Henna (lawsonia inermis) is an open shrub with heavily scented, small cream flowers and blue-black fruit. An essence extracted from the leaves is popular and known as henna. Henna leaves yield the famous red dye used as body paint and to stain hair, nails and cloth.
it is an evergreen medium sized shrub 3' to 5' or even more, slow growing and compact with dainty, bright green, dense, foliage. If un-pruned, it grows into a tall shrub 2. 5 m (8') and even a small tree.
origin and general history of discovery and developments:
the first recorded user of henna as a hair dye was the egyptian queen ses, mother of king teta (third dynasty). The plant has always popularly been called egyptian henna, although it is found abundantly also in tunis, arabia, persia, india, and other tropical countries. It was commonly used by the inhabitants of all these countries to dye not only human hair but also the nails, the palms and soles of dancers, and the manes and tails of horses. Henna is an ancient art of body decoration, an art practiced as early as the pharoanic civilization of egypt. Evidence suggests that the ancient egyptian pharoes used henna during the mummification process as well as for cosmetic purposes. the word henna has its origin in the arabic word al-hinna. It is known as lawsonia inermis in botanical terms. It is a shrub popular for its leaves and is used to adorn the hands and feet of a bride and is also used to dye hair.
the active coloring principle in henna was called lawsone by tommasi, who isolated it in 1916 and determined its chemical construction to be 2-hydroxy-1, 4-naphthoquinone, c10h6o3. Further definitive work on henna and lawsone was done by h. E. Cox. The extract is an orange-red dye, readily soluble in water, dilute alkalies and acids. The true color can be seen best on white hair. Actually, its coppery, carrot-red shade is the same on all hair of any shade, but it seems to impart different colors because of variation in the basic shade. The color of henna is developed best in an acid medium.
henna contains a chemical molecule called lawsone. Though the molecule is colorless by itself, but when exposed to sunlight or air it gets converted to a new compound that has a reddish shade.
we offer our clients pure and effective henna powder. With its classic fragrance, the powder is used for cosmetic purpose. Unlike other hair care products, our henna powder is much more effective when used for coloring or conditioning the hair. Apart from coloring the hair, the powder also conditions the hair and gives it a smooth and glossy appearance. Owing to the natural and pure constituency of the henna powder prepared by us, it is also used for decorating the hands with beautiful designs keeping the hands soft and smooth.
directions for use:
- mix henna powder with lukewarm water (40oc) and make a thick paste.
- allow this paste to sit for 12-24 hours so that the dye releases.
- add two/three drops of lemon juice.
- apply this paste on hair with a brush.
- comb after five minutes for the paste to reach the hair roots.
- wash off the paste after 1 hour (minimum) thoroughly.
