What Are the Differences Between Mehndi and Henna Hand Designs

From time immemorial, human beings have always loved to display a bit of art on their bodies. From the permanent arts like tattoos to the henna and mehndi designs that last for some days to weeks before fading away. These body arts all have their various significances.

The henna and mehndi body art however, are quite special. They are temporal body arts, drawn mostly on the hand. These designs are mostly for religious, cultural and festive purposes. They require a lot of skill to draw. The material from which both designs are made is the henna plant (Lawsonia inermis). The plant leaves are dried ground into a paste, mixed with some other additives to get the henna dye used for the design.

While both the mehndi and henna hand designs are forms of body art, they differ distinctly. The henna design is traditionally of Middle East and North African origin, while the mehndi art is from ancient India. Follow me as I explore more differences between the two hand designs.

1. Difference in complexity and details

While both the henna and mehndi hand designs seem quite complex to the eye, especially if you are just getting to see one for the first time, they differ both in complexity and details. Henna designs are generally less detailed and not as complex as the mehndi art. The shapes used, symmetries and dimensions employed in drawing the mehndi hand designs are just way above that used in the henna design. That notwithstanding, both designs come out very beautiful in the end.

2. Difference in space required for the designs

Both the mehndi and henna designs are mostly drawn on the hand, mainly by women, although men and children do too. The difference however, lies in the portion of the hand needed to draw the designs.

Henna designs tend to take less space than the mehndi art, covering only about 50%-65% of the hand. It does not cover the whole hand, as opposed to the mehndi which covers about 85% of the hand, and in some cases could extend nearly towards the elbows.

So when you see a hand design that barely leaves any exposed skin, you can easily tell which one it is.

3. The design difference

Many people barely take notice of the details of the design drawn in a mehndi or henna art; they just know it appears beautiful. However, there are differences to the designs employed in both hand designs.

Henna designs employ mainly floral patterns and designs while mehndi designs feature paisley, lacy designs, as well as floral patterns. In addition, motifs like human figures and animals, especially peacocks, could be used. This all contributes in making the mehndi design more complex than the henna.

4. The size and spacing of the designs

Henna designs are usually bigger and wider spaced than the mehndi. Henna art comprises mainly of big shapes and wide spaces, with bigger geometric shapes incorporated in the design. Solid dots and lines are also common, with large empty spaces not being scarce too.

Eid mehndi designs on the other hand are barely even spaced, consisting of very intricate designs. Usually, small shapes are used in this art, and when big bold shapes are used instead, they are filled with little patterns, as opposed to the solid dots and colors of the henna design.

Whatever the differences to these two hand designs, one thing is certain; they produce very beautiful outcomes when done rightly. Today some people are even going ahead to incorporate features of the henna design into the mehndi style, further improving the aesthetic design and complexity of their body art.

The choice is yours, you can go for whichever one appeals to you, or a combination of the two. The above differences should help you choose the one you feel should be better for you.