Editorial Standards

My Mehndi Designs is built on the assumption that a small, named, well-photographed catalogue is more useful than a giant unsorted one. This page sets out the rules that keep that assumption honest — how a design enters the catalogue, what we promise about photography, who writes the words, and how we correct ourselves when we're wrong.

How a design enters the catalogue

Every design in the catalogue is one of three things, and we say which:

• Studio original. Photographed in our studio on a real hand or foot, applied by a named artist, with the wearer's written consent to publish. The default.
• Commissioned. Photographed by a credited photographer we engaged for a specific shoot, with the wearer's written consent. The credit appears on the design page.
• Licensed or contributed. Photographed by a third party who has granted us a written licence to publish. Licence terms and credit appear on the design page.

We do not republish images we have only seen on Pinterest, Instagram, or other catalogue sites. We do not use AI-generated photographs of mehndi.

Photography rules

For each design we publish at least one in-focus photograph taken within seventy-two hours of application — when the stain is at peak. We aim to show the design at the same angle the wearer would see it. We do not retouch the stain colour, smooth the skin, or add motifs in post. Cropping, exposure correction, and white balance are routine and don't change what the design is.

Naming and taxonomy

Every design has a name, an attributed artist, an approximate minutes-to-apply, a skill level, and a set of taxonomy tags (placement, style, tradition, occasion, motif). Names are descriptive of the design itself ("Scattered jaal across the wrist") rather than promotional ("Stunning bridal must-have").

When a design sits between two traditions or styles, we tag both and explain the overlap in the design notes. Where a regional tradition has multiple correct names (Khaleeji within the broader Arabic family; khafif within Pakistani technique), we use the specific term and link to the broader category.

How we write

We write in a confident, brief, specific voice. We try to lead with the concrete: what a design looks like, how long it takes, who it suits, when it's traditionally worn. We avoid superlatives, emoji, and the phrase "10,000+ designs" — none of which help a reader find what they came for.

Where claims about tradition, regional history, or technique appear in articles, they are reviewed by an artist or domain expert before publication. If we cannot verify a claim, we say so rather than print a confident guess.

Bylines and review

Every editorial article is signed by a named author and, where relevant, reviewed by an artist who works regularly in that tradition. The byline links to a profile that lists their training, the work they have done outside the site, and how to reach them.

Updates and dates

Each article carries a publication date and a last-modified date. When we revise an article materially — a corrected fact, a new recommendation, a re-shoot of the lead image — we update the modified date and, for substantial rewrites, add a short note at the top describing what changed.

Annual events (Karwa Chauth, Eid, Diwali) get refreshed every year with the current calendar dates and any new patterns from that season.

Corrections

If you spot an error — a misattributed motif, a wrong tradition tag, a date, a name — write to contact@mymehndidesigns.com. We will investigate, correct anything we got wrong, and add a brief correction note to the page describing what was changed and when.

Corrections that materially change the meaning of an article are flagged in the article header for thirty days after the change.

Conflicts of interest

We do not accept payment to feature a design, a salon, or an artist in the catalogue. We do not run sponsored posts dressed up as editorial. We do not accept free product in exchange for coverage. The only paid relationship on the site is display advertising — see the disclosure page for details.

Cultural respect

Mehndi is a living tradition with deep roots across South Asia, North Africa, and the Middle East. Where a regional or religious context exists for a pattern or occasion, we name it. We avoid flattening regional traditions into a single "ethnic" or "Indian" bucket, and we credit the specific community or ceremony when we know it.

Reader safety

We never recommend "black henna" — a product widely sold in markets and at festivals that contains paraphenylenediamine (PPD), a strong skin sensitiser. We always recommend a twenty-four-hour patch test before a first application, and a doctor's visit for any reaction beyond mild irritation. These notes appear in every how-to article.

Contact

Questions, corrections, and tips go to contact@mymehndidesigns.com. We read every message.