Affordable Luxuries: The Ancient Arts of Threading and Mehndi Ziba Beauty Salon The most unique experience at L.A. Fashion Week was the Ziba Beauty exhibit which provided hands-on artistry. Guided by Communications & Financial Director Aaron Quah of Ziba (Persian Farsi translation of "beauty"), I was further educated about two ancient beauty arts: Mehndi and threading. Mehndi (translates to Henna): South Asian and American culture have fused in many facets of fashion. The symbolic art form of Mehndi, the temporary henna tattoo, is one such beauty form. According to Quah, "Mehndi is an enduring art form. The concept of this organic henna body art is very popular for weddings in India and Pakistan. Historically, women did not have an abundance of jewelry to wear, so they used henna to decorate the body and enhance their beauty during the whole wedding event." Tradition says the deeper and more enduring the tattoo residual, the stronger the bond of acceptance and love between mother-in-law and bride. Ziba Beauty Salon accommodates bridal parties, celebrities, and a loyal clientele at their six salons and off-site locations. They are proficient in South Asian wedding beauty traditions and have cultivated a network of professional vendor referrals. The South Asian wedding events are intensive, and with any cosmopolitan city, there is an abundance of inter-cultural weddings in Los Angeles. Quah explained there is so much culture and tradition associated with it that there is a strong demand for specialists, such as Ziba Beauty Salon, who specialize in the beauty aspects of bridal makeovers for men and women. Mehndi is popular not just with brides but anyone interested in this temporary organic body art form. Founded by Kundan Sabarwal, the company is approaching its twentieth year of providing full-service threading and Mehndi. The salon has expanded to six locations in Southern California and provides off-site service. Sabarwal's daughter, CCO and Mehndi artist Sumita Batra, has become a leader in Mehndi. She and her skilled team have provided the henna artistry for high-profile celebrities such as Gwen Stefani, Teri Hatcher, Jennifer Aniston, Liv Tyler, and Madonna, showcased in her Frozen video. (See www.zibabeauty.com for details.) Henna is a temporary art form that takes minutes to apply, yielding results that may last up to two weeks or more. The dye is derived from the henna plant leaves, refined into a powder, and then converted to paste (with lemon for enhancing color and sugar for the glue-like composition). The paste is applied through a plastic cone, much like cake icing, by a skilled technician. Ziba Beauty only uses natural henna---dark green when wet, it dries to a burgundy/golden brown with a shimmery quality. Unlike tattoo ink, natural henna is unlikely to cause skin allergies or irritations. Threading: Threading is an ancient form of hair removal, using a cotton thread from India. The technique efficiently and painlessly removes one hair or several hairs from the follicle in one strategic movement. Quah explained the pros of threading over waxing or tweezing. "You have lots of control in this delicate area. It's a natural process. There's no mess. There's no irritation. With waxing, you are removing the layer of skin, and that is unnecessary exfoliating which is not good for the skin." Furthermore, threading is more enduring than other methods. Because the finest, shortest hair can be strategically removed, there is no lag time between appointments. Threading is $8 at Ziba Beauty and $25 for their highly recommended brow- shaping threading package. Quah emphasized, "We like to call it an affordable luxury. Everyone should be threading." Soolip Wedding Coverage by Pamela Heath |
