Plant-Based Beauty |Thoughtfully Chosen | Natural Care for Hair & Skin
This is a question we are often asked. Henna sometimes gets a bad reputation from hairdressers and online, but much of the confusion comes from the fact that the word “Henna” is used for very different types of products.
When you hear “Henna”, you naturally expect a pure, natural product made from Henna leaves. However, both Pure Henna and Compound Henna are available, and it is important to know the difference.
Pure Henna is made from 100% dried, powdered leaves of the Lawsonia inermis plant. The only ingredient in pure Henna is Henna leaf powder, and it is naturally green in colour.
Henna is not soluble in water or oil. Pure Henna is therefore a powder rather than a ready-to-use liquid. If a product sold as “Henna” is a liquid, it contains other ingredients to create the liquid formulation. These ingredients should always be checked carefully.
Some pure Henna products may also contain additional plant or fruit powders to nourish the hair or enhance the colour. If anything other than Henna is included, check the ingredients so you know exactly what you are putting on your hair. If you prefer complete control over the ingredients, using pure Henna and adding any other botanical ingredients yourself is another option.
Henna leaves contain a naturally occurring dye molecule called lawsone. When Henna is prepared with a mildly acidic liquid, such as black tea, apple cider vinegar or lemon juice, the lawsone dye is released.
This naturally occurring orange-red dye then binds to the keratin in the hair, producing the characteristic red, copper and auburn tones associated with pure Henna.
The term Compound Henna is sometimes used for products marketed as Henna that contain ingredients other than pure Henna leaf powder.
Some compound hair dyes may contain ingredients such as PPD (para-phenylenediamine) or metallic salts, and some may contain little or no Lawsonia inermis. These ingredients can be used to create colours that pure Henna cannot produce on its own, including darker brown and black shades.
This is one of the reasons Henna has developed a negative reputation. When hairdressers warn clients about the dangers of “Henna”, they may be referring to these compound products rather than pure Henna leaf powder.
If you have previously coloured your hair with synthetic dyes, particular care should be taken with compound Henna products containing metallic salts. These ingredients can interact with chemicals from previous hair treatments and may result in unexpected colour or hair damage.
This is why it is important to check the ingredients and choose a product that clearly identifies what it contains.
A strand test is also a good precaution whenever you are changing hair colour products, particularly if your hair has been chemically treated.
Pure Henna is very different from compound Henna. Pure Henna contains only powdered Henna leaves and naturally occurring plant compounds.
Many people use pure Henna not only to colour their hair but also as part of their natural hair care routine. It can leave hair feeling conditioned, smooth and glossy, while adding natural red and copper tones.
Certified Organic Henna takes this one step further. Our Certified Organic Henna is grown according to certified organic farming standards, without the use of prohibited synthetic fertilisers and chemicals.
If your Henna is genuinely 100% pure Henna with no metallic salts, PPD or other synthetic dye ingredients, it is generally compatible with previously chemically coloured hair.
However, because every person's hair and previous colour treatment is different, we recommend performing a strand test first. This lets you see the colour result and check how your hair responds before applying Henna to your entire head.
Likewise, if you later decide to return to synthetic hair colour, pure Henna itself does not contain the metallic salts associated with compound Henna that can cause problematic interactions.
If you are looking for natural hair colour, always check the ingredient list and make sure you know whether you are buying Pure Henna or Compound Henna. Pure Henna should identify Lawsonia inermis (Henna leaf) as its only ingredient.
Comments will be approved before showing up.