How to Develop Your Unique Henna Style (with Emma from Rose Mehndi)

Coming up with your own unique henna style can be a little challenging sometimes.

Don't we all know it!

One of the most common mistake I see henna artists doing is constantly replicating other designer's work (I have to admit, I used to be one of those!).

Even though there's nothing truly wrong with that - as long as you're crediting the original designer, it actually could slow down your process of creating your own henna style.

Why is having your own style so important?

Because that's how you'll differentiate yourself from the crowd. That's how you attract clients who won't negotiate your pricing and who come directly to you because they want YOU specifically, not just any random henna artist.

Which is why I brought Emma from Rose Mehndi to share her pearls of wisdom with us.

Emma is notoriously known for her unique henna style, especially the two tone and three tone designs, I mean look at this, how gorgeous?!

Without further ado, let's get right to it.

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WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH EMMA HERE

Here are some of Emma's Top Recommendations:

1) PICK ONE OR TWO ARTISTS AS INFLUENCES

It's easy to get lost in the Instagram world and constantly comparing yourself to others you see online. Instead, select no more than a handful of artists (you can even limit it to 1 or 2 artists) and replicate elements from their designs you feel most inspired by. The most important thing though is to try to make it your own.

2) PRACTICE AS MUCH AS YOU CAN

This is one of the best virtue if you want to develop your own style. The more you practice, the more your mind expands in understanding what design elements you favour the most. It doesn't have to be an hour long thing, but if practice becomes part of your daily habit, you'll be able to hone in on what you're best at.

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3) DON'T LIMIT YOUR INSPIRATIONS TO JUST HENNA

Emma admitted that she takes inspirations from everything around her including patterns, tattoo artists and much more. You'll expand your creativity when you incorporate other elements in your designs beyond just the traditional henna you see online or on Instagram. Try to incorporate other things because it will be a gateway in coming up with your own style.

4) PERFECT YOUR LINES & OTHER DESIGN ELEMENTS

Although this falls under the category of practicing, you should also fixate on specific element designs you haven't necessarily mastered. For example, Emma says when she first started out her acrylic board was filled with vines because she knew she had to get better at it. When you keep repeating one or two design elements until you're super pleased with it, it opens a flood of new layouts and designs you can do.

5) BE ACTIVE WITH YOUR RESEARCH

There are plenty of henna artists out there who post tutorials and content that will help you. Instead of lazily DMing the artist directly, look into their feed or Instagram Highlights to check if they have tutorials or posts that will answer any of your questions. If you check Emma's Instastory highlights, you'll find that she has an array of tutorials including how to create two tone and three tone designs.

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