Henna for Hair: How henna dyes gray hair: schematic diagram and explanation

If you henna hair that has no melanins, the only color you see is the Lawsone red-orange color.

If you don't want orange-popsicle colored hair, you'll need to get the greatest dye saturation possible, or add other dye plants to your mix. If you have gray hair, and want a rich, deep red color, it is crucial to purchase body art quality henna! Body art henna has double or triple the Lawsone content of lesser quality henna. If you get body art quality henna, and leave the henna paste in your hair for several hours, wrapped in plastic, you'll get greater dye saturation and richer color! Many people are able to dye their gray hair dark red and auburn with repeated applications of body art quality henna. The hair takes up a bit more dye each time.

If the idea of dye saturation seems confusing, compare it to this again: if you put a wet teabag on a white table cloth, the tannin in the tea "migrates" from the teabag into the cloth fibers, binds with those fibers, and leaves a stain. And, the longer you leave the teabag there, the darker the stain. The stronger the tea in the teabag, the darker the stain. The more times you plunk a wet teabag down on the same cloth, the darker the stain.

When you first rinse the body art quality henna out of your hair, the hair may appear firey Bozo the Clown orange, but this color should darken and mellow over the first few days, just as henna stains on skin darken.

The addition of Essential Oils with high levels of monoterpene alcohols will also help dye dispersion and penetration! Many people feel they get much richer, darker color with the addition of these "terps".

Go Here for more information on high monoterpene alcohol Essential Oils , known as "Terps"

Click on these images for bigger pictures and more information on how to dye your gray hair with henna, indigo, and other plant dyes:

Go back to the Index of Gray Hair

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Always test first! Go here to find out how!