tech stuff

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Posted by Catherine Cartwright-Jones on April 17, 2004 at 11:01:18:

In reply to: technical question for Catherine posted by Diane on April 17, 2004 at 10:43:55:

I've GOT to get the drawing done of how henna stains hair and get it
up here for you! That will help understanding.......

I'm going to try to word this carefully so it makes sense ... bear
with me for a minute.

First, hold in your mind that boxes labeled HENNA do not necessarilly
have HENNA in them. Henna is a plant, lawsonia inermis. Here I'm
going to refer to that plant ......

Henna (lawsonia inermis) has a molecule called Lawsone, which is a
molecule that reflects red-orange.

Lawsone penetrates the keratin scales that make up hair, and the
Lawsone molecule binds into the keratin molecule. So ... the Lawsone
molecule IN the hair!

Now ... if your hair is pigmented .. that is to say the core of your
hair has color, the Lawsone molecule is lodging in the scales that go
around that core.

So then .... when light is reflected from your hair, you see a
combination of reflections of the red-orange and the color of your
hair core. So you see both colors at the same time.

This is NOT like painting wood (coating the surface with color) ...
this is like staining wood (penetrating the surface with color) .
(Hope that made sense)

Now ... back to what I had you hold in your mind) ... here's where the
misconception comes in ....

A product named HENNA is not necesarally HENNA! See the link below.
That should start providing a big AHA! The "coating" nonsense has to
do with all the other @#$%^& companies put into the boxes they call
"henna". Also, the coating thing comes from cosmetology textbooks that
DO NOT UNDERSTAND HENNA, and were published to train people to use
synthetic dyes on hair.

So .... can you get it out of your hair? You cannot get LAWSONE, the
henna molecule, out of your hair. Is there something else in your hair
that you can get rid of? Could be. Dunno what was in that box!

What's in that box, anyway?

Follow Ups

Re: tech stuff Diane 16:26:35 4/17/2004 (5)
- Re: tech stuff Fia 06:57:57 4/20/2004 (4)
  - Re: tech stuff Diane 16:47:38 4/21/2004 (0)
  - Re: tech stuff Pierre 20:53:56 4/20/2004 (0)
  - Re: tech stuff Catherine Cartwright-Jones 08:54:42 4/20/2004 (1)
    - Of course you may! (n/t) Fia 10:33:02 4/20/2004 (0)
Re: tech stuff Diane 16:18:13 4/17/2004 (0)
I get the feeling that oily substances ‘help’ dislodge some of the dye. Faery Ring 14:48:48 4/17/2004 (3)
- I've never seen much color change from washing/conditioning Fia 06:07:30 4/20/2004 (0)
- conditioning and henna - no color loss Jade 16:28:39 4/17/2004 (0)
- Re: I get the feeling that oily substances ‘help’ dislodge some of the dye. Diane 16:22:48 4/17/2004 (0)

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: I've GOT to get the drawing done of how henna stains hair and get it : up here for you! That will help understanding....... : : I'm going to try to word this carefully so it makes sense ... bear : with me for a minute. : : First, hold in your mind that boxes labeled HENNA do not necessarilly : have HENNA in them. Henna is a plant, lawsonia inermis. Here I'm : going to refer to that plant ...... : : Henna (lawsonia inermis) has a molecule called Lawsone, which is a : molecule that reflects red-orange. : : Lawsone penetrates the keratin scales that make up hair, and the : Lawsone molecule binds into the keratin molecule. So ... the Lawsone : molecule IN the hair! : : Now ... if your hair is pigmented .. that is to say the core of your : hair has color, the Lawsone molecule is lodging in the scales that go : around that core. : : So then .... when light is reflected from your hair, you see a : combination of reflections of the red-orange and the color of your : hair core. So you see both colors at the same time. : : This is NOT like painting wood (coating the surface with color) ... : this is like staining wood (penetrating the surface with color) . : (Hope that made sense) : : : Now ... back to what I had you hold in your mind) ... here's where the : misconception comes in .... : : A product named HENNA is not necesarally HENNA! See the link below. : That should start providing a big AHA! The "coating" nonsense has to : do with all the other @#$%^& companies put into the boxes they call : "henna". Also, the coating thing comes from cosmetology textbooks that : DO NOT UNDERSTAND HENNA, and were published to train people to use : synthetic dyes on hair. : : So .... can you get it out of your hair? You cannot get LAWSONE, the : henna molecule, out of your hair. Is there something else in your hair : that you can get rid of? Could be. Dunno what was in that box!
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