The best and most simple recipe for making henna paste is to simply add enough hot lemon juice to the henna powder with a little sugar, corn syrup or honey to make a gooey paste the consistency of tooth-paste, yogurt or cake frosting.
Some people like to get really complicated by adding "terps", (essential oils) to get really dark stains. Any good, fresh henna will give you a dark stain and no amount of "terps" is going to improve the staining power of poor quality or expired henna. For the novice, we recommend starting out simply with hot lemon juice and good quality henna. Henna should be a nice, bright, pea-green color.
1 loose, level tablespoon of henna powder to 2 1/4 teaspoons of lemon juice and a dash of sugar or 2 teaspoons of lemon juice plus 1/4 teaspoon of essential oil (such as eucalyptus oil) and a dash of sugar should yield enough henna paste to decorate both hands. This solid to liquid ratio produces a good consistency of paste.
I like to use the 1 tablespoon solid to 2 1/4 teaspoon liquid ratio and mix the paste in a small zip-lock baggie by kneading it. Less mess. Then I clip off a tiny portion of a corner of the baggie and pipe the paste into my applicators, or apply directly to skin right out of the bag (like decorating a cake with a pastry bag). If I'm making larger batches, a bowl and spatula is best. I mix it as best as I can and then knead the baggie. Then the paste is piped into the applicator(s) by snipping off a small portion of one corner of the baggie.
Household Hint: This works great for deviled eggs! Put the yolk "mash" into a baggie and then pipe it into the whites when ready to serve. :)
The henna paste should be sort of "stretchy"...that is, you can lift a spoon from the center of the glop and it won't break off from the spoon right away. If it does, and you haven't already added it, add a little sugar, honey or corn syrup to make it more gooey. You'll get better lines and it won't dry out and flake off the skin faster than you want it to.
Dye Release Time
Now it's time to let the paste "rest" so that the henna has time to begin the process of releasing dye. This, depending on the temperature and the henna itself, can take anywhere from an hour to over night. A good way of telling whether or not the henna is releasing dye is to leave the baggie that it's in on top of a paper towel. When you notice a stain on the paper towel, you know it's releasing dye and can then be used for body art.
Storing the Paste
If you won't be using it right away, after it starts to release dye, you can store your henna paste in the refrigerator for 2-3 days or in the freezer for several months.
