Henna is the powder obtained from the dried leaves of a plant, Lawsonia Inermis, a thorny shrub that grows abundantly in areas of the world with hot, dry climates such as Africa, the Middle East and India.
Lawsonia Inermis contains a colouring pigment in its leaves, lawsone, which dyes it an intense orange-red.
Henna has been used since ancient times to color hair, dye fabrics and adorn the body with tattoos.
This natural dye not only colors but is also very rich in nourishing, protective and invigorating substances for the skin and hair.
Henna powder colors the hair by binding to the keratin, filling the hair scales which are also made fuller! It is therefore perfect for those with very thin, fragile hair or with split ends.
Pure henna colors thanks to its pigment content, namely lawsone molecules, and dyes only and exclusively red. By binding to keratin, the result obtained will be different based on the starting color.
But then what is mahogany henna?
Index
What is Mahogany Henna
The term henna has expanded to include all those natural hair dyeing herbs.
The products defined as blonde henna, brown henna, black henna are called this way for convenience of language but in addition to pure henna they contain a mixture of dyeing herbs.
The mahogany one, available in its various shades, will contain a percentage of Lawsonia inermis to which other herbs will be added such as indigofera , also known as indigo, for a colder mahogany or katam, for a warmer mahogany.
We always recommend that you do some tests to see the result you can get on your hair.
The lawsone molecule, contained only in pure henna and with an orange-red color, is the only one able to bind to the hair keratin and make the coloring permanent. Based on the percentage contained, the henna will be more or less long-lasting, even if by nature it tends to fade with the passing of time.
Never use dye mixtures containing Indigo if you have bleached hair because you risk obtaining a color that tends towards green!
How to prepare it
You can obtain a mahogany-colored herbal dye using herbs such as Indigo, Madder or Hibiscus for cool tones or Katam and sandalwood for warm tones to mix with Red Henna to fix the color to the hair and improve its hold over time.
In fact, red henna is the only dyeing herb that can bind to the hair's keratin , thus ensuring that the color stays on the hair for a long time.
If you prefer to avoid mixing the various herbs yourself to obtain mahogany tones, you can use one of the ready-made mixes available on the market, with herbs already mixed in the right proportions.
To prepare mahogany henna with very warm and coppery tones, you can prepare the mixture with hot water adding lemon, hibiscus, tea and various infusions.
The perfect water temperature is between 50° and 60°, to keep the colouring power intact and avoid excessively highlighting the copper/orange tones.
Covers gray hair
To cover gray hair and get a mahogany, there are various options.
If you have a few gray hairs, you can apply mahogany henna directly to your natural base. Depending on the recipe you choose, the gray hair will remain lighter but will be able to blend well with the base;
If you have a lot of white hair, if your natural base is very light or if you have bleached your hair , you need to do a two-step coloring :
- in the first step only red henna to pigment the hair and create a uniform base
- to the second step with your mix for the mahogany tones.
In this case, you will need to prepare a first red henna, to be left on for at least 45-60 minutes, as always covered with a cap and towel to keep everything warm. Once this first application is finished, rinse with hot water, towel dry your hair well or dry it if you prefer and apply your mahogany henna. If you are more comfortable, you can also do the second step the next day!
The double pass is not always necessary, there are hairs that are able to absorb the pigment better than others and have excellent results already with a single pass; later you can decide to do the double pass only on the regrowth touch-ups, so as to optimize and reduce the processing times!
Important: if your natural base is blonde, natural, dyed or bleached, it is necessary to do a first pass with pure red henna, to avoid having strange greenish shades.
The best natural mahogany henna
Want to achieve your dream mahogany color? Here are our favorite mahogany hennas, perfect for ease of use and the results they allow you to achieve!
Are you a beginner or do you have doubts about the world of natural dyes? Discover in this article all the most requested FAQs about henna !
Continue reading in our section dedicated to all the guides for henna and dyeing herbs so you don't miss our advice on natural hair coloring!
[ApSC sc_key=sc3148331291][/ApSC]
