Sample of Henna (powdered)

Henna has been used from earliest times, particularly in Egypt and later in India, to give an auburn dye. It may also be mixed with other vegetable dyes to give different colours. In the 19th century, salts of copper and iron were used which coated the hair surface, but modern synthetic organic dyes penetrate the hair and give a more permanent and less metallic effect.

Henna is obtained from the leaves of varieties of plants of the genus Lawsonia, found widely in North India and other parts of Asia.