The art of henna tattooing has exploded in recent years, but the craft still hasn’t caught up to the growing demand for the product.
“I was going to buy some spray paint, but when I got home I got a call from a friend who was looking to do a henna art tattoo,” said Jessica Kneibel, a tattoo artist in Florida who has been tattooing for 15 years.
“I asked her, ‘Do you have any henna tattoos?’
And she said, ‘Yes, I do.'”
Kneibels tattoos are all custom, with the tattoo artist choosing the colour of the ink that she wishes to paint on her body.
But what exactly is henna?
“Henna is a natural pigment that is extracted from the bark of certain trees, but it’s not a natural product,” she said.
“It’s a chemical compound that is found naturally in the environment.”
“I know a lot of people who are really into it, but I don’t,” said Kneibeels friend Emily Bowers, who also goes by the name Jenie Bowers.
“A lot of tattoo artists are really good about it, so it’s really cool.”
“Henna Tattooing” is a website that has more than 30 different designs to choose from, but Bowers said she’s had a lot requests for henna that she has made herself.
“I love it because it makes me feel like I’m having fun,” Bowers told CBC News.
“You can be yourself and be a creative artist.”
“It feels like you’re being an artist,” Kneibel added.
“For example, you could have a white henna on your arm or a red henna, but what if you could do something like a black henna or green henna?”
Kneibeel and Bowers say it’s all about personal taste, and their designs are a great way to show off their love for the art.
“The tattoos are really cool and I love them,” Bower said.
“A lot more people are into this, but if you’re not then I don