Body art has always been popular culturally and artistically, and in recent years body art styles such as henna tattoo body painting has experienced an obvious revival. Henna is pain-free, fashionable, and is non permanent – it offers a fun tattoo alternative. According to historians, henna body art was brought to India in the 12th century by the Moguls who used to trade with the Ancient Indians. Henna, or Mehndi, is a body dye paste created by grinding the leaves and twigs of the Henna plant and hot water. Various herbs and dyes can be added to the paste to alter it slightly. You can find the henna plant, or hawsonia plant, in the Middle East and North Africa. The earliest documented use of henna body paint comes from Ancient Egypt where the bodies of Pharaohs were decorated with henna markings before mummification. Henna body art is traditionally used in the Indian culture in ceremonies related to marriage.