Henna Lounge, San Francisco

Whether it’s for a traditional Indian bridal mehndi, a pregnant belly, a chemotherapy patient who has lost her hair or just for strutting the playa at Burning Man, there is one practitioner of henna in San Francisco who garners near-universal praise for her work: Darcy Vasudev of Henna Lounge. Her studio, in an anonymous-looking condo in the central Mission, serves dozens of bridal parties a year with lasting, fragrant applications of dye that Vasudev mixes herself. Although on-site services are by appointment-only, the Henna Lounge team has been known to travel for destination weddings, offering women the chance to spruce up their skin with the ancient Indian ink design tradition. Vasudev gladly offers tried-and-true images to layer on the skin, as well as more risqué looks for contemporary women.