Henna

Henna is one of the most versatile natural dyes, having been used not only for fibers but also for hair, skin, fingernails, and leather. It imparts warm brown-orange shades to protein fibers and yellow or greenish colors to cellulose. 

The primary colorant in henna is lawsone, belonging to the naphthoquinone class, allowing it to form a durable chemical bond with protein fibers without requiring any mordant. This property has made it a popular choice for hair and skin dye. Due to its versatility, henna can be used both as a direct dye and as a mordant dye. Additionally, henna can serve as a reducing agent in an organic indigo vat.

Name: henna

Latin name: Lawsonia inermis 

Other names: henna tree, Inai, hina, mignonette tree, Egyptian privet

Type: mordant dye, no-mordant dye 

Part of plant used: leaves

Colorants: lawsone, belonging to the naphthoquinone class

Main colors: orange, yellow, brown

Other colors: honey, greenish-yellow

Purpose: natural dye for textiles, leather, wood, candles, and other natural materials. Can be used for making botanical inks, pastels, watercolors, printing paste, etc. Additionally, henna can be used as a reducing agent for indigo vats.

Dyeing with henna:

• Use 20-60% WOF for medium to dark shades.

• Add powdered henna to the dyeing pot filled with water, and stir well.

• Fibers should be soaked in water for at least 30 minutes before adding to the dye solution. You may use unmordanted protein fibers.

• Add wet fibers to the dye solution and simmer for 40-60 minutes depending on the shade you want. You may dye longer to obtain dark colors. Leave to cool.

• To widen your palette even more experiment with additional mordants - immerse fibers into ~ 2% WOF iron sulfate and keep for 2-30 minutes until desired shade.