Body Art Henna for Hair.
Body art henna is also commonly known as BAQ henna. Body art quality henna is pure henna leaves which have been ground and sieved several times until it practically resembles fine yellowish green talcum powder.
Some henna experts say that hair should be dyed only with body art quality henna, and claim that it has the highest percentage of lawsone (henna dye). This is misleading given that lots of henna for hair starts off as body art henna for the first few months after the henna leaves have been finely ground and sieved. Then, when the henna is past a few weeks old, it’s no longer freshly ground BAQ and sold as “henna for hair”. The only difference between henna which doesn’t start off as body art henna and the henna which starts out as body art henna is in the grinding and the sieving. What starts out as henna for hair may not be as finely ground, but in any one henna crop it comes from the same henna plant source. The beautiful thing about henna is that, either way, it pretty much lasts forever if sealed and stored correctly, and it always gives off vibrant auburn hair colour with fiery red tones.
Henna is henna. And pure henna is just that : pure henna. The botanical name for henna is lawsonia inermis. It doesn’t have to have a name like “BAQ” attached to it once you know what henna is . The key is to check that your herbal hair dye ingredients are only 100% lawsonia inermis . And to buy from a reputable source. Henna for hair simply doesn’t have to be hot out of the grinding machine and ground and sieved several times to give superb colour in your hair.
Renaissance Henna’s BAQ Henna for hair is 100% lawsonia inermis and colours hair with a passion. Both our Renaissance Henna Red BAQ Henna and Renaissance Henna Organic BAQ Henna (Simply the Best Henna) give superb colour and have a naturally high lawsone dye content. These henna plants are carefully harvested before their leaves are gently dried, crushed and sieved.
Our non BAQ Pakeezah henna which we recommend for henna beginners also gives stunning hair colour. The reason why we recommend straight pure henna without the frills for the start of your henna journey is so that you can see exactly what it does. Straight henna gives just as dramatic fiery results as body art henna ! BAQ henna may be easier to work with due to its finer consistency, but at the end of the day henna is henna and it’s going to colour splash your hair a shade of auburn.
Body art quality henna – which happens to be more expensive than just as pure henna which has not been sieved as many times – is more concentrated than pure henna by means of finer grinding and extra sieving. Bodies require the finer concentrated henna to achieve a smoother paste free of globs which can pass smoothly through fine tipped tools which are used to paint henna art on skin. You may or may not achieve as deep a colour skin stain with pure henna for hair as you will get with body art henna, but the fact is that body art henna is not essential for your henna hair colour.
Hair absorbs colour differently to skin and is more receptive to dyes than skin. Henna for hair can last as long as ten years. In fact henna simply doesn’t go off if stored correctly. Provided it has been sealed fresh at source, and sealed well, we generally advise to use henna from a reputable source within five years of the date of grinding to ensure you definitely catch the colour and the goodness whilst the henna is still highly potent. Don’t think you have to pay more for body art henna for your hair – you don’t ! Henna for hair is pretty much the same as body art henna except it’s not been sieved or ground as much. But it’s essentially the same stuff and it costs less. And it remains a wonderfully healing and therapeutic hair treatment and is good for softening your skin too.
Here’s what henna expert Kenzi – founder of henna tribe (sadly, the tribe no longer exists) – said about the differences between body art henna and henna for hair :
“I can’t tell you exact numbers, but I have had good results from henna many years old, sitting open, exposed to air, heat and light. Hair takes up the color so well that you really don’t have to worry. i really don’t know about the therapeutic qualities of hair henna vs. body art henna; I tend to think that it doesn’t make any difference since it’s all still henna. I think that less refined henna might actually be worse because it’s diluted with twigs and sand, but also because it’s less finely ground, the stuff that gets into your hair and does its business is less available in the larger particles of henna. Just my opinion, based on conjecture. …….As for twigs, I mean little bits of henna or leaves or stems that don’t get ground up as finely as the powder. It is very possible that these get into the henna when it is harvested (these are plants being harvested by human being who are infallible). Most henna probably has some stuff in it that isn’t henna (dust from the air, bits of rock dust from the grinding stones etc.). I think that where the good quality and fine henna differs from the bad, coarse stuff is in the grinding and the sifting. A fine grind will give you fine henna, and then if it’s sifted you get even finer henna, and what is left behind by sifting are just the bigger particles of henna. Whether the particles are big or small, they will still stain the skin and hair; it’s just that for body art the fine stuff is better so that we can use fine-tipped tools without the henna clogging them…….I think the main difference between hair henna body art henna is freshness. Perhaps a better way to say it is that all henna is body art quality until it gets too old to use on skin at which point it becomes hair henna. Some hair henna can be very finely ground, just like some body art henna can be coarsely ground.”
What the Encyclopaedias say about Henna / Henne
This is what one famous Herb Encyclopaedia says about Henna:
“A single species of evergreen shrub makes up this genus, which occurs in northern Africa, south-western Asia, Australia, and is naturalised in America. Found on plains, low hills, and river banks, the species was traditionally planted as a windbreak for vineyards. Referred to as “camphire” in the Bible, Lawsonia inermis is now more familiar as “henna”, (*from the Arabic name “al hinna”; and incidentally, the Italian word for henna is “henne”).
“in spite of its medicinal applications, henna is mainly used as a dye plant. Lawsonia inermis has been imported as an orange red colourant for hair, skin, and nails in the Middle east since ancient times; introduced to Europe at the end of the 19th Century, it became an important constituent of hair tints and conditioners”
“an astringent herb with a tea like aroma, that controls bleedings and is anti-bacterial. It is regarded as an alternative and nerve tonic in Ayurvedic medicine”
“used externally for skin diseases (including leprosy), wounds, ulcers, and herpes. Used for dying hair, feet, and hands.”
Love your hair, love henna,
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