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Henna as a hair dye

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Siddharth Herbs
Henna as a hair dye

It now has been five thousand years of discovery of henna as a dye. Henna dye had already existed as a form of body adornment. While the practice of wearing henna tattoos on one’s hands on their wedding is still a staple in Hindu cultures, many people use henna dyes to sport temporary tattoos on their bodies. Today, you might find stalls along the beach offering henna tattoo art or tattoo parlors offering temporary tattoos using the dye. However, the meaning of henna tattoos in Hindu cultures still provides a deep insight into the meaningful purpose of mehndi and why women in their civilizations continue to wear henna tattoos during their wedding.

What Is Henna?

Henna has been used to tattoo bodies at least 5,000 years ago. These are made from dyes created by trees under the Lawsonia genus. The henna tree, also known as the Lawsonia inermis, is the most common and most popular name for it, but it may also be called the mehendi, the mignonette tree, and the Egyptian privet.

This is popularly used for temporary tattoos, but it can also be used for dyeing your hair, nails, or even fabrics and other objects. When it comes to hair dyes, henna dye makes a great plant-based dye that also stimulates hair growth and strengthens your scalp. The color will eventually fade after four to six weeks, but the effect looks more natural than the copper-orange hair color you might experience from low-quality dyes.

Is Henna Safe?

In its purest form, henna is generally safe and has outreached the various parts of the world by Henna Exporters in India. Plenty of henna tattoo artists make their own henna paste to ensure it has nothing but organic ingredients, as some commercial henna makers may add artificial dyes and preservatives that some people don’t want on their skin or their children’s skin.

While they aren’t recommending it for your skin, they only prevent commercial usage for coloring your eyebrow or eyelash hair or any skin near your eyes. This won’t stop people from making their own henna tattoos at home or buying a box of henna dye and doing exactly what the FDA told them not to do, but it does prevent manufacturers and sellers from creating henna products for, say, dyeing your eyebrows. If you’re looking for a tattoo artist to do your henna, these regulations don’t apply to them.

However, in terms of safety, not all henna is good. In the past, some manufacturers used harmful dyes mixed in with the henna powder to create colored dyes. A product known as “black henna” has a substance called “p-phenylenediamine” or PPD. This is OK for henna hair dyes, but when used as a tattoo dye, it could cause skin irritation, discoloration, and scarring. In worse cases, the carcinogens in PPD can be cancerous.

Apart from black henna, henna is a safe dye for your skin, especially when your tattoo artist uses organic substances that can fade with the henna after a few washes.

 

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Siddharth Herbs
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