Henna refers to the colorant produced from the dried, ground leaves
of Lawsonia inermis, a small shrub native to Asia and northern Africa.
Since the time of Cleopatra, henna has been used to dye skin, hair and
nails.
The coloring agent in the plant that is responsible for depositing a
natural and temporary dye on the hair is hennotannic acid. However,
because this agent yields a bright, orange-red color of Lucille Ball
fame, other herbs are added to henna to achieve different shades. In
this case, henna formulated to produce a semi-permanent black hair color
contains a small amount of Indigo, a plant in the pea family.
