Henna has traditionally also been used for hair conditioning and dyeing, skin antiseptic and tonic, and as cloth and leather dye. Henna is a cosmetic and a medicine, but most importantly, it is a marker of beauty, auspiciousness and celebration. Henna painting is considered a woman's art form, often to mark special events in a woman's life, especially marriage. The painted bride is denoted special by the intricate, elaborate henna patterns on her hands and feet, attesting to the liminal occasion in which she is transported from one stage of life to another. Henna designs add beauty and decoration to the parts of the body that are in view, namely hand and feet, but patterns usually extend towards the elbows and knees, causing erotic curiosity for the concealed parts.
Designs vary with each culture, and even within cultures.
Generally speaking, Arabic Swahili women's designs consists of large, bold floral patterns, whereas Moroccan Berber women paint geometric, linear designs. In India, Hindu women prefer paisleys, vines and birds such as peacocks. Muslim women do not paint figurative images due to the Islamic prohibition on representational art. In the past decade, henna painting has experienced an immense popularity in the United States. Although ethnic communities residing in the West have always practiced the art of henna, the acceptance of this form by Westerners, especially celebrities, is a relatively new phenomenon.