How do I colour my hair with henna?

Henna has a history of use dating back 9,000 years and has been used throughout many civilisations. Combined or not with plant and mineral substances, it can be used to obtain a vast palette of colours in hair and skin. Hair colouring began with the Egyptians and Romans.

Other plant powders such as turmeric, madder or walnut stain, because of the presence of colouring molecules in their composition (curcumin, alizarin, juglone), were used at the time as dyes for wood, clothes or hair. Buddhist monks used turmeric to dye their garments orange-yellow, and madder was used on the orders of Louis Philippe until the 19th century to colour the uniforms of the French Army.

Walnut stain was and still is used as a paint to stain wood, and was also used as an ointment to treat the scalp and colour the hair.

In Roman times, henna was mixed with herbs for red dye or with saffron flowers for blond hair, which was very fashionable at the time, producing the famous Venetian blonde.

In India, henna is part of the ayurvedic tradition and is passed down from mother to daughter. It is used to cleanse the hair and give it volume, as well as protecting the scalp. Asian women still use henna for its colouring properties, but also for its sebum-regulating action. The result is shiny, supple, silky hair with beautiful red highlights.

Among the Egyptians, 4000 years before Christ, henna mixed with blood produced a reddish-orange colour that was the most widespread in use. Ramses II dyed his hair in this way to hide his grey hair, and indigo was already used to obtain a black colour.

This plant originated in India and Arabia and grows in arid regions from the Sahara to the western Pacific. The plant's leaves contain a natural red-orange lawsone pigment, which is more abundant when the plant is grown at temperatures between 35° and 45°.

To obtain natural henna powder, the plant's leaves are soaked in water, then dried and ground to a fine powder. Its botanical name is Lawsonia inermis (this name refers to lawsone, the red colour pigment).

Our range includes 3 henna products of different origins, known as "natural henna": Egyptian henna, Rajasthani henna and Yemeni red henna. These henna products will give your hair a colour ranging from copper to auburn (see the paragraph on the difference between henna products).

Neutral henna comes from a small plant that grows in semi-arid subtropical regions, in sub-equatorial Africa and on the Arabian Peninsula as far as India. To obtain neutral henna powder, the plant leaves are soaked in water, then dried and ground to a fine powder.

Its botanical name is Cassia obovata. This henna contains no colouring pigment; it will strengthen the hair and make it shiny.