Henna FAQs

Henna, also known as Lawsonia Inermis or mignonette, is a beautifully scented tree or shrub that may grow up to twenty feet tall. It blooms with small, fragrant, pink white, yellow, or red flowers and produces blue-black berries. The henna plant grows best in hot weather where there is little moisture. It is native to the Middle East, North Africa and the Indo-Pak subcontinent. Only a few countries export their henna while others grow theirs for local commercial use.

The part of the plant most widely used is the leaf and these are cultivated during the plant’s growing seasons and dried. According to Juliette de Bairacli Levy, “The whole shrub, skin of roots, bark of trunk and branches, and fresh berries yield henna, the alcanna of the Arabs. This herb is extremely penetrative and therefore a very effective and very popular dye.” (Levy; 78) Chemically, henna is known to contain coumarins, naphthoquinones (including lawsone), flavenoids, sterols, and tannins. (Chevalier; 225).
Once the leaves are dried, they are cleaned, grounded, and triple sifted into a very fine powder. Once the henna powder is ready, we import it to Henna Sooq here in Columbia, Maryland. We carry our henna powder for hair coloring and for henna body art use. To activate henna powder, you mix it into a paste, which can be used to naturally color the hair or on skin as a temporary form of body art tattoo. It typically dyes the skin and hair an orange to cherry red-brown tone (tone and color results vary dependent on the person's skin pigmentation, and the person's natural hair color, or grey hairs). When using henna to dye the hair it is permanent, and for skin it is temporary lasting about 7-10 days.

This plant grows best in hot weather where there is little moisture. It is native to the Middle East, North Africa, and the Indo-Pak subcontinent. Only a few countries export their henna, while others grow theirs for local commercial use.

Black henna is not a natural henna product. Black henna colors the skin jet black and usually looks very ink-like. Black henna for hair is usually a blend of henna and other herbs including chemicals. Please read all of the ingredients on packages or ask for more information.

It contains PPD (para-phenylenediamine) which is a black chemical dye that is used is used to make KEVLAR®, epoxycoatings, including fungicides, corrosion inhibitors, urethane coatings, rubber chemicals, hair dyes and polyurethane.

Please don't ever get this applied onto your skin or put this onto your hair.

PPD is a toxin that can get into the bloodstream through the skin. It can cause damage to kidneys, liver, skin and possibly even cancer. 

You can read more about it here: 

In English

In French

There are natural alternatives to black henna such as jagua which is a fruit that grows in South America, Cuba and Puerto Rico. The Jagua juice, when added to henna, naturally creates what we call hengua aka jagua paste that will stain a natural black stain. The juice can also be mixed into a gel that stains blue-black tones. It is temporary on the skin, and on hair can permanently stain.

No henna is not painful. When applying henna as a temporary form of body art, it's placed on the skin in a similar way as if someone was applying body paints on you. The henna paste is laid down from a small bottle or cone. There is no piercing of the skin nor needles used, and only the top most layers of your skin is dyed. Henna feels cool to the skin. Professional henna artists usually make their own henna paste by hand. Be sure to ask what the ingredients are before getting henna applied. Natural henna is very safe and allergic reactions are rare.

Here at Henna Sooq we use organically certified henna powder which we make into a paste blended with lavender or Red Raj Bliss Blend essential oil for safest and best results. Our recipe is safe for pregnant, nursing mothers, children and the elderly. Should you have any concerns please contact your doctor or midwife.

For hair care, henna feels similar to a mud mask treatment for hair and slightly heavier then chemical dye treatments. It has cooling properties which you will feel on your hair and scalp. Should you have any scent or migraine sensitivities please be sure to add essential oils to your recipe so that the henna or Ayurvedic treatments don't bother you. The masks can be heavy on the heads so take it easy and sit down with a good movie or book. Do not leave treatments in longer then instructed on our packages.

Yes you can still be allergic to henna and products sold at Henna Sooq. Even though our products are 100% natural and made with raw, natural ingredients, this doesn't mean natural ingredients don't cause allergies. Peanuts are an allergen and they're natural. It's the same with any ingredient, product, or herb, you can be allergic to anything these days. We highly recommend that you patch test all herbs and products on your inner arm. Leave a bit of product or paste on your inner arm for 3-5 minutes, then wipe it off. Should this patch test become red or itchy that would mean you are allergic to it.

Disclaimer: You are liable to test all of Henna Sooq's products before use to ensure you are not allergic.

This can vary depending on use. For skin usually it will last 7-10 days, sometimes up to 2 weeks. The better you care for your henna temporary tattoo, the longer it will last. Please refer to our blog for full aftercare instructions.

For hair, it is permanent hair dye, and lasts until it grows out.

Henna does not come in a variety of colors. Our pure, 100% natural henna powder and paste only dyes in naturally occurring tones of orange/red/brown shades. Henna is just a plant. Plants don't typically produce more then one color outcome. Any other "henna colors" will have other substances added (some of which are very dangerous like PPD which is usually found in black henna) to it. If you have any reactions to henna please contact your physician immediately.

For hair coloring, some commercial boxes of henna claim henna colors but when you read the ingredients you will find a variety of herbs, blends, additives, chemicals all listed on the box of "henna color". Henna only dyes the hair reddish tones. We recommend for all your henna and Ayurvedic needs you purchase directly from Henna Sooq as we stand by our high quality standards.

Yes henna is very safe for hair and it's the only natural alternative to chemical color. Henna conditions your hair, strengthens, thickens, adds shine, and gives it a great color coverage including grey hairs. The color outcome that your hair will get is dependent on your natural, current hair color, and how much grey hair you have. Generally you will achieve a range from orange to reddish tones. You can get varying natural colors such as reddish brown, brown, dark brown or black tones, using indigo and other Ayurvedic herbs in addition to your henna powder blend/recipe. Please view our Henna Hair Dyes for photos and examples.

Yes Henna Sooq's henna hair coloring products are safe to use on chemical treated or colored hair. Our henna is free from metallic salts, PPD and additives so therefore our line of henna hair color are safe to use along with other chemical treatments and coloring agents. If you still perm your hair or use want to go back to chemical color then with our line of products that is safe to do so. Please note henna and indigo are difficult to lift and remove.

Yes both henna body art and henna for hair are safe for pregnant women. We always recommend you confirm this with your midwife/doctor to be certain that they allow it because every pregnancy is unique. Henna and Ayurvedic herbs are a perfect healthy alternative for pregnant women to use to dye their hair since chemicals should be avoided during pregnancy and when breastfeeding. We do not offer medical advice nor make any medical claims.

Dye release is the term used to describe the amount of time needed for henna and dyeing herbs to achieve color release. Color release means that your henna and/or dyeing herbs are ready to use and the color is ready to apply. Every henna and indigo powder that we carry has an allotted amount of time it needs to release it's color before it's ready to use.This is applicable to henna body art as well. Do note that dye release is not needed for non-coloring Ayurvedic herbs for healthy hair care treatments. Please follow our guidelines for dye release below:

Moroccan Henna: 1-2 hours for hair use and 6-8 hours for body art use

Yemeni Henna: 3-4 hours for hair use and 10-12 hours for body art use

Red Raj and Organic Rajasthani Indian Henna: 3-4 hours for hair use and 10-12 hours for body art use

Jamila Henna: 3-4 hours for hair use and 10-12 hours for body art use

Indigo: 20-30 minutes for hair use

Cassia Obovata: 3-4 hours for hair use

You can find individual instructions for each henna powder, all of our Ayurvedic herbs and products for hair and body art use on each of the products' pages by clicking the HOW TO tab found underneath the description and ingredients tab of the product. Every package will have instructions including a QR code you can scan with your camera for further details.

We offer free henna resources here as well: 

- How To
- HennaSooq YouTube Channel
- Our Henna Blog

A good place is right here at Henna Sooq. We carry premium quality henna powders that are 100% natural, fresh and finely sifted. Our henna hair coloring and body art products are free from chemicals, PPD free, contain no compound henna nor metallic salts.

We do not recommend that you buy from your local Indian or Middle Eastern markets as you won't know how long the henna powder has been on the shelf nor of the quality. Cones with pre-made henna paste are also not a good purchase as you again won't know how long it has been on the shelf and it most likely has unnatural ingredients, preservatives and chemicals in the premade cones majority of the time. Being out on the shelf diminishes the quality of henna and therefore when using these henna products your stains won't typically be very dark or long lasting.

Henna powder and Ayurvedic herbs should be kept in the freezer, fridge or a cool dark place to ensure freshness and to preserve its dyeing properties. They will last up to 3 years with good storage.

All other hair care products can be stored in a cool, dark place for up to 12 months.

Fresh Henna Paste and Jagua are perishable products and must be kept frozen when not in use. It can last up to 12 months in the freezer.

Essential oils are affected by light (sunlight) and temperature and we recommended that all essential oils be kept in tightly closed in our amber glass bottles in your refrigerator for best results.

All of your other Henna Sooq supplies can be stored away at your convenience.

You can take one of our classes or workshops where we have both a henna for hair coloring certification program and a henna body art certification that you can find more information about on our website: Find out More.

We also have regular in person workshops and classes at the Henna Sooq Retail + Salon located in Columbia, Maryland: Events and Classes

Virtual Consultations for Hair and for Artists - BOOK NOW

Ask your library, school, retailer, yoga studio or even your salon to have us teach a class on henna body art or natural hair care. We will come to you!

You can book henna body art services here: Henna Body Art or henna hair coloring services here: Henna Hair Salon.

We will be more then happy to schedule an appointment for you and your event/party. We do henna and jagua body art tattoos and also offer henna for hair coloring appointments at our location at 6935 Oakland Mills Rd, Suite D, Columbia, Maryland 21045. Please give us a call for more information at 443-515-2256.

Should you have any more questions please contact us and we will be more then happy to assist you in any way we can. To reach us please email us at hello@hennasooq.com or call 1-833-811-7667 during the business hours of Monday through Friday 10am to 6pm EST. To reach our physical retail and salon location in Columbia, Maryland please call them at 443-515-2256.