Henna Facts: Useful and Educational!!

Q: I was interested in trying your hair wash, until I discovered it isn't recommended for color-treated hair. I saw where you recommend henna hair dyes, so I did a little searching, since I've never used henna. I learned through a website that:

There is no such plant as "blonde henna", "brown henna" or "black henna". The plant, henna, lawsonia inermis, has only one dye molecule, and that molecule is red-orange.

Chemicals, metallic salts or other dye plants must be added to henna to make any color other than red. These mixes are termed compound hennas.

To be honest, that sounds pretty gross. I'm not a redhead, and have no desire to go red. My natural color is an blah, muddy brown with a whole lotta gray. I went blonde for many years, and recently went back to a medium chestnut brown. Is there a natural henna product that will duplicate that color without all the icky stuff added? Is it safe to use henna after having done chemical coloring in the past?

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A: One of the oldest and most well-established companies that we have found, Lotus Brands, produces reliable and consistent 100% pure botanical and henna powder blends of hair coloring products. Two well-regarded products made by Lotus Brands are their "Light Mountain" or "Color the Gray."

The beauty of using 100% natural plant powder blends to dye hair is that the plant dyes gradually wash out without the problems with "roots." Another big plus is that the plant powders are not damaging to the hair, non-toxic to humans and wildlife, sustainable/renewable agricultural crops, and not harmful to the environment and our waterways when they are washed down the drain. In addition, pure plant dyes are totally
compatible with our Hair Wash!

The information that you found was not accurate. Just as there are hundreds if not thousands of plant dyes that can dye wool (the hair of animals), or silk or cotton fibers, there are many plants that can be used to dye human hair darker colors in many various colors. So, too, as there are many varieties of apples, there are many varieties of henna that produce varying shades of brighter reds to brownish reds. When henna powders are mixed with other pure botanical plant dye powders, one can achieve many unique and rich and natural shades: bright red, dark red, auburn, copper, light, medium and dark browns, chestnuts, burgundies, mahogany, and even black. The Lotus company blends henna
plant powder with other botanical plant powders such as indigo and black walnut shells to get a wide range of colors.

When mixing the Lotus Brands plant powders at home, instead of using just plain water, one can mix their henna with coffee, black tea, chamomile tea, lemon juice, or other herbs or spices for even greater variation and penetration of color.

(However, it is true that there really is only simple botanical method of minimally lightening the hair when sitting in the sun -- applying lemon juice or rhubarb.)

To view the Lotus Brands products and to get the company's contact info for your hair coloring inquiries, take a look at the following useful links:

http://www.light-mountain-hair-color.com/
http://www.lotuspress.com/ltmtn.htm

We do offer their hair colorings in our store and you can order them when you place an order through our web site by requesting a particular coloring brand and color in the comment box of our shopping cart's order page, before submitting your order.

If you have any questions about the henna and its application on previously chemically-treated hair, we do suggest contacting Lotus Brands as they are the henna/botanical hair coloring experts.