucalyptus (globius). That is the only eucalyptus oil that I have seen act as a terp. The rest (and there are at least 400 different eucs) do not produce for you with henna. Clove is not a terp. It is commonly used with lemon juice for the smell and it is sometimes believed that it can darken the stain. It does not actually have much effect at all on the stain. If you have a really good and fresh henna powder, you will not notice the addition of clove at all. It can also tend to lead your stain to brown. Not really dark brown but will turn a more reddish stain into a more brownish red... just a bit. But the smell is lovely... especially when mixed with lemon. But be careful with the things you include in your henna powder. Some people have sensitivity to things like cloves, black pepper and some of the essential oils.

The terps that will produce for you are cajeput, ravensara, eucalyptus (globius) and tea tree. Lavendar can also get the job done but is sometimes a bit more expensive. Lavender is the safest terp to use on children or if you think a person may have a sensitivity to the rest.

I was told that terps make henna stain so fast any mistake will show up. Is that what happens?

The statement some people make sometimes concerning not being able to make a mistake with terped pastes because of the fast staining can't really be generalized to all henna powders. There are some powders, like KIMIA, that stain extremely fast. If you make an error with KIMIA, you have to correct it rather quickly. However, there is time to straighten a line and such if you do it right away. With KIMIA, I would not wait until the entire design is complete and them make my corrections. With most terped pastes you have plenty of time to do so. How fast the paste stains appears to me to have more to do with the individual henna powder, rather than with the terps. It is the nature of the henna powder to stain fast or not. The terp seems to have more to do with the intensity of the stain but cannot really change the nature of a henna powder.

Ultimately, what has been found about the terps is that they are a wonderful ingredient to use in your henna paste to "nuke" your stains darker. The temperature seems to influence the speed with which any henna paste stains... terped or not terped. Temperature also impacts the intensity of the stain. The more heat the more rapid and intense the stain. Better stains in the summer than in winter. So there are a number of things that can be used or done to manipulate the staining capacity of a henna powder. The terps are just one.

Can I use fragrance oils to substitute for the essential oils in my henna powder?

First, lets define what we mean by the term "fragrance oils." Many people define fragrance oils as purely synthetic oils. It can be hard to tell exactly what is in some of those "fragrance oils." Could be anything from petrol to dry cleaning fluid. Some people use interchangeably the word "fragrance oil" when they are talking about any sort of oil mixtures sold for soapmaking by hobbyist and for candlemaking by hobbyist. Most serious soap makers use only pure undiluted essential oils in their soaps. But, it is easy to get the various ways fragrance oils are defined and used confused. So for the purpose of responding to this question, I will speak of only of one sort of "fragrance oil" and define it as an "essential blend." An essential blend would be a mixture of any pure and undiluted essential oil or oils with a carrier oil like grapeseed oil, almond oil or jojoba oil. So in that narrow definition, this is my thinking about substituting these fragranced oils.

If you want to use the oils as "terps" you will need to use pure undiluted essential oils. If, however, you are using oils to alter the smell of your henna paste, there is absolutely no reason that you cannot use a fragrance oil of your choice. Many of the essential oils people want to use just for the fragrance are extremely expensive. The fragrance oils are far less expensive and for the purpose of adding a lovely smell to your henna paste or to rub over your henna stain at paste removal, a fragrance oil serves the purpose very well.

If you want to add the fragrance oil in your paste to change the smell, you will need to be careful with how much you add. The oil base of the fragrance oils will change the texture of your henna paste. Too much oil in your paste can cause the stain to "feather" and "bleed." So if you can find the right balance between obtaining the aroma you desire and keeping the paste at the correct consistency using the fragrance oils, you will save yourself a lot of money and get the exact same outcome.

You will need to identify the carrier oil in your fragrance oil. Just ask the seller. They should know. What you will want to avoid is a carrier oil such as "almond" or another nut based oil if you are using your paste on the public. Always avoid anything with nuts in it when using your paste on the public. Too many people have allergic reactions to nut products for it to be safe to have any nut based products in your paste.

Other than finding the correct amount to use and not using a nut based carrier oil, you should feel free to select your favorite fragrance oil and use it in your paste while saving money and also enhancing the aroma of your henna paste.

Fragrance oil or essential oil decisions actually should be made depending upon your purpose and desired outcome. There is no reason to pay the cost of an essential oil when a fragrance oil will do the job. There is excuse to short cut and use a fragrance oil when an essential oil is required.

In henna paste…just to improve the smell…your favorite fragrance oil will work for you quite well when used sparingly.

What is a "reinforced" henna powder?

The reinforced powders are powders that already contains an agent that serves as a terp. You can tell by the smell. The darker color is rather unique to the reinforced powders. But some powders from Pakistan are nearly as dark though unterped.

The henna powders that have been "reinforced" are 100% natural and pure henna powders + terp. You should always know what your henna powder is "reinforced" with. Some henna powders that are reinforced have been reinforced with citric acid and terpineol. Critic acid makes your addition of lemon juice not necessary. And terpineol makes the addition of a terp unnecessary. Our "reinforced" henna powders have citric acid added only to serve as a preservative. So, lemon juice may still be added to your recipe. It is also perfectly safe to add more of your favorite terp to your recipe, if you desire. I add an additional 3 drops of cajeput (per heaping tablespoon) to just to push it a bit more...and maybe just because I just love adding the cajeput to my pastes...needed or not.

Do you use terps? If so, what one do you like the most?

I do use terps about 75% of the time...that is because about 25% of the time I am testing henna powders without adding terps. I never use them when testing henna powders initially. But I love the smell of henna powder, lemon and cajeput. So that has something to do with why I use cajeput exclusively and tend to use it a lot...LOL!! When making paste for myself and to use on customers, family and friends, I terp 100% of the time.

I don't like long lingering designs. I want a design to come and a design to go. So the terps really help that out for me. I had a stain once that lasted at least 7 weeks. I could not pray that stain away. And when you want a fresh design and are left with a lingering fading stain... well, it effects my mood... lol!!! But really, because I test so many henna powders, the terps' haste of the demise of the stain allows me to get through the tests more rapidly. You will be surprised how fast you can run out of skin with henna and want to do a new design but have no place to put it. People however who are buying a design from you tend to want it to last as long as possible. I have found that the two weeks that terped stains last is usually quite satisfactory to customers who pay for a design. But try terped and nonterped pastes. Try them on different body parts to see which powder does what you want it to do in that area. See which one gives you the color you want and handles the way you want your paste to handle. Just have some fun with it all.

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