Henna for Hair 101: What’s the Difference Between These Plant Dye Powders?

If you’ve read Henna for Hair 101: The Bare Essentials and Henna for Hair 101: Choosing Your Mix, you’ll know by now that a Henna for Hair mix will contain up to three plant powders and one acidic component.

Ancient Sunrise® offers henna, indigo, and cassia. What’s the difference between these plant dye powders? How do you choose? Never fear. Keep reading.

Ancient Sunrise® Henna

Henna varies in dye content, sift, and tone. It is affected by region in which I grows, and yearly weather conditions which cause the natural dye concentration to be higher or lower. If it helps, think of henna like wine grapes. Weather and regions produce variation in crop and quality. As with grapes, there can be multiple varieties of henna plant, leading to qualitative differences in the resulting color.

Ancient Sunrise® runs every batch to under a microscope to determine its sift, as well as to ensure there are no additives such as sand and PPD. Back at the office, we test mixes on hair samples to observe paste consistency and color results.

The dye content refers to the concentration of lawsone in the henna. Higher dye contents lead to more saturated coverage and deeper, richer shades. Dye content ranges between 0.5% and 3%. Henna stains will always be orange/red in tone. The lower dye content hennas tend to be more coppery, some varieties in the middle range of dye content have rosier undertones, and a few with high dye content tend to mature towards brownish tones.

Sift refers to the size of the powder particles. Finer sifts create smoother pastes that are easier to apply and rinse out of thick hair, and are easier on delicate and damaged hair.

Ancient Sunrise® Rajasthani Monsoon Henna

This is our standard henna used in most of our regular Henna for Hair kits. It has a lower dye content, good sift, and rosy “true red” tones when used alone. This is the one we recommend to those who want a rich, vivid red with minimal orange tones.

Ancient Sunrise® Rajasthani Twilight Henna

This is the henna used in Henna for Gray hair kits. It has a high dye content, fine sift, and deep coppery auburn tones when used alone. This is our most popular henna. It provides great gray coverage and it makes for beautiful, rich auburn and brunette results.

Ancient Sunrise® Rarity Henna

This henna is used in the Delicate Hair kits. It has a medium dye content, a wonderfully fine sift, and lighter coppery tones when used alone. A finer sift means a smoother paste, which can be applied and rinsed out of the hair easily. This henna is perfect for people with very thick or curly hair, or delicate and damaged hair.

Ancient Sunrise® Indigo

Indigo varies only on sift. Finer sifts create smoother pastes that are easier to apply and rinse out of thick hair, and are easier on delicate and damaged hair. A finer sift can also lead to a deeper, darker coverage.

Ancient Sunrise® Sudina Indigo

This is the standard indigo used in Henna for Hair kits. It has a regular sift, and good coverage. Indigo paste is grittier than henna paste, but this can be fixed easily with a little Ancient Sunrise® CMC powder.

Ancient Sunrise® Zekhara Indigo

This is the premium quality indigo used in Henna for Gray Hair and Henna for Delicate Hair kits. It has a fine sift for deeper coverage. Because of the finer sift, most people find they don’t need Ancient Sunrise® CMC powder; Ancient Sunrise® Zekhara Indigo applies and rinses out easily.

Ancient Sunrise® Cassia

Ancient Sunrise® Clarity Cassia

Ancient Sunrise® Clarity Cassia is wonderful as a conditioning treatment that leads to smoother, shiner, and stronger hair without a color change.

This premium quality cassia has a finer sift, making it ideal for people with delicate, damaged, thick, or curly hair. This is a great choice for people who want to gently condition and strengthen their delicate or damaged hair.

A small amount of henna and indigo can be added to cassia to create beautiful blonde shades.

Cassia Auriculata vs Cassia Obovata

If you’ve been with Mehandi for awhile, you’ve probably notice that we do not have Sudina or Zekhara Cassia any longer. To read about the differences between Clarity cassia and our previous crops of cassia, click here: http://www.hennaforhair.com/faq/Clarity_cassia-auriculata.pdf.

Ancient Sunrise® Fruit Acids

All henna and cassia mixes need a fruit acid to release the dye that will color the hair. Different fruit acids will lead to slightly different color results because they nudge the dye molecules one way or another during the dye-release process. Acids alone do not contain dyes; they only work to affect the color result of a henna mix.

Gentlest on Hair and Scalp

Ancient Sunrise® Kristalovino and Ancient Sunrise® Malluma Kristalovino are both derived from grapes, and are the gentlest of all the acid powders. These are great for people who have sensitive skin and/or delicate, dry hair.

Ancient Sunrise® Kristalovino allows for brighter, lighter tones in henna and cassia, with some deepening over time.

Ancient Sunrise® Malluma Kristalovino causes deeper, richer shades, and is especially great for brunette mixes. It is the gentlest acid.

Brighter Tones

Ancient Sunrise® Copperberry keeps henna and cassia mixes bright, and is high in antioxidants to prevent deepening from oxidation over time.

Ancient Sunrise® Citric Acid results in bright tones which deepen with oxidation over time. Citric acid may be harsh on sensitive skin. Kristalovino would be a good alternative if you are worried about irritation.

Ancient Sunrise® Kristalovino, as mentioned above, is a gentle acid that makes for brighter, lighter tones.

Ash Tones

Ancient Sunrise® Nightfall Rose contains anthocyanins to add a subtle “blue’ tone to henna and cassia mixes, muting out brighter tones. This is great in combination with Monsoon henna, for those who want a rich, vivid “true” red with minimal orange tones. It is also good for neutral blonde and brunette results.

Ancient Sunrise® Amla helps to neutralize brighter red/orange tones, and aids in the binding of indigo molecules on the hair, for cooler, deeper brunettes. It also prevents curl loosening. Because henna smooths the hair and adds weight, those who want to keep their curls bouncy can use Ancient Sunrise® Amla to counteract any loosening effects. (Amla will not ash out henna or cassia only mixes.)

One wonderful thing about henna mixes is that they are forgiving. If you want to switch a plant powder or fruit acid, or change the ratios of your mixture, you can do this at any time, and the results of the new mixture will blend nicely with the color you already have in your hair. Feel free to read more or contact a Customer Service rep, who would be more than happy to help you decide on what you need.

Author: Rebecca Chou August 2017
Edited: Maria Moore August 2022

Amla is also antibacterial and high in vitamin c, making it a great facial mask. It exfoliates, smooths, tightens, and brightens complexions.

Switching It Up