Eid henna, nails and makeup: a plan for the week before

Eid henna goes on two days before Eid so it is at its darkest on the first morning; nails go on before the henna; waxing goes on before the nails; hair and makeup are for the last day and the morning itself. Everything else in this plan follows from those four rules. It is written as a countdown so you can start wherever you are in the week.

The plan does not depend on which Eid it is or which day it falls on. Count back from the first morning.

Seven days before: book everything

The week before Eid is the busiest of the year for anyone who does henna, nails or hair, and the last two days fill first. Book now, and book the henna slot before anything else, because that is the one whose timing cannot move.

Things to know when booking:

• The calendar opens 60 days ahead, and the earliest slot is three hours from now, so there is no reason to wait.
• Thursday from four in the afternoon, and all day Friday and Saturday, are held for members first. A held time that is still open 48 hours before it starts is released to everyone. If Eid falls on or after a weekend, non-members should book the earlier days of the week or watch for released slots.
• A deposit of 20% confirms the booking. Cancel more than 24 hours before and it comes back; inside 24 hours it is kept.
• For a household, book one group visit rather than five separate ones: it looks after 2 to 12 women and girls, we send the number of therapists the group needs, and the travel fee is charged once.

If you want the three main appointments in one visit, the Eid Ready package is a gel manicure, a gel pedicure and henna on both hands, done in that order; it is listed with the packages.

Five days before: waxing and threading

Hair removal goes early because freshly waxed skin is red and sensitive for a day or two, and because henna takes unevenly on skin that has just been waxed. Five days out, the skin has settled by the time the nails and henna happen, and there is still time for a patch test if you have not been waxed by us before. Brow threading can go here or on the last day; threading settles in hours.

Three days before: nails

A gel manicure and gel pedicure, two or three days before Eid, are set hard before the henna and will not be marked by the scraping and oil of the henna's first day. Gel is the sensible choice for Eid because the week is full of cooking, wrapping, children and visits, and classic polish will chip by the second morning. Choose a colour that sits well with red-brown henna: nudes, soft pinks, deep reds and white all work.

If you would rather do nails after henna, wait until the stain has fully developed, which is two days, and then it is Eid. So nails first.

Two days before: Eid henna

This is the appointment the whole week is built around. Book it for the evening, at a time after which you will not need your hands, and read how to get a darker henna stain beforehand. In short:

• Clean, oil-free hands. No lotion that day.
• Sit still until the paste is dry, about half an hour.
• Leave the paste on as long as you can, ideally overnight, wrapped loosely.
• Scrape it off in the morning without water and keep the design dry as long as possible.
• The stain comes off orange and deepens over the next 48 hours, which lands exactly on Eid morning.

Designs for Eid tend to be lighter than for a wedding: a Khaleeji vine on one side of the hand, a fingertip, or fingers only for girls and for anyone who wants something for a week rather than a month. Daughters can be done at the same visit; a small, simple design with a shorter time on and a patch test first. There is one kind of "henna" that should never come near a child or an adult, and what black henna is explains how to recognise it.

The day before: hair, brows and the house

The henna is developing and the nails are done, so the day before is for everything that does not touch the hands. A blow-dry now holds through the first morning if you sleep carefully, or book it for Eid morning itself if the timings allow. Brow threading, if it was not done earlier, goes here. Wash your hair unless the stylist has said otherwise, lay out what you are wearing, and keep the hands out of the dishwater; someone else can do the last of the cleaning.

Eid morning: makeup

Book makeup for about two hours before you need to leave, and give the therapist a clear table near a socket and good light. Day makeup suits a morning of visits and photographs in daylight; evening makeup, with lashes and set to last, suits a family gathering that runs into the night. If you are receiving visitors at home rather than going out, the Soft Day Look package, day makeup with a blow-dry, is the one to look at.

Eat breakfast before she arrives, wear something that opens at the front, and keep the room cool. Mothers and daughters can be done one after another in a single visit.

The countdown in one place

• Seven days before: book henna, nails, waxing, hair and makeup, with one group visit for the household.
• Five days before: waxing and threading.
• Three days before: gel manicure and gel pedicure.
• Two days before: Eid henna in the evening, paste on overnight.
• The day before: blow-dry and brows, and no water on the henna.
• Eid morning: makeup, then out.

What you can book

Every appointment above is on the services page: henna on both hands, a gel manicure and gel pedicure, waxing, a blow-dry and day or evening makeup. The Eid Ready package puts the gel manicure, the gel pedicure and the henna into one visit, and the group visit brings the whole family into it. Book the henna first.