Misnomers About So Called "Black" and "White" Henna

Let me just start by saying what I tell all of my customers. There is no such thing as black henna. Period. No matter what any beach shop or other artist ever says. Most likely when you see “Black henna”, you are looking at hair dye or other chemicals with PPD that has been applied to the skin. The chemicals in those dyes can cause serious damage, including chemical burns and even lead to liver failure.

            Or perhaps you have received Jagua, also referred to as black henna, but it is actually a plant dye from the Amazon. It’s a difficult product to work with, usually getting smeared and making a messy-looking design. But people have been known to do it successfully too. I am a purist and prefer only the best quality natural henna for my work. I am not set on using something black. The natural rust to brick red to purple stain is satisfaction enough. 

Sometimes in photos, the henna appears black or shiny even. That is because the henna paste that is used to create the stain with, it looks black once it dries on the skin and shiny once the lemon sugar fixative is applied over the paste.

There is an ancient product called khabib however, which is what was traditionally used in the Gulf and Africa for hundreds of years. It is a black pigment that makes a black stain. The process to make it requires several days, and so has been replaced in most places by the black chemical dyes. It is not commercially available, especially now with the war in Yemen. Khabib is reduced to a hard watercolor-like box and will keep forever. Just add water and apply with a paintbrush! My friend and henna scholar Kree Arvantis told me about it and is the only one I know who has had the privilege of trying it out.

           

            And there is no such thing as white henna either. This is a new trend that you are seeing all over, and many brides are asking for, but what is being used is usually a mixture of white highly pigmented loose eye shadow mixed with hair gel, that can then be applied like henna from a cone. It looks terrific for the night but will begin to flake soon after application, just like the henna paste. It does not leave a stain afterward like henna would though. This is also known as guilding and can be done with any color, including glitters. It adds some fabulous bling, for a very temporary amount of time. Here is one photo of guilding I have done with glitter. All photos here are my own henna work.