Pavan Beauty brings the art of henna to your home
With unicorn pastels, metallics and classic colours, there’s something for everyone
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When 15-year-old Pavan Ahluwalia-Dhanjal applied henna for the first time at a family wedding, it started a love of the art form. Later, she’d go on to launch her eponymous henna brand Pavan Beauty, enabling people to get creative and try their hand at the art form at home.
Worn around the world, henna is a temporary dye, typically made from crushed henna leaves and traditionally applied as a symbol of new beginnings and prosperity at times of celebration. It can often hold spiritual significance, taking the form of intricate designs created before the celebration of Eid, or applied during the Mehndi ceremony on the eve of Indian weddings, when it’s said to signify a sense of sisterhood, protection and community.
Looking to make it easy to celebrate self-expression and creativity at home, while bringing henna into the wider beauty sphere, Pavan Beauty has created henna in classic, authentic colours, as well as those with a brighter, bolder look, from metallic to neon. Organic, natural, vegan-friendly formulas are important to the brand, which recommends its henna cones for weddings, celebrations such as Christmas and Halloween, and experimentation with temporary tattoos.
If you want to know more about Pavan Beauty, the company will be featured on this week’s episode of Dragons’ Den, which will air on BBC One tonight (25 January). Ahead of the company entering the den and being at the mercy of Touker Suleyman, Deborah Meaden, Steven Bartlett and the other dragons, we visited the salon to get our very own henna done and also rounded up some of the products to buy.
Pavan Beauty original brown henna cone: £10, Pavanonline.com
Part of the classic Pavan Beauty range – in which you will also find white, jagua henna and more – the original brown henna is solely made with natural and organic ingredients, including essential aromatherapy oils and henna paste. A dark hue that will continue to darken for two days after application, there should be no need to perform a skin patch test before creating your design, according to the brand. With the scent of the eucalyptus oil said to have a calming effect, the formula also offers the exfoliating, rejuvenating skin benefits of clove oil, the application sounds as relaxing as it does easy, with the cone touted as being beginner-friendly.
Pavan Beauty unicorn henna cone: £20, Pavanonline.com
When it comes to creating a bold finish with your henna design, look to this pretty, ethereal unicorn henna cone for a pastel ombré effect. Again, the formula has been made with only natural ingredients, and it should take 10 minutes for the henna to dry once it’s been applied to the skin. Whether you take the recommendation of the brand and use it to create looks for parties, festivals or children’s parties, this looks to be an easy way to get expressive with a pop of colour.
Pavan Beauty metallic henna cones: £10, Pavanonline.com
For those looking for something to really dazzle, the Pavan Beauty metallic henna cones are available in golden and silvery metallic hues and can be worn as a change from jewellery, as per the brand’s suggestion. Having made their way down the Paris Fashion Week runway, these metallic finishes are bound to be a stunning choice.
Pavan Beauty neon henna bundle: £40, Pavanonline.com
If you’re looking for a glow-getting henna design that turns heads, this neon bundle will be hard to miss. When only the boldest colours will do, the set includes orange, green and pink cones containing UV-sensitive, glow-in-the-dark henna, with the results potentially lasting all day.
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