 What is Henna and How Does it Work?
Henna comes from the Lawsonia plant, an ornamental shrub that grows in the Middle East and Asia. The henna plant, often six feet in height, produces a small fragrant flower. For commercial use, henna is produced by gathering, stripping and pulverizing the leaves of the Lawsonia plant into a very fine powder. The major constituents of the powder are lawsone (natural pigment) and hennatannic acid (natural protein). Various species of the Lawsonia plant produce the wide range of colors in the end product called henna.
Henna works on hair by coating each hair shaft with a natural, semi-permanent protein called hennatannic acid. Heat causes the hennatannic acid to cling to the proteins found in the hair, nails or skin. As henna coats and seals the hair shaft, it helps protect the hair from the damaging effects of sun, salt, chlorine, wind and pollution. It can help minimize split ends, tighten the hair cuticle and create a more solid surface which reflects light, giving the hair a lustrous gleam.
Henna does not produce dramatic color changes, but rather enhances and deepens existing color. Henna cannot lighten dark hair, but will add highlights and may darken light hair.
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