ALL ABOUT HENNA

Here are the Basics: Buy henna powder. Mix it with very hot water and a little lemon juice. Let it cool. Apply it where you have HFS. Let it dry. 

STEP BY STEP

1. Buy pure henna powder

Buy pure henna powder. Don’t buy: henna for hair; anything called “Black” or “neutral” henna; tattoo henna; pastes or pens.

I bought mine online at www.castleart.com, and at www.hennasooq.com, but you might find it at a South Asian or Middle Eastern grocery store. I have trouble buying at the stores because I can't tell what's fresh and what's not. Pure henna is green, even though it is going to stain your feet a saffron or brown color. It should smell a little bit like green tea.

Henna comes from a tropical/arid shrub called “Lawsonia inermis.” Heat and acidity will release the “Lawsone” to work on your skin. I use Pakistani or Indian henna. My favorite is called Jamali. I don't like the gel consistency of Yemeni or Moroccan henna.

2. Mix it with boiling hot water and squeeze in a splash of fresh lemon juice. Let it cool.

Collect your supplies – a large garbage bag, a few plastic grocery bags, or old towels; a small non-metal bowl and non-metal spoon; lemon juice.

Put half a cup (120 ml) of very hot water, in a non-metal bowl. Add fresh lemon juice, a half teaspoon or so. Using a non-metal spoon, add the powder a little at a time.  Stir. Add powder until it coats the spoon but is still drippy -- like creamy tomato soup. Let it sit until it COOLS. Some people say overnight, I only wait until it cools. (Notes from the Experts: Let it sit for at least an hour ... I try to plan ahead, but it doesn't always work out. Some say non-metal doesn't really matter. Haven't tried.)

3. Apply the henna
I pick a place where I want to sit for fifteen minutes. Cover an ottoman/hassock/footstool with the old towel so you can hang your feet off of it to dry. (A recliner works really well for this.) Put a large garbage bag on the floor in front of the footstool to catch the drips. 

Paint your skin where it feels hot or hurts. You are just trying to dye your skin, not cover it with mud. I use a cheap foam paint brush. Let it dry -- it takes about 15 minutes at most.

I don't wash it off my feet, I just put my shoes on when the henna is really dry. I wash my hands gently.

Sometimes I do this every night -- anytime I can feel that my feet or hands are heating up.

4.  Comfort tip

When I have small areas of broken skin, I use a bandaid with an antibacterial ointment on it.

5.   Storing henna

If you buy a lot of henna at once, the experts say to store it in the freezer to keep it fresh. 

Once you mix the henna, you can keep a week's worth in the refrigerator in a jar with a top.

Safety note
Henna has been approved for use on hair by the FDA. It has not been approved for use on the skin. Do not eat it, make tea out of it, or use it for anything else. Be sure that you buy pure henna and not black henna or any henna with additives or dyes. Don’t have it applied at tattoo parlors, boardwalks, fairs, or anywhere unless you can control the source of the henna.

Disclaimer:
These are my personal notes and are not medical advice of any kind. Your experience and condition may be completely different. You have to tell your doctor when you have HFS.

Source:
“Topical henna for capecitabine induced hand-foot syndrome”
Idris Yucel and Gonullu Guzin, Department of Medical Oncology, Ondokuz Mayis University Medical School, Samsun, 55139, Turkey
SpringerLink Medicine and Business Media, September 2007

Monique Doyle Spencer July 15, 2008
Spencer is the author of The Courage Muscle: A Chicken’s Guide to Living With Breast Cancer. All proceeds from her book are donated to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center of Boston.