Shades of henna for hair: myths and reality

Henna is a dye which is made from dried leaves of a plant called lawsone nikolica. It is a shrub that grows in North Africa and in some Asian countries, such as India. It is known that henna was used in the bronze age, and still it remains a popular tool for creating drawings on the skin, and shades of henna for hair does not lose its relevance.

What is henna

• Colorless henna. In the package with colorless henna you will find a greenish powder, similar to the regular henna, but actually made from Cassia Italian. This plant and lawsone belong to different genera and from the point of view of biology are not close relatives. Perhaps originally the confusion in names because Latin name Cassia Italian – Sennaitalica – tune with the name of henna – henna. Moreover, conventional, and colorless henna is used almost in the same way, but with different goals. Colorless henna adds Shine, improves texture of damaged hair, nourishes the scalp.


• Black henna. Under this title may be sold two different coloring substances. The first is the usual henna, which add paraphenylenediamine. Obtained in this way the tool is used to create tattoos black and hair coloring in dark tones. However, paraphenylenediamine may cause severe allergic reactions and can cause serious damage to skin and hair, so now its use is forbidden in many countries.


• Sometimes black henna is also called the ash. She, like colorless henna, has nothing to do with the lawsonite. Basma is the powder from the true Indigo dye, which originated in India. This paint is safe and mixing it with henna, you can get different shades of dark red and brown. To that already, black henna can be shaded gray hair and protect hair from UV damage.


• Red henna is a real henna powder from the leaves of lawsonite nikolica containing molecules colors red-orange color. Henna gives hair volume, makes them silky and smooth, stimulates hair growth, improves circulation in the scalp and removes dandruff.

Shades of henna – common myths

• Henna can give your hair a shade of green. Henna can be a surprise – so many women, expecting that their hair will become saturated copper or red-brown color after coloring often surprised, looking in the mirror curls of carrot shade. However, if after you henna your hair was greenish, perhaps you just bought a low-quality henna, which contained the substance that gave such a reaction. Pure henna can dye your hair only in various shades of red and copper.


• Henna comes in different colors. On sale you can often see Golden, Golden brown, copper henna and henna color Burgundy, mahogany and so on. The real red henna is always the same color, but the final result depends on the original color of the hair, and from what you add to your henna (coffee, Basma, beet juice or something else). Under the guise of henna with a variety of shades at best sell ordinary red henna, and at worst, henna with other additives that can cause allergic reactions, irritation of the skin and even hair loss.


• Henna can lighten your hair. Actually henna can only make the hair darker (if initially they are very light) or to give them one or another shade of red. Have brown hair and brunettes impression lighter hair after colouring can be created at the expense of purchased copper color, but it is only an illusion. Besides henna tends to oxidize within a few days after dyeing, therefore, over time, acquired the hue may change with light copper or carrot on a dark red or brown. When re-coloring henna hair color is also becoming increasingly dark.


• Henna is a natural dye, so it can gradually be rinsed from the hair. True here is only the first statement. Henna is not washed off from the hair, although obtained with the help of color can be made less intense by using a mask made of honey, oils for hair and coloring other paints. However, the only way to restore your hair color after dyeing with henna to grow hair, so think carefully before using this paint.

How to get different shades with henna

To dye hair strawberry blonde, prepare a mixture of colorless henna, red henna in the ratio of four to one, mix with water and let stand twelve hours. Then apply the resulting paste on the hair and wash it off after three hours. Note that this strawberry blonde when using this paint will work only on light hair.

To paint light or light brown hair in a red-copper color, in the same way, use a colorless and red henna in the ratio of one to one.

In order to use henna to dye hair in dark copper or chestnut color, there are several ways. If you have dark brown or dark brown, close to black hair, try to keep the henna on the hair instead of the usual one and a half hours three or four hours. Often the desired color cannot be obtained only after the second or third dyeing, so please be patient. You can also mix red henna with ash getting lighter and darker shades depending on the amount of ash in the mixture and the original hair color. For example, if you dye dark brown hair with a mixture of henna and Basma in the ratio of one to one and keep the paint on the hair two or two and a half hours, you get a brown color with a rich reddish hue. If the same hair to use a mixture of henna and Basma in the ratio of one to two, the hair will become dark brown.

Rich chocolate color with a faint reddish tint you can get if you mix the henna not with water, but with strong black tea (two tablespoons of tea per hundred milliliters of water).

Dark red and even claret shade can be achieved, if you mix the henna with beet juice. Depending on how intense the hue you need, use for paint preparation only beet juice, or juice mixed with water.

If you want to dye hair a dark brown color, you can also mix the henna with freshly ground coffee. The ratio of henna and coffee depends on the original color of the hair, but, as a rule, 100 grams of henna only need one or two tablespoons of coffee.

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