One of my goals was to get my henna tattoos on my hands. No, it’s not just because “henna hands” it’s alliterative, it’s because I’ve always thought it makes you look like a goddess. Guess what? I was right.

Janice was in town this weekend, and we drove to the ocean for a few hours. On the boardwalk you can find an extensive amount of options for henna tattoos. I picked a stand and a design for both the backs and palms of my hands. My very diligent artist set to work. It took a lot longer than I anticipated! I didn’t time it, but I think it was longer than the real mermaid I have on my foot.

It only takes about fifteen minutes for everything to dry. Something I didn’t realize about henna is that even though it’s staining your skin, it’s still going to flake off the top layer once you’ve completely dried. That made holding my soda cup covered in condensation quite messy! Totally worth it, though.

We realized that if I turned my hand upside down that the tips of my fingers looked like non-happy emoticons. I had her add a few dots after this photo was taken so it doesn’t look like I have sad fingers. How could my fingers be sad looking like this?!

Afterwards, I walked to a The Purple Moose and got a drink with a straw while I waited for the ink to dry. She said it’s going to last over a week, but the tips of my fingers are already starting to fade after just two days. I kind of expected that, though. You use your palms a lot more than other places people commonly get temporary tattoos.

Super glad I did this! I’ve been getting compliments from strangers nonstop, and I feel really fancy.

Have you ever gotten a henna tattoo?