Watching her older cousins henna their hands during religious holidays like Ramadan, 8-year-old Myra Deen, sophomore, asked for a cone so she could participate too.

“I just fell in love with it,” Deen said. “I wasn’t good at it at first, but grew to love it a lot by practicing everyday.”

Henna is a dye made from dried leaves that come from the henna plant, Lawsonia inermis. These leaves are then powdered and mixed with water to create a paste that is used to temporarily stain skin, nails, and hair, according to the Natural History Museum. 

Her desire to share her love for henna and to create a space for people to be creative and learn about new cultures inspired Deen to start Henna Club this year. 

The club meets around once or twice a month and meets in room 362. Henna Club has grown to have about 33 members, Deen said.

Deen brings all of the supplies needed for the club to each meeting. She said she purchases henna with natural ingredients from Amazon so it can be allergy free. She also buys applicator cones and snacks for the members to enjoy.

“I really wanted to show people how fun and relaxing doing henna can be, and that it can bring you close to the people you’re doing it with too,” Deen said.

Deen said different cultures use henna for varying reasons and on different occasions. In Islamic culture, Deen said henna is typically done during weddings as well as cultural events and holidays.

When Deen is feeling stressed she said she hennas herself to help calm her down.

“I’ll just pick up a cone and it brings me back to the moment,” Deen said.

Jordan Shelton, language arts teacher, was excited when she was asked to be the sponsor for the Henna Club as she’s seen how popular the henna booth typically is during Culture Fest, an annual event at MHS that showcases different cultures.

“It’s been really cool to turn this into an actual club format and give students more exposure to it then just once a year,” Shelton said. 

Shelton said  Henna Club is a place for students to not only learn about another culture, but also to be creative and spend time with their friends.

“As much as we focus on academics, I think it is great for students to also feel like they belong somewhere,” Shelton said.

After hearing about the Henna Club, Aanya Kaushik, freshman, immediately knew she wanted to join.

“I like doing henna a lot, but I’m always at a club or doing a sport or doing homework, so I don’t really have a time where I get to sit and hangout and do henna,” Kaushik said.

Kaushik said she enjoys doing henna on herself and on others on holidays like Diwali, or whenever she can find free time.

When doing henna, Kaushik said she prefers to create flower designs because they’re pretty as well as intricate patterns when she has more time.

“It’s a way to get away from school and learning, and to just do something fun for 45 minutes,” Kaushik said.