Henna, Ingredients & Safety

What is Henna?

Henna is a plant, Lawsonia inermis, whose dried and powdered leaves release an orange-red dye called lawsone. Mixed into a paste and applied to skin, it leaves a temporary reddish-brown stain that lasts one to three weeks.

Henna explained

The henna shrub grows in hot, dry climates across India, Pakistan, the Middle East and North Africa. Rajasthan, especially the Sojat region, is one of the world's largest producers of henna powder.

The word henna is used both for the plant and for the art of decorating skin with its paste. In India the same art is usually called mehendi, and the two words are used interchangeably when booking an artist.

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Related mehendi terms

MehendiMehendi (also spelled mehndi or mehandi) is the South Asian name for henna and for the art of applying henna paste to the hands and feet in decorative patterns, especially for weddings, festivals and celebrations.Lawsonia inermisLawsonia inermis is the botanical name of the henna plant, a flowering shrub of the loosestrife family (Lythraceae). Its leaves contain lawsone, the natural dye that produces the reddish-brown mehendi stain.LawsoneLawsone is the natural red-orange dye molecule in henna leaves. When henna paste sits on skin, lawsone binds with the keratin in the outer skin layer, creating the stain that darkens from orange to reddish-brown over 24-48 hours.Henna PowderHenna powder is made by drying and finely grinding the leaves of the henna plant. Artists mix it with lemon juice or water, sugar and essential oils to make the paste that is filled into cones for mehendi.

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