By: Abigail Pacheco By: Abigail Pacheco | August 5, 2022 | People, Feature,
When Niru was a kid, she was always in awe of henna. She would watch for hours, mesmerized by the way the artists would adorn her family members with the reddish brown ink that would leave their skin stained with a beautiful design, always envious that she couldn’t be the one in the chair thanks to her school’s strict dress code.
Despite never learning the ins and outs of henna, she could practically draw the designs in her sleep using those beloved memories of long days filled with art and beauty.
As she grew up, these dreams of designing henna seemed to fade from reality. She decided to pursue an education in computer science and marketing. However, one fateful day in 2011 after immigrating to America from India, the spark that had nearly died reawakened, and she finally built up enough courage to create designs for herself.
Today she is exactly where she is supposed to be and owns her own business: Hollywood Henna by Niru. She has now been doing henna professionally for six years.
Despite her experience, Niru believes that she will never truly master henna.
“I learn something new with every design I create,” Niru explains to me over Zoom. “It’s an art form. It’s so diverse. You can add so many elements into henna, like aspects from nature and inspiring things around me.”
Instead of getting discouraged from challenging designs or requests, she takes them head on and enjoys the process of learning new skills and techniques. Another way she stays motivated to improve her skills is by looking up to the many people in the henna artist community who inspire her with how masterfully they can draw a complete design.
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While working events in Los Angeles with people from every race and background, she has found that many people have an intense curiosity and love for henna, but are unsure if it is cultural appropriation for them to receive henna.
“Henna is for everybody, and everybody should take the beauty of henna and embrace it,” Niru says. “I want to give henna to anyone who wants it and likes it because I get so happy to share this beautiful culture I grew up in with everyone.”
By working with Angelenos, Niru has developed a signature style that helps her stand out from other artists. Over the years, she realized that Americans opt for minimalistic styles and often ask for something delicate.
After years of perfecting this intricate style, she has made a name for herself in this design area, making her a go-to artist for this technique.
For Niru, henna presents a special connection that she cannot merely express to those who don’t do henna. She says, “When you do henna on someone, you talk with them to find out what they like and don’t like. Then there is energy shared between the two individuals. From the moment I hold their hand and start drawing something, things automatically start coming to me, something I can’t describe in words.”
At Hollywood Henna by Niru, she sources all the leaves and powders from places she knows and even freezes them so the products last longer. She gives her loyal customers peace of mind knowing that her henna is natural and safe.
Niru loves creating pieces that resonate with people beyond the connection they make. She has made it her mission to give henna to people struggling with feeling beautiful or strong.
To combat this, she provides free henna to anyone undergoing chemotherapy. She stylizes henna crowns that cover their heads with elaborate designs that allow them to embrace their newfound beauty.
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One of her favorite stories comes from working at a baby shower when a mother who still had not decided on a name for her baby resonated with the crescent moon henna design that Niru embellished on her bump. The mother was taken aback and struck with the realization that her baby’s name had to be Luna— a name always at the back of her mind, but came to light when she saw Niru’s beautiful work.
Because of this story and the many like it, Niru finds it inspiring to do henna for pregnant women to help celebrate the sacred life that they have created. It’s among the many reasons she finds it easy to be so passionate about her job.
Niru loves to do henna not only for others, but also for the ability to connect with herself in a unique and special way. When she does henna, she enters a meditative state that allows her to express herself and lean into her feelings. She can escape the worries and struggles like being a small, woman-owned business owner waiting for her green card and focus on making the person in front of her fall in love with their new henna.
When Niru isn’t designing, her hands shake with excitement and creative energy, eager to do henna. During the early stages of the COVID-19 lockdown and when she was pregnant, Niru had to stop working events, so she was stuck with an abundance of free time and found a new way to let her creativity reign free: henna design on canvas. Realizing the endless possibilities of henna artwork, Niru translated her emotions into creative outbursts of art.
Down the line, Niru hopes to expand this idea of making one-of-a-kind home decor and art for people who really resonate with her work. She also wants to explore the often overlooked medicinal properties of henna and introduce her own product line that doesn’t contain harmful chemicals that other dyed or mass-produced hennas do.
“I have been a stay-at-home mom for a long time, so henna is something for myself,” Niru says. “Henna has given me wings, and it’s something I can never be bored of.”
Photography by: Courtesy of Niru