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Henna has been in use for centuries in various parts of world.
Even as far back as 5000 years ago. Henna was used for coloring
the hair and nails of Mummies. Henna was introduced in India
during the 12th century by the Mughals. It was most popular
among the Rajputs of Mewar. The ladies especially, applied
henna on their hands and feet in artistic decorative patterns
to beautify themselves. From years to come, it became a tradition
to use henna on auspicious days and functions, particularly
for weddings, the use of henna to adorn hands and feet became
customary.It is a natural product, grown in form of a small
plant, of size 3.5 ft to 5 ft. Henna leaves are green in color
but its coloring effect is brownish reddish. Its leaves are
small. Henna is well known for its natural values, coloring
effect and sweet pleasant fragrance.Henna is found in very
few countries in world, India is one of the largest producer
of henna. Indian henna is of best quality in world.
Henna
is the name given to the dried and powdered leaves of lawsonia
inermis, a plant that grows in Egypt, India and parts
of the Middle East. For thousands of years it has been used
as a colorant to stain human hair, nails or skin a bright
fire-engine red color. In literature, this orange-red color
is often referred to as "henna red". The ancients
combined henna with other natural colorants like indigo, iron
oxide or lead salts in order to produce brown and black colors.
The Old Testament describes Solomon as using henna and indigo
to stain his beard.
The
Chemistry of Henna & How it Colors Your Hair
Henna contains a chemical molecule called lawsone which is
responsible for the coloration. Lawsone by itself is colorless.
However when exposed to sunlight or to air, it is converted
to a new compound that has the characteristic red color. In
its natural state, that is to say when imbedded in the vegetable
matrix of the henna plant, lawsone is protected from the environment
and thus is colorless. When henna is applied to the hair,
the lawsone is transferred from the vegetable matrix of the
henna powder into the matrix of the hair shaft. Lawsone is
a very small molecule and thus can penetrate deep into the
nooks and crannies of the hair shaft. When the henna paste
is rinsed off, the lawsone remains behind and immediately
reacts with the environment and turns red. The hair will be
colored red. The exact hue or degree of "reddishness"
will depend upon the other natural pigments present in the
hair and, to some degree, the condition of the hair prior
to the henna treatment. These secondary factors make coloring
hair with henna a very unpredictable procedure and is one
reason why many hair stylists do not use henna. Normal healthy
hair gives a nice even brassy red hue. Bleached, processed
or otherwise "roughed-up" hair gives unpredictable
results because the absorption of lawsone is very irregular.
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