Choosing your henna is a mess! It's hard to choose among all the henna on the market. What is the difference between natural henna, neutral henna, blonde henna and black henna? It's a difference in composition, natural henna is pure henna. Neutral henna does not come from the same plant and other henna is composed of different mixtures and is therefore not pure. In addition, there is a lot of controversy about black henna: is it toxic or not? Then yes and no depending on its composition and its usefulness. Black henna for hair is not toxic because it is a mixture of non-dangerous plant powders. Black henna for tattoos is dangerous because it contains allergenic chemicals.
Under the name "henna", we find many things and a little bit of everything and anything. There are several forms of henna and we are here to help you make the difference:
Coloration - Tattoos - Dandruff - Eczema
The Plant
Natural henna is the only one that deserves the name henna, as it comes exclusively from the henna plant named Lawsonia inermis, making it the only "pure" henna. It is made from dried and then ground leaves. Its particular composition in lawsone molecules gives it different properties that can be used in therapeutic or cosmetic ways. There are different henna of different origins such as Yemeni, Rajasthani or Egyptian henna. They come from the same plant, the difference is the place of production which, due to the different climatic conditions and soil types, influence the concentration of lawsone in the plant. Indeed, the more the henna will be cultivated on a hot zone, the more it will produce lawsone and the more the final color will be dark. This is the henna we are talking about in this guide.
Therapeutic benefits of natural henna.
Healing
Antifungal
Antibacterial, disinfectant, aseptic
Anti-inflammatory
Anti-lice
Cosmetic benefits of natural henna
Dye
Anti-odors
Exfoliating
Capillary sheath strengthening
Anti-dandruff
Anti-oily hair Some simple uses of natural henna...
Color hair, fight dandruff and oily hair, strengthen your hair
Make a paste and apply it to your hair for a minimum of 2 hours. Rinse thoroughly until the water runs clear.
Body Scrub and Purifier
Mix 1 tsp of henna, 8 tbsp of black soap and the juice of one lemon and then apply the mixture like a scrub, using a horsehair glove.
Tattooing
Make a henna paste and apply it with a sleeve to make your tattoos. The longer the henna stays in contact with your skin, the darker the color will be.
Sore or burn wound Make a poultice by mixing henna powder with water and cover with a compress. Repeat several times a day.
Sprains, rheumatism and other aches and pains
Make a poultice over the sore area. Repeat as needed.
Nail or foot fungus
Make a henna and lemon juice mixture to apply to the fungus for two hours every day until it disappears.
Eczema
Apply henna as a poultice for 30 minutes to the affected area. Repeat every 3 to 4 hours if needed.
Oily hair - Dandruff - Lice
The Plant
Neutral henna is not strictly speaking a henna. In fact, neutral henna comes from the leaves of another tree: the Cassia Obovata, belonging to the Fabaceae family. The Lawsonia inermis and the Cassia Obovata are then not related. However, neutral henna has many similar properties with natural henna. The major difference is that neutral henna does not have lawsone, the coloring molecule.
Cosmetic benefits of neutral henna
Exfoliating
Anti oily hair
Hair growth
Anti lice
Some simple uses for neutral henna...
Anti-dandruff, oily hair and hair growth
Make a paste with warm water and apply the mixture to your hair for 30-45 min.
There is a lot of controversy about black henna because of more or less severe allergic reactions, following a tattoo. First of all, what you need to know is that natural henna, in its purest form, will never give a black color. To obtain such a color, other ingredients have been added and in particular of PPD (paraphenylenediamine), THE compound responsible for all these reactions. PPD allows you to obtain a black henna color, however it is the one that is involved in allergic reactions sometimes irreversible, eczema and can leave scars. Therefore, we advise you not to use black henna.
Beware, black henna for hair dye is different from the controversial black henna. Black henna for hair dye can be completely natural! It is the indigo powder contained in this henna that produces the black color on the hair. Indigo is not used for the realization of tattoos for the simple reason that it does not adhere to the skin and therefore does not give coloring.