Trance Caravan Henna Artistry

Upcoming Events

2009-03-19T18:00:00.039-06:00

Friday, August 20th, 6 pm - 9 pm
Uniquely Natural Healing Arts & Gifts - Art Night

Look for my Red Tent in front of 409 B South Public Road, Lafayette, CO

Saturday, August 21st, 9am - 4pm
Uniquely Natural Healing Arts & Gifts - Lafayette Peach Festival

Look for my Red Tent in front of 409 B South Public Road, Lafayette, CO

Vintage sandals

2010-06-24T00:13:00.000-06:00

Skeksis Henna

2009-12-07T21:18:00.001-07:00

Inspiration can come from strange places. Such as "The World of The Dark Crystal" book...

When single shines the triple sun, what was sundered and undone, shall be whole, the two made one. By gelfling hand or else by none!

Frequently Asked Questions

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Does it hurt?

No! At most it will tickle while being drawn. Henna is non-invasive and applied to the surface of your skin, where it will stain only the uppermost layers of your skin cells. Unlike tattoos using needles, the skin barrier is never broken when applying henna.

Is henna permanent?

No! The skin cells that are stained by henna will naturally exfoliate, and your skin returns to normal within a few days to as long as six weeks. There are no permanent side effects from using safe natural red Henna. But, “black” henna CAN hurt you. There’s no such thing as naturally occurring black henna, it has had para-phenylenediamine added to create fast black stains.

How long does it last?

Several factors influence the lifespan of a henna design. The first is placement on the body. Thick, calloused skin, like the palms of hands or soles of feet, are the best locations for henna. With proper care, designs on these areas can last 4-6 weeks, and be very dark. One reason for this is that calloused skin grows out more slowly than the skin on your face. Facial henna lasts one week if you are lucky, and does not usually get very dark. A henna design placed anywhere on your torso is not likely to last more than a week.

How dark will it get?

Just like the lifespan of your design, several things can influence the color as well. Moisture, acidity, time and heat are all ways to force the henna to release as much stain as possible into your skin. After the henna paste has been removed, the pattern will probably be bright orange, and darken over the next couple of days. Then, as your skin grows out, it will start to lighten. Again, proper care can help keep it darker longer.

What about colors? Can I get purple henna?

Any color like black, blue, green or purple is accomplished by adding dye to henna paste. We will not use colored henna, as the dye may cause skin reactions in some people. For some extra color (after the henna design has fully dried) we can add some safe, non-toxic glitter powder, gilding or glitter glue over the finished design. These will come off when the henna paste is removed and will not stain your skin at all.

What is henna made of?
Henna is a plant (lawsonia inermis) that grows throughout the Middle East and India, and various other places. The leaves of the henna plant are harvested and ground to a fine green powder. This powder is mixed with lemon juice, honey and essential oils to form a thin paste which is then applied to the skin.

Beautiful Feet

2009-06-09T17:29:00.007-06:00

I decided to make some new galleries, according to body parts. This one is for feet! Remember, unless otherwise noted, these images are property of Trance Caravan Henna. Any usage on other websites or profiles must include a link to this website!

Lotus design based on bridesmaid dress! Wish I had taken a photo of the dress, too.

Why wear sandals when you can wear henna? Especially when you can add glitter to it?

Hennaing your own feet is a challenge. I just stick to my toes so that I have less chance of smearing the wet henna paste. This photo was taken an hour or so after I removed the paste, so it could darken a bunch more...

More images to come...

Pregnancy Henna

2009-07-11T16:14:00.003-06:00

Many women choose to celebrate the birth of a child with a belly henna. This can safely be performed at any time during the pregnancy, as our henna recipe for this changes slightly to remove the essential oils.

The skin of bellies in late stages of pregnancy it stretched so thin that henna doesn't tend to stain very dark, but the effect is still quite beautiful.

Anne, 38 weeks. A lily, lotus and pansy design.

More images to come as we create them...

Galleries

2009-03-23T22:11:00.004-06:00

Instead of one big gallery, you can choose from these smaller ones! More galleries will be added as images become available. All images are property of Trance Caravan unless otherwise noted.

Beautiful Feet

Uniquely Natural

Afshan's Wedding Mehndi

More to come!

Contact Information

2009-01-10T15:51:00.004-07:00

We are available for appointments in Boulder County and North Denver, schedule permitting. Since we are currently only a dynamic duo of henna artists, we may already be booked the night of your event. We are generally NOT available for same day appointments, as making henna paste takes more than 12 hours. Please plan ahead!

Our preferred contact method is email at anachronista (at) gmail.com
Please include the time and date of your event, and roughly how many people we'll be hennaing. Add any other information you think will be necessary. If we are already booked that day, or for some reason cannot accommodate you, we'll email you a link to a list of other local henna artists that may be able to help.

If you wish to phone us: (303)641-0477
(please, no calls earlier than 10am or later than 9pm, this is my personal cell phone)

If I do not answer, you'll hear "You have reached Carrie at Red Veil". Please leave your name, number and best time to reach you. I try to return calls within a few hours, but sometimes it can be up to 24 hours over a busy weekend, or if we are away at an event elsewhere. Holiday weekends are an especially unlikely time to catch me on the phone as well.

Local Henna Artists

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Many times our artists are not able to accommodate clients because we're already booked, or possibly even out of town at another event or festival. Wish we could be everywhere at once!

Here are other local artists and businesses that offer henna. None of them have any affiliation to Trance Caravan, or to our artists. We've personally checked their websites to insure quality work, however. We'll be adding more as we find new artists as well. Remember, everyone's rates and availability are different. Good luck in your search!

Boulder
Enchanted Ink
Face Fiesta

Golden/Evergreen
Evergreen Tribal Arts

Denver
Ananda Henna
Anita Bohrer
The Blue Door
Jessica Wheeler
Henna by Jewels
Hummingbird Henna Design
Kanti Mehndi
Vox Henna

Aurora
Ginger's House of Mehndi

Colorado Springs
Jessica Wheeler
Rocky Mountain Henna

Are you a Colorado henna artist that would like your link here? Email anachronista (at) gmail.com with your website address and information for review. Thank you!

Uniquely Natural Gallery

2009-03-21T23:02:00.007-06:00

This beautiful blue glitter mehndi was created at Uniquely Natural, a growing Co-op in Lafayette, Colorado. We offer henna (for a small fee of course!) the first Friday evening of every month, in the consultation room. Each time a different local artist shows their work in the main room, and you can also get a massage, a tarot reading or browse the handcrafted, natural, beautiful gifts.

The next henna is of Heather's hand, a day or so after she removed the henna paste. Last I saw it it still had glitter on it, but I missed getting a photo...

Spring has arrived! Time to wear henna sandals!

More photos from Uniquely Natural will be posted here, as I take them, or they get sent to me.

Afshan's Wedding Mehndi

2009-03-23T22:15:00.005-06:00

A wedding is a special time, and requires very special mehndi. This beautiful design took two sessions to complete, one the night before the wedding, and the second the morning of the wedding.

First the whole design was applied, which was then wrapped with paper so she could sleep overnight with the paste on. Doing this makes a darker stain than scraping it off before sleeping.

The morning of the wedding, more henna was applied to further darken some areas, and allow the red glitter to stick better.

This is the finished mehndi, with gold gilding and red glitter. It matches her dress perfectly!

The second two photos were taken by Greg Harring, an amazing photographer.

Links and Resources

2009-02-21T23:53:00.012-07:00

We've gathered a few references and recommendations below. Affiliate links are clearly marked so that you'll know when you spend money at those sites, a commission or portion is paid to the artists of Trance Caravan. This also helps to offset hosting costs for this site and it doesn't add any extra to your purchase price. Please consider shopping with our affiliate partner stores for your henna needs.

Most affiliate links point to the Trance Caravan Store on Amazon

General Reference:

The Henna Page - the best, biggest, most informative site about Henna. If you can't find it here, it doesn't exist. There's tons of free instructional and design PDFs, books for sale, and cultural, scientific and social research. In fact, just go directly to their Freebies and start downloading.
WikiPedia's entry about Henna. If you are curious to see what a henna plant looks like, this has good photos.
What color will your henna stain be? This handy stain chart on the Henna Page will help.
Henna your Hair! Everyone always asks about my long red hair. It is very healthy and happy since I made the switch away from boxed chemical hair dyes. Did you know that many brown, black and red hair dye in stores and salons contains the exact same dye that is found in Black Henna? Bad stuff.
The Encyclopedia of Henna on HennaPage.com is a great place to get totally lost in the histories and cultures of the world.

Suppliers:

ONLY suppliers whose products have been personally tried and tested by us, will be recommended by us.

Henna Powder - we are currently using Mehandi.com's 2008 Jamila Crop. It's wonderful! Scroll down past the photo and you can order a sample for a whole dollar.
The essential oil blend that is mixed with this henna power is called Serious Terps. The combination of Tea Tree, Cardamom, and Clove Bud oil is by far the best stainbooster we've ever tried. It's very pungent, but harmless on the skin.
Good design books are important. Henna the Joyous Body Art (**affiliate link!**) was one of the first and is still one of the best. There are some very complicated designs in this vast collection, and it can overwhelm beginners to henna art.

About Us

2009-01-27T21:32:00.003-07:00

After Red Veil Mehndi closed in 2002, all of the artists went their separate ways, some to continue the art of henna in new locations. Trance Caravan is currently two artists from Red Veil, reunited in Boulder, Colorado.

We have many years of experience in art, design and and creativity beyond that which is ‘just henna related’. We have many, many books of reference art and design to choose ideas from, just let us know what style of art you are looking for. Plus for all the sparkle junkies out there, we are now offering glitter and crystals to enhance our henna work!

If you are a talented, confident henna artist in the Colorado area, I invite you to contact us. It's always good to have others to call for help with too-large events.

Past Events

2009-01-27T22:40:00.006-07:00

Saturday, March 21st, 2009 - Sevya Fair Trade party at Uniquely Natural Healing Arts & Gifts

Sevya products are hand-crafted by artisans in India using the finest natural materials, dyes, and fibers. Profits are given to the All India Movement for Sevya, who uses the funding for schools, hospitals, micro-finance programs, and environmental restoration projects.

Friday, March 20, 2009 - Shangri La Boheme at Studio Soma

Quite a creative group of artists appeared for the first Shangri La Boheme at Studio Soma in Denver. The ambiance and music were great! Sorry we got glitter all over your dance floor...

February 6th, 2009 - Grand Opening of Uniquely Natural

Friday night was exciting at the new co-op in Lafayette, Colorado, with Willow Arlenea as the first artist to be showcased. In addition to the main area, Uniquely Natural has two rooms for consultation and massage.

I was hard to find in the small consultation room where I was doing henna, but next month I should have better signs to guide the way. I plan on being there the first Friday evening of every month, as they will be having monthly artist openings throughout the year. Come get some henna and check out the amazing natural and local products!

May 3 - 4, 2008 - 3rd Annual Rocky Mountain Tribal Soirée

On Saturday, the doors opened 6:00, and the show began at 7pm, with open dancing following the performances. There was live music by Kara Nomadica and plenty of vendors.

The workshops happened Saturday AND Sunday:

Saturday 2-4PM: Shake Your Shimmy-Maker with TribalTique!

Sunday 12:30- 2:30PM: Isolation & Layering Drills & Combos With Steven Eggers!

Sunday 3- 5PM: Sharp & Aggressive Pops ‘n’ Locks, Smooth Transitions With Frank Farinaro (seen below)

Rates and Services

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We do not accept debit or credit cards for henna body art services, and likely never will. Cash is our preferred method of payment, but we accept personal or business checks on a case by case basis, for hourly appointments.

Hourly Appointment Rate:

Our rates start at $60 per artist, per hour. Rates can range as high as $75 per hour, depending on accessories and/or props needed. There is a one hour minimum, with additional time being charged in 15 minute increments. You must book at least one week in advance, though two is preferred. We may require a 10-25% *deposit to book certain dates, like holiday weekends. *Deposits, if you cancel the event, are non-refundable.

Sadly, due to higher transportation costs, there will be an additional travel charge (starting at $10) for areas outside Boulder County.

Weekends and evening appointments fill up quickly over the summer, so if you are planning on henna artists for your event, please do not wait until the last minute to make arrangements.

When contacting us for a booking, please tell us as much about your event as possible. We'll need to know the general size and duration of your event and how many people (approximately) you foresee wanting to get hennaed. Will they want a few large complex henna designs or many smaller ones? Will there be children there, or family pets? Is it outdoors? Will we need to bring our own tables, lights or tent? Anything else at all you think important, ask!

Please note that the number of artists and amount of time that we recommend for your event is based on the amount of people who will be hennaed and the relative complexity of the designs required. All that other information helps us determine what else to bring to make everyone more comfortable.

Per-Piece Rate:

If you are looking for ‘per-piece’ charges instead of hourly, you can try and catch us by attending some of our Upcoming Events. Cash only please, as we do not accept checks, debit or credit cards at public events.

We have a huge festival book full of designs that start at $5 for simple ones, and many fall in the $10 - $20 range. These prices are only in affect at public festivals, fairs or appearances. You cannot hire us to come to your house for one $10 design. Get a bunch of friends together and chip in for a henna party!

If you wish to book us for your event, or if you have any further questions, please contact Carrie at anachronista @ gmail.com or call (303)641-0477 and leave a detailed message if I do not pick up right away. I do my best to return calls on the same day, but it can be 24 hours if you call while we are working at an event.

These prices are subject to change without notice, and we reserve the right to refuse appointments. If we are not able to accommodate you, we will do our best to help you find an alternative artist for your needs.

Fairs and Festivals

2009-01-27T21:39:00.003-07:00

Art festivals, cultural fairs, music and dance festivals are a great place to offer henna body art! We are seeking such gatherings where we can set up our tent, rugs and pillows to create an exotic oasis of natural beauty.

If you know of or are involved in an event that needs henna artists, please contact us with the details. Remember to plan ahead, as we tend to book up quickly on weekends!

Adventures in Henna

2009-01-27T20:47:00.000-07:00

I’ve always liked those old faded photos from far-off lands. Maybe it was the dark, grainy lines and blown out white areas. The contrast made everything look so much more exciting, like an adventure was just about to happen.

Henna Artistry

2008-01-27T12:24:00.000-07:00

Ever thought of hiring Henna Artists for your party or event? We may be able to help. We have many years of henna artistry to draw upon, and have been involved in large scale event entertainment with Red Veil Mehndi.

Our rates start at $75 hourly with a minimum of one hour. Travel costs may be added. Please book at least two weeks in advance. Summer is our busy season, and some dates are reserved months in advance.