Picky Picky

OOO, she wants that blue crinkly moon so bad!


I'm a picker.

I see something, and think, "What's that??" and then I pick at it 'til I figure out what it is or it goes away (and sometimes, if I find a sticky spot on my hand, I will lick it. Unwise, I realize, but I have only had one bad experience with this technique).

For the belly dancing concert, I went out on a limb and decided to get some henna art done. It's not permanent, you know (Yeah, yeah, yeah... I can hear you thinking, "Just add another two Ts, two Os, and take out the R, rearrange the whole lot, and you have 'Tattoo'!"). I figured it would just rub off in a day or two, no biggie. Kinda like I am a giant dry erase board (and I am white enough that the comparison is justifiable.). And for those of you who know me, you know I can't stand having anything "unnatural" on my body (yes, yes, I know henna is all-natural, but I wasn't born with it, so it isn't natural for me). Any nail polish on my body has to be as far away from my hands as possible, hence why I only apply it to my toes.

So, I wandered through some web pages about removing henna. It went something like this:

Henna Removal: 23 Tried and True Methods


(1)Too bad, you are stuck with it until it fades.


(2)However, if you feel like (3)killing a few hours and(4) few gallons of water, (5)hydrogen peroxide, and (6)olive oil (not to mention your weight in (7)salt), be our guest. Be sure to (8-23)scrub REALLY hard, and your skin will become the same exact shade as the henna. Good luck, sucka!

I totally ignored the first step. All the other steps seemed worth a shot. So, I gingerly soaked my feet in salty water with anti-bacterial soap (an additional step not included on that particular website) and took our green dish scrubby and went to town.

*SCRUB SCRUB SCRUB*

"Hmm..." I mused. "I need more salt."

*SCRUB SCRUB SCRUB*

"Hey, I think it's coming off!"

*SCRUB SCRUB SCRUB SCRUB SCRUB*

Seriously, Sharpie has nothing on henna...

At this point it was starting to hurt, so I gave my toes a break and started on my belly. (Honestly, I don't know what possessed me to get a henna design on my tummy. Maybe latent teenage rebellion? The world may never know...)

*SCRUB SCRUB SCRUB*

"Hmmm..."

*SCRUBSCRUBSCRUBSCRUBSCRUB*

Apparently the skin on my belly has no relation to the skin on my feet. I used to think they were all part of the same family, but maybe they are just distant cousins.

I then rubbed olive oil over my now-raw skin and sojourned to the bathroom, where I decided that, since I didn't have any in liquid form, my teeth whitening hydrogen peroxide gel would surely do something for my henna. I think all it did was foam a little and then make my belly smell like peppermint.

"Hmm..."

Then the brightest idea of them all: I got into a very hot shower and took a washcloth to my protesting, red skin.

It worked!

Sorta.

I think all I did was rub off about 14 layers of skin.

I then topped my henna salad with some lemon body butter, which caused a pleasant warm sensation for about .02 seconds and then proceeded to burn.

I figure if I do exactly what I did today for the next couple of days, I will have eaten a hole in my stomach and completely removed my toes. But, hey! At least the henna will be gone!

Comments

The Mrs. said…
Ok, I just almost cried laughing! Please post pictures! PLEASE!!!
Unknown said…
As your henna artist....

It will have to fade. Sorry!
To speed it up: baby oil. Rub it in every few hours. Scrub in a hot shower. It will take at least 2-3 days. The tummy will fade faster. Also, use a baby wash cloth. Seriously, that's what I use! It helps rub it out without being too harsh!
Maybe next time I'll just decorate you with some glitter and markers. lol.
Kristin said…
I agree! I must see a picture of this!!! And did a belly dancing concert really come to Provo?? Cute picture of Lilly - I love the big eyes!
Tina said…
Ya, I was expecting a picture...
Lesson learned I guess.
At least you made all of us smile and be grateful that it didn't happen to us. (smile)
Good luck the next couple of days. Give it some rest. Don't SCRUB too hard. Poor thing.
Katscratchme said…
Leave it to you to try to remove a pretty piece of art off your body, knowing full well that it was only temporary...
Me? I would have been sad when it started to fade.
I also probably would have put it somewhere where everyone could see it and enjoy as well... like my neck, arms, hands or possibly even my face.
Trillium said…
Too much time on your hands! :))

Word verification: redliny
[Someone is monitoring this blog: red-liney = henna art!]
Bethany said…
My stomach hurts just about all this scrubbing.
Les said…
Wow Dara I love reading your blog and all the fun crazy things you try. How did the belly dancing performance go? I would love to see a picture or two. Good luck getting the henna off.
Anonymous said…
Unfortunately, my camera died, and I wasn't able to take pictures. Chris (my fabulously talented henna artist) had her husband take some pictures, but her files got corrupted. :(

Popular Posts