A Holistic Henna experience, designed to celebrate you.

100% Organic & Natural Henna, suitable for all skin types.

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Birmingham’s First Holistic Henna Service

Celebrating women from all cultures through an ancient, self-care ritual. Fully insured henna professional, Sana Maklai of The Henna Gateway specialises in both traditional and modern henna styles. Each design is carefully made to suit your unique style and is done using fresh, natural & organic henna paste.

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Click to browse our Portfolio!

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Click to browse our Portfolio! 〰️

Our Mantra

You don’t need an occasion to get your henna done— just like you don’t need a reason to get your nails done.

Henna is an adornment that unites cultures, brings us together as women and celebrates us. Whether it’s applied for a specific occasion or not, we aim to make you feel beautiful, in your own skin. While there are several cultural styles and designs, henna is incredibly individualistic and should represent your own unique style.

Your skin’s safety is our biggest priority!

Many festivals & tourist attractions use Black/Chemical henna, which includes several toxins that not only are harmful for your skin, but can scar it. At The Henna Gateway, we freshly prepare our own henna paste, which is 100% natural and organic. We are fully insured for our services.

This includes nothing but organic henna powder, cane sugar, water, lemon juice and a therapeutic-grade, essential oil blend. Our preferred blend consists of Lavender oil, Eucalyptus oil and Cajeput oil.

While natural henna is completely safe for sensitive skin, you can always opt for a gentler, Lavender-oil henna paste, with prior notice. This is recommended for all maternity baby blessings & henna crowns!

For more information about our paste, and guidelines please read through our FAQs.

Frequently Asked Questions

Kind Words from Clients♡

Read all our testimonials!

Testimonials

Ellen M.

I asked Sana to do my bridal henna as half of my wedding was traditional Punjabi style. My henna artist I had previously booked let me down and Sana was able to make a custom design for my arms, palms, hands and feet in less than a week!!! She even put my now husbands name in it and it was beautiful.

She also did 2 of my bridal party and was able to do a similar styles on them that complimented but didn’t overshadow my own henna…..She made me feel so pampered and she let me just really enjoy the experience. Her demeanour and henna (because of the oils) relaxed me so much I had a hard time not nodding off!

….Other artists I spoke to didn’t seem to want to put henna on me and made me feel like I shouldn’t have it done, despite marrying an Indian person and having a partly Asian wedding. Beautiful experience and made me feel like an absolute queen and went with both my English and Asian dresses beautifully.

Emma S.

I work at BCWH and had Sana for an event. From my first communication with Sana, she was responsive, helpful and professional. Sana would provide helpful details and was very flexible around the hospitals policies and procedures. Sana is a friendly lady who provided beautiful henna for the young people and staff of the hospital- they were so pleased with their art and lifted moods immensely. Cannot recommend Sana enough, she free styled the henna but also had designs to choose from if wanted.

I believe the children and young people in the hospital would benefit from working with Sana again as it was a nice afternoon to focus on mindfulness and self care!

Shivali P.

My time with Sana was so much more than just getting beautiful & meaningful henna done, she became a part of my family and instantly became my friend and confidante. She helped me manage my anxiety and stress, and gave me great personal advice to face the challenges ahead of me. I had not expected to get all these intangible things from one person, let alone from a henna artist, but Sana was God sent for me in my time of need ❤️.

Anyone considering Sana to do your Bridal henna, please know that you are getting far more than just having a personalised and perfect henna done. She's such a lovely person, she will become like your sister and friend and you will later struggle to imagine how your wedding could have ever happened without her support and calming presence. I remembered Sana everyday when I looked at my hands, and felt so sad when the last bits of my Henna eventually wore off. Xx

Nicola K.

Sana is amazing, such a lovely person, she created my henna crown with the emphasis to empower ladies like myself who suffer with Alopecia, I also received a beautiful make over, Sana is so welcoming and kind, the henna crown gave me a huge confidence boost to go public with no head wear, thank you Sana xx

Sarah Q.

I initially booked Sana to apply henna on my daughters hands who are under the age of 5. I had found it difficult to find someone in Birmingham who made their own organic henna so I was really happy to come across her Instagram page. Having just had another baby, I didn't think I would be able to get mine done but Sana quickly reassured me and even brought a hair dryer with her so I could quickly dry the henna in case baby woke up! She is so lovely and friendly but professional at the same time. She was very neat and beautifully copied a design I had found myself and her attention to detail makes the patterns look perfect! The henna itself smells incredible and has a very therapeutic feel to it. My daughters and I loved the whole experience and we cannot wait to get our henna done from Sana again.

Maryam M.

Had an amazing Henna session with Sana who did my Henna for a wedding. Prior to the session, Sana kept in touch to discuss designs and gave me tips on how to prepare the skin beforehand. At the session, Sana made me feel very comfortable and relaxed throughout. She provided guidance and advice on how to look after the henna after application. Had the most amazing Henna colour! In addition, Sana’s Henna is all natural, kind to the skin with no nasties. Would highly highly recommend!

Sara R.

Sana came to one of our fostering events and the children loved getting their henna done. Sana was very warm and put them at ease. I would definitely book Sana again. Highly recommended

Bal M.

Sana did an amazing job with my henna. From initial contact Sana was a complete professional, friendly and sketched out bespoke designs for my henna. She took great care in applying my henna and the result was fantastic. My henna was everything I hoped it would be and more. I will definitely be using Sana and the Henna Gateway again in the future!

Athina G.

I have never loved more a henna tattoo and I am sooo much looking forward to the next ones. Sana is amazingly patient and kind and creative. I would recommend her over and over again.

Sharon A.

Had a lovely time getting henna done for a birthday party. I didn’t know much about henna prior to this and Sana made sure to answer all my questions! Sana is a lovely and kind person who’s very easy to chat to. The quality and detail is amazing and she really catered towards personal preference on design.

Marina A.

Sana was absolutely amazing. From start to finish she went out of her way to fit me in and make this perfect for me... she was polite and very professional.. The henna itself was so beautiful, she told me how to look after it and it turned out so dark the morning after. I had so many compliments on how beautiful it was. Thanks so much Sana. Highly recommended :)

Razzy C.

Excellent service, my partner had her henna done for the first time and sana (the henna artist) made sure it was done properly and with the highest quality. The end result was amazing and my partner was extremely happy with the henna…..Excellent service, great communication, punctual and well organised! Highly recommended.

Kirigen S.

My experience was a first and something to tick off my goals lists. I have always wanted to get a henna design, and Sana @thehennagateway was and still is the person to go to. I was going to be attending a Bridgerton ball by Secret Cinema over the weekend in March, as well as have a magical weekend full of Harry Potter wonders and a magical inspired afternoon tea. Sana travelled to my house, spent 3 hours with me whilst she was creating this beautiful design on both my hands, I even had a little sleeping fox on my palm, and let me tell you that was my absolute favourite, and the amount of comments I received over that magical weekend was flabbergasting. I 100% recommend Sana be your henna artist for what ever occasion, even if it is just a milestone or a new leaf turned.

Charlotte C.

Sana painted stunning henna on my scoliosis scar and she made the experience so special. Her designs are so intricate and gorgeous! The stain lasted a long time too. I 100% recommend her henna services!

Tyra-Elise H.

I had the best time with Sana at her henna session out in the sunshine, it was such a peaceful experience being in nature and having a bit of self care with such a stunning design as the outcome. In Birmingham we don't have much henna influences but since finding Sana I'm blown away she is amazing, 100% recommend! she even freestyled on my designs and executed them incredibly!

Zainab S.

Sana has been teaching our younger sister Sakina since December 2020, to the point where Sakina felt confident enough to do her sister's bridal henna! Sana was so kind and offered to do Sakina's henna before the wedding, which was the highlight of the trip up to Birmingham! Sana is so kind and thoughtful and really takes her students and clients as individuals, believing in the power of the therapy and beauty of henna. We're so grateful that Sakina gets to learn from her!

Josie-Marie E.

It was such an absolute pleasure dealing with Sana! She was able to complete my design and definitely exceeded my expectations. You can expect full COVID safety protocols and some great attention to detail. She made my wedding photo shoot that much better with her fabulous work.

Rachel L.

I had the best time getting my henna done by the lovely Sana a few weeks ago after being invited to attend a session with a mutual friend. I instantly felt at ease with her and I didn’t realise how calming and therapeutic getting your henna done could be - it really felt like a little spa day

I have psoriasis so we chatted about that and I was reassured that the henna is all natural so shouldn’t cause any reactions - it didn’t! It looked amazing and I felt beautiful!

I had no idea that a service like this existed, especially in Birmingham . OH, and the henna smelled amazing too!

Thank you, Sana, for a great session and for creating such a beautiful design ❤️

Aisha T.

Sana did my daughters and my henna for Eid: 100/10 would recommend. It’s hard to balance two clients, never mind one child, but our experience was amazing. Sana is extremely professional and easy to be around. The quality of the henna was amazing: great for sensitive skin, no added chemicals, and a nice aroma. And the stain came out very dark and the design was just what I wanted!

Henna Heals. Henna Empowers.

“Sana is amazing, such a lovely person, she created my henna crown with the emphasis to empower ladies like myself who suffer with Alopecia. I also received a beautiful make over. Sana is so welcoming and kind, the henna crown gave me a huge confidence boost to go public with no head wear!”

-Nicola K. via Google Reviews

Learn About Nicola's Journey With Alopecia