Henna is a vegetable based hair dye. Even with being considered permanent hair color henna, like most
    vegetable hair colors, will fade with shampooing. Vegetable tints were the first form of permanent hair coloring.
    Vegetables, flowers, herbs and different types of mud were used in creating variations of dyes for hair before
    technology brought us hair coloring as we know it  today. Henna, dogwood, indigo, and chamomile were the four
    most noteworthy hair
    Henna's originates from plants grown in moist climates throughout Africa, Arabia, Iran, and the East Indies.
    Henna is prepared from leaves that are removed before the flowering cycle, dried and ground into a fine powder.
    Hot water or hot coffe/tea is added to become a paste. A lemon and sugar mixture is made to set the henna.

Many people use henna as hair color and skin dye. Henna is used  in many important ceremonies throughout the east as well
as everyday skin decoration. This appeals to persons in the west and the east who prefer organic products, it's "natural"
qualities appeal to many. Henna can be found in many of the local health food stores and organic grocers. It is found usually in
four shades; black, auburn, a lightener, and chestnut. Some shades are variations or mixtures of these four shades( IE, dark
chestnut, or light chestnut). Henna colors tend to fall into the red category and creates a brightness in it's shades.

How Henna Works: Henna owes its dying abilities to the presence of a chemical known a s Lawson. Citric or other acids are
added to create a p.H. Of 5.5. Henna coats and penetrates into the hair shaft. Because of it's coating action henna can process
unevenly in hair that has uneven porosity. Henna dye coats the hair shaft and repetitive application of henna will result in hair
that is thicker and has more body. Henna can be used on hair that is fine, thin, limp and weak with out structural damage to the
hair. Henna coats the hair strand and fills in any "hole" or rough patches in the hair, and can

Warning: excessive use of henna dye on the hair can build up on the outside of the hair strand and create brassiness, leaving
conditioner unable to penetrate through the henna and will leave the hair dry and coarse. It may not have the look of dry and
coarse hair, however, hair will have the texture and feel of dry, coarse and damaged hair.

If you have used henna tints on your hair, it is very important that you inform your hairstylists before you have your hair colored or
permed. Henna coats the hair and may not be penetrated by other hair color or perm solution.

The risk in using henna as a hair dye
Henna has a coating effect that if overused, can create a build up in the hair and penetrates into the hair shaft and attach's to the
bonds of the hair. This may leave the hair unfit for other professional treatments, such as: decolorization, perming, chemical
relating, highlights, or other colorization applications. Constant build up of henna from over coating the hair can also cause the
hair to become brittle and break. There is a possibility to remove the build up of henna or to prepare the hair for other types of
chemical service. More than one application of the henna removal treatment may be necessary to remove all traces of henna
coating on the hair shaft.
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