How do I Take Care of my Jagua design?
Jagua is an all natural juice that is extracted from the Genipa fruit. The thing that is so unique about the jagua fruit is that the juice has strong staining properties that leave behind a blue-black color on the skin after contact!
Once your jagua paste is finished being applied, you will want to make sure that your wet jagua stays safe by avoiding bumping it. The jagua paste will take 30min - 1hr to dry, depending on the thickness of the paste on the skin. Once the jagua paste in just about dry OR completely dry you will want to ensure that the paste can stay on your skin for a minimum of 1.5 hours. Keeping the jagua paste on for as long as possible will help the paste of keep staining the skin to allow a darker stain that will last longer.
There are three main methods to keep the jagua on the skin:
- Boil a pot of water on the stove on high to allow the water to start streaming. Hover your hand over the steam at a safe distance so that your hand does not burn. Steam your skin intermittently for as many times as you wish. The steam is essentially bringing heat to the stain to develop a deep stain and rehydrate the paste to help it stick to the skin for longer.
- Take toilet paper and wrap it around the area that you have henna applied to. The thin and delicate tissue will allow for flexibility, soak up any moisture, breathability, and holding the henna close to the skin.
Once you are ready to remove the paste, you will want to follow the next steps:
- Wash the paste off the skin under warm water until all the paste has been removed. If you find that your skin feels slimy, it means the paste has not completely been removed and you will want to keep washing the paste off the skin in a gentle circular rubbing motion.
- Pat the area dry.
Important Information to Note
- Jagua is a very strong staining dye that stains the skin immediately after touching the skin. Avoid smudging as much as possible!
- Make sure to wash the jagua paste off the skin very well because, without the washing process the stain can be transfers to other parts of the skin!
Your jagua stain will progress from an invisible/grey stain to a deep blue-black stain over the following 48-72 hours after removing the jagua paste from the skin.
Tips to Achieve a Dark Jagua Stain
Prior to your appointment or applying your jagua, you want to:
- Exfoliate the area of the skin where the henna will be applied. This allows for a smooth canvas and removes any dead skin.
- Avoid applying any oils/lotions/creams to the area at about 12 hours before the appointment. Applying oils or creams on the skin before jagua application will cause a barrier between the jagua paste and the skin, hindering the stain quality.
After your jagua is applied:
- Try to keep the area or your body as warm as possible. Heat helps the henna stain darker on the skin!
- Try your best to keep the henna paste on for as long as you can. Longer the henna sticks to the skin = darker stain