ABU DHABI // Beauty salons have been bustling with customers getting intricate henna designs for Eid Al Fitr.
The end of Ramadan is one of the busiest times of the year for the beauty trade as women queue for treatments - and henna is the most in demand.
Emirati Asma Al Mansoori, 32, was expecting a three-hour wait yesterday, with the henna application expected to take half an hour.
"It's so busy," she said. "I have it just for a wedding or Eid. It is traditional for the UAE. I go sometimes with my friends and sometimes with my sisters."
Rana Baidass, 33, said women wanted to be as groomed as possible on the first day of Eid.
"This time of year is very special to us," she said, speaking outside Gulf Brides Saloon on Airport Road. "Muslims have two Eids every year and we really look forward to the celebrations.
"It is something very happy for us. After a month of fasting, it is a time for treats."
Ms Baidass, an Emirati, likened women getting beautified for Eid to brides getting made up for their wedding day.
"You want to look like a bride on the first day of Eid," she said. "People leave it late as possible to get ready. Then you get your hair coloured and blow dried, eyebrows threaded and waxing done. Henna is the most important part of this."
Ms Baidass is a nurse, so is not allowed to have henna on show at work unless it is to mark an important occasion. This, she said, made it even more special at Eid.
"We really cannot wait until Eid to have henna," she said. "There are many different types: Indian style, Gulf style, Sudanese style. I like it simple and quite dark."
Hadeel Saeed, 35, was planning to take her daughter Lamar, 5, to have henna done yesterday.
"I want her to have the spirit of Eid, to feel the spirit of Eid. She is very excited," she said.
Lamar has had henna applied for Eid every year since she was 3, said her mum, who is Jordanian but was born in the UAE.
"The henna, for the UAE, it's traditional, celebrating something new," Ms Saeed said.
She was looking forward to Eid because "we are fasting one month, so it's like a feast".
Emirati Hunaida Hassan, 38, said having henna was an important part of her annual Eid celebration.
She chooses a different design each year, opting this time for an intricate pattern circling each hand, wrist and lower arm. It took 25 minutes and cost Dh100.
"Sometimes it is simple, sometimes it's not," she said, referring to her choice of her design. "I like getting henna done."
Jordanian Muna Suliemal, 31, who owns and manages the Red Emerald Bright salon, near Muroor Road, said Eid was one of the busiest times for beauticians.
"We are very busy. Busy all the time," she said. "At this time, we have a lot of customers who want henna."
She said the salon's henna specialist worked quickly, taking only 25 minutes a customer, to cope with demand.
Henna tattoos are traditional to mark the end of the holy month. It is a core element of Emirati women's make-up and has been used for thousands of years.
The ancient Egyptians used it as a hair dye and today it is in common use worldwide for both hair colouring and tattoos.
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