Saarah's Henna is a premier boutique henna service based in Upper Hutt, Wellington, bringing professional mehndi artistry to the greater Wellington region and across the North Island. Founded by Sarah, a self-taught henna artist from Chennai, India, the studio draws on more than 15 years of experience and a lifelong love of a craft she began practising at just ten years old.
The service is fully mobile — Sarah travels to clients, with additional travel charges applying over certain distances. Occasions covered include bridal henna, engagements, sangeets, personal appointments, showers, prenatal belly henna, birthday parties for adults and children, graduations, photo shoots, girls nights, corporate events and cultural celebrations such as Diwali, Eid, Easter and Christmas. The team is also a familiar sight at fairs, markets and some of New Zealand's biggest music festivals.
Beyond events, Saarah's Henna paints home decor — candles, votive glass candles, ceramic vases and canvases — each a unique, handmade gift. A special offering close to the artist's heart is the volunteer henna crown service for cancer survivors and those living with alopecia. Registered in New Zealand since 2014 with a memorable debut at that year's Newtown Festival, Saarah's Henna blends tradition, artistry and warmth into every design.
Saarah's Henna is a premier boutique henna service based in Upper Hutt, Wellington, offering professional mehndi across the greater Wellington region and beyond. Founded by Sarah, a self-taught henna artist from Chennai, India, the business pairs more than 15 years of hands-on artistry with a warm, personal approach. Whether you are celebrating a wedding, awaiting a baby, hosting a birthday or simply want to treat yourself, henna is a beautiful way to mark the moment — and Saarah's Henna can travel to you, with additional travel charges applying for longer distances.
Sarah grew up in a culture that has embraced henna for every festivity. Some of her fondest memories are of picking henna leaves for her mother, who ground them with a small ball of tamarind into a paste applied by finger — a circle on the palm, dots around it, henna caps on the fingertips. Her own journey began at ten years old, when she couldn't find anyone to apply henna at a wedding and picked up the cone herself. She practised, refined her technique, and soon friends and family were lining up. Word spread, weddings followed, and her repertoire grew immensely.
In 2014, Saarah's Henna became a registered New Zealand business. Its very first event was Newtown Festival 2014 — Wellington's largest street festival, and a debut the artist still remembers fondly. Eight years on, the business has appeared around the Capital and throughout the North Island at many of the country's popular music festivals, including Rhythm and Vines, Bay Dreams, One Love, Sound Splash, WOMAD and Wellington's own Howegrown.
The list of occasions Saarah's Henna caters for is long: bridal henna and guest henna for bridal parties, engagements, sangeets, hens dos, personal appointments, showers, prenatal (pregnancy) belly henna, birthday parties, graduations, photo shoots, girls nights and parties for women and children. Corporate events get their own treatment — a henna experience that gives employees and guests something genuinely memorable, with quotes tailored to each event. Cultural celebrations such as Diwali, Eid, Easter and Christmas are also covered, and the artist regularly appears at fairs and markets.
Pricing is flexible, with both hourly and per-person rates to suit different events. Hourly bookings best suit those wanting more intricate, detailed designs, while bigger groups can opt for a per-person rate. Special package deals exist for weddings, baby showers, birthdays and corporate parties, and discounts may be discussed for bookings over three hours. Every enquiry can be shaped into a tailor-made package — the team encourages you to get in touch and talk through what you need.
One service stands apart: henna crowns. Saarah's Henna provides volunteer henna crowns for cancer survivors and people living with alopecia, creating beautiful designs where hair once grew. Being able to help empower those who have been through so much is something the artist describes as a privilege to be part of.
The artistry doesn't stop at skin, either. Saarah's Henna creates henna-painted home decor — applying henna paint to candles, votive glass candles, ceramic vases and canvases. Each piece is one of a kind and makes a very unique gift for any occasion.
Booking starts with a simple enquiry form covering your event date, location and the service you're interested in; bridal clients are asked to specify whether they'd like bridal henna, guest henna, or both. Sarah takes care of the creative side, while her husband Sam Kumar drives the business side of Saarah's Henna — a partnership that has kept the studio thriving since 2014.
Henna itself carries a history stretching back thousands of years. People in tropical countries such as India, the Middle East and Africa discovered the leaves were medicinal and had a cooling effect on the skin, dipping their extremities into henna paste to cool down. The stains those dips left behind evolved into the art form we know today. When you book Saarah's Henna, you're tapping into that lineage through an artist who has lived it since childhood — and who loves nothing more than seeing the joy henna brings to people.
From a first festival stall in Newtown to brides, bellies, birthdays and festival crowds across the North Island, Saarah's Henna has grown into one of Wellington's best-loved henna services — always mobile, always personal, and always focused on making your occasion a little more special.