Choosing the best henna salon typically includes researching local businesses specializing in the art, studying available designs, and assessing prices. Familiarizing yourself with the salon's areas of specialty and ensuring that artists use only safe henna ingredients is also key. You may have to personally visit or even make an appointment to truly assess aspects such as environment and customer service. Firsthand experience will reveal if you have found the best henna salon for your needs, or you should look elsewhere in the future.
Trusted family and friends can often recommend a henna salon if they've had the art done before. You're likely to get an honest review of the salon's designs, pricing, and customer service. Supplement your word-of-mouth search with an online hunt for henna salons in your area. Reputable businesses and artists typically maintain a website featuring designs, past work, and pricing, as well as occasional testimonials or information on technique and specialty areas. Online henna communities also provide an avenue for finding quality salons.
By keeping a list of your favorite websites or salons and their pricing information, you can easily contact these selected businesses for a quick and basic inquiry. A quality salon should respond quickly to emails, calls, or web forms if provided on the website. Ask how the salon deals with booking and payment and other details that the website does not include. The salon may charge by the design or by the hour if you're bringing in a group of people.
Before visiting the site, it is a good idea to peruse the salon website's gallery of past work and design samples. Some salons also offer a gallery within their building if one is not available online. The salon may specialize in one or several types of henna or offer a wider variety. Ask in which types the artists specialize. Designs include traditional Indian, Arabic, and African henna, among other cultural styles.
A high-quality henna salon will have the customer's safety in mind. Look for an establishment that uses only natural henna from plants. Salons that use manufactured henna containing additives or henna with para-phenylendiamine, a dangerous substance. The best salons make the henna fresh with high-quality henna that stains well and lasts up to several weeks, depending on where it's placed and how often you apply lemon-sugar solution to preserve it.
When visiting or arriving for an appointment, be sure to take note of the salon's environment. Henna application may take hours, depending on the design, so a quality henna salon will provide a relaxing and comfortable area for you to sit during the treatment, preferably away from busy foot traffic. A henna salon with attractive interior design and a relaxing atmosphere adds to the experience. Staff should be prompt to greet you and begin the process, if you have an appointment. The best artists don't push a certain design and have a gentle but skilled hand, making sure that you feel relaxed and that you will want to return.