THE art of henna body painting has become fashionable - thanks to Madonna who had her hands elaborately decorated for her latest pop video Frozen.

Mehndi, the ancient Indian custom of henna body painting, is a filigree design used on the feet and hands, but these days TV stars including Party of Five's Neve Campbell and Kathleen Robertson of Beverly Hills 90210 are wearing them, particularly on their arms and ankles. Even Sharon Stone is sporting one in her new movie Sphere.

Traditionally worn for Indian weddings, the trend has reached Oxford people who are keen to decorate their hands like the American pop star and more women are turning to this less permanent form of tattoo.

Parveen Iqbal, 25, of Rose Hill, Oxford, decorated women's hands with henna in celebration of the International Women's Festival.

I went along to have mine done by Parveen at Rose Hill Family Centre, to see why it has suddenly become so popular.

Parveen, 25, said: "Henna has a herbal use as well. Back in the village where my mum came from in Pakistan, a lot of the elderly people suffer from burning feet and they use henna to soothe it. "Henna is usually used for weddings - for men and women. They have a special henna day before the wedding where the woman has her hands painted.

"Supposedly, the darker the henna appears on your hands, the more your mother-in-law loves you."

These days henna comes in a handy tube and can be bought from Asian shops on Oxford's Cowley Road, and Parveen said anyone is capable of using it.

"If you know how to draw with a pencil, you can use henna. It's very easy. I painted my friend's hand for her wedding. An Indian person would have symbols but we are from Pakistan and use flowers and patterns.

"As for Madonna having hers done, good luck to her but why does it take a superstar like Madonna to reveal henna's potential? People have been using it for years. "The good thing about it is that it isn't permanent. It will last for about four weeks so if you have your girl or boyfriend's name tattooed on your arm with henna and you split up, it will fade after a few weeks anyway," she laughed. Parveen decorated both of my hands and wrists. It is a very calming sensation, but the irritating thing is that you have to wait about an hour for the henna paste to dry, during which time you can brush or wash it off.

The tattoo may go a yellowy stain at first as mine did, but the following morning it had gone a deep brown. Venus Masih, of Cowley, Oxford, comes from Punjab in India where she lived for 20 years.

She said: "Henna is used as part of your make-up. It is the same as wearing make-up and jewellery for Indian weddings and Muslims wear it after celebrating Eid (Christmas).

"It is predominantly used on women and in India they wear it on their hands and feet. The symbols or patterns used have no meaning.

"Family and friends of the bride would decorate her hands and feet." If anyone wants a henna tattoo done by Parveen, they can contact her through Rose Hill Family centre on 01865 776330. Making your own henna BEFORE it came in tubes, people used to get the henna leaf and some turmeric and water and grind it together, using a pestle and mortar.

1. Use henna powder from an Asian shop and also a whole lemon squeezed and four teabags and empty in a saucepan and boil.

2. Strain the leaves and repeat this several times.

3. Then simmer for a couple of hours and you are left with two or three tablespoons of liquid without any leaf in it. Then add more lemon to make it a rich, dark colour.

Previous news story

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.