· By Pavan Dhanjal
Is Henna Gender Specific?
In the age of gender fluidity and makeup for all, it’s time to quash strict gender rules. Can men wear henna? Absolutely.
If you’ve been to an Indian wedding, you’ll have witnessed the bride’s majesty as she’s lavished with beautiful henna. Henna is an essential part of the bride’s beauty regime and we adore this tradition, but guys, we need to chat.
If you thought henna was just for women, you were mistaken. We’re here to bring the henna tradition into the 21st Century, which means gender norms can do one.
Who can wear henna?
Society used to have some fixed ideas about acceptable gender expression. Without getting into a heavy debate about damaging gender norms, let’s be a little more flexible. Henna is a beautiful thing that can be enjoyed by all people, male, female and nonbinary. It looks divine on everyone!
Wearing henna can be a beautiful expression of femininity, but it doesn’t have to be. Use henna to express your creativity, strength and culture.
How women can help quash henna gender norms
As a henna artist, I’m lucky enough to attend a tonne of weddings to give brides their dream henna designs. One of the most beautiful moments I’ve witnessed happened when a bride’s nephew (only aged 7) asked if he could wear henna too. The boys Grandmother was a little reluctant and said ‘we don't want any uncles to say anything’ Everyone looked to the mother of the young boy for her guidance. We all figured she’d have something to say about the matter. And she did. This woman turned to her son and said, “I don’t give a sh*t, wear whatever you want, babe!”
This was one of my favourite weddings. It celebrated tradition, modernity, realness and love. Henna is an expression of all of these things, and it’s time we women let our guys know that.
Popular henna trends for men
As well as looking divine, henna symbolises good luck, prosperity and wealth, which we gals are more than happy to share with the boys. Guys can wear makeup, dye their hair and sport their identity in any which way they please. Henna is no different.
‘Menna’ tattoos
Not convinced? Check out the ‘menna’ tattoos circling the internet. They look incredible, and sexy as hell! Henna gives you the perfect opportunity to test out a tattoo design. If you’re afraid of commitment or you just want to wear the design for a while to see how you like it, dark henna is your best friend.
Grab a Jagua henna cone and let your artist get carried away with some fierce designs. Jagua is a safe alternative to black henna. It’s completely natural and contains no scary chemicals.
Show your love
One of the most popular ways men use henna is by wearing their significant other’s initials on them. My husband wears my initials all the time and I love it. When I’m playing around with new designs at home, he’ll say “here, let me get your initials” and it makes me smile every time.
Guys, if you’re looking for ways to make a lockdown Valentine’s Day a bit more special, grab a couple of henna cones in your partner’s favourite colours and write your initials on each other.
You do you
If you enjoy wearing henna, that’s all that matters. As a modern henna brand, repping all people who love henna designs as much as we do, we can’t get enough of guys wearing henna. If we all keep pushing the message, we can banish outdated and damaging gender norms once and for all, and enjoy a gorgeous new era of henna artistry.
If you’re a guy and you’ve used Pavan Henna before, let us know in the comments below. We want to hear all about your fave designs and inspiration.
