The henna plant is a tall flowering shrub grown across the hot, dry parts of India, North Africa and the Middle East. Its leaves contain the dye that stains skin and hair. Only the leaf is used. Dried and milled, it becomes the powder sold as henna or mehndi.
What the plant actually is
Henna is a woody shrub that grows to roughly two or three metres when it is left alone, though plants grown for leaf are cut back hard and kept much shorter. It has small pale flowers with a strong scent, and thin oval leaves that sit in opposite pairs along the stem.
It is a genuinely tough plant. It wants heat, tolerates poor soil, and needs very little water once the roots are established. That combination is why it ended up as a village crop across a wide band of hot, dry country rather than a plantation crop in one place.
The important thing for anyone buying it: the dye is in the leaf and nowhere else. Stems, twigs and seed heads contain almost none. This single fact explains most of the quality difference between two sacks of henna that look identical.
Where the henna plant grows
India is the largest producer, and within India the trade is concentrated to a remarkable degree. Sojat City in Rajasthan and the districts around it grow and process most of the country’s henna. India in turn supplies most of the world.
Beyond India, henna grows in Pakistan, Iran, Sudan, Egypt, Morocco and across the Arabian peninsula. Much of that crop is used locally rather than exported.
The Rajasthan advantage is climate. The plant sits through long dry summers with intense heat and very little rain, which is exactly the stress that pushes the leaf to produce more dye. Districts with kinder weather grow perfectly healthy plants that stain less well.
The growing cycle
| Stage | Timing | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Planting | Once, from seed or cutting | A plant then crops for 20 to 30 years |
| First harvest | Year two or three | Yield is low until the plant establishes |
| Main harvest | After the monsoon | The larger and better of the two cuts |
| Second harvest | Spring | Smaller, and usually weaker on dye |
| Drying | Days, in shade | Sun bleaches the leaf and costs colour |
A henna field is a long term commitment rather than an annual crop. That is worth knowing when you hear about a shortage, because supply cannot simply be expanded in one season the way an annual crop can.
The post monsoon cut is the one the trade watches. Leaf harvested then is generally stronger, and fresh crop from that cut is what a careful buyer asks for by name.
From plant to powder
Branches are cut rather than leaves picked individually, then dried in shade until the leaf is brittle enough to strip cleanly from the stem. Shade drying is not fussiness. Direct sun degrades the dye and dulls the colour of the finished powder.
Dried leaf is then stripped, cleaned of stem and grit, milled, and sieved. How finely it is sieved determines the grade, and the grade determines what the powder can be used for. We cover that in detail in our note on how henna powder is made.
Why some henna is stronger than others
Four things, in roughly this order of importance.
Leaf to stem ratio. Powder milled from leaf alone stains far better than powder that includes stem. Stem is cheap bulk that dilutes the dye, and it is the most common way a cheap lot is made cheap.
Where it grew. Hot and dry produces more dye than mild and wet.
Which cut it came from. Post monsoon leaf generally beats spring leaf.
How old it is. The dye degrades slowly with time, and faster in heat. Henna is not a product that improves in storage, and old stock at a good price is usually old stock for a reason.
Henna and indigo are different plants
This confuses a lot of people new to the category. Henna gives red and copper tones and nothing else. It cannot produce brown or black on its own, and any single powder claiming to do so has had something added to it.
Brown and black come from pairing henna with indigo powder, which is a completely separate plant with a completely separate dye. The two are applied in sequence, not mixed and hoped for. Our guide on using indigo and henna together sets out the method.
Sourcing henna from where it grows
We are a henna powder manufacturer based in Sojat, which means we mill in the town that grows the crop rather than buying finished powder and relabelling it. That distinction decides whether a supplier can hold a consistent dye strength across repeat shipments or simply passes on whatever the last lot happened to test at.
Minimum order is 50 kg. Grades run from body art quality, sieved to 100 mesh, down to standard commercial for volume hair products, with organic certified available across the range. Certificate of Analysis on every lot. Free sample before you order, and a quote back within 24 hours.
Specifications, for buyers who order to a number
Order henna on dye content and on sieve size, with moisture, heavy metal and microbial limits set to your destination market’s cosmetic standard. Both figures are confirmed on the Certificate of Analysis for the lot you receive. Tell us the stain result you are working to and we will tell you which grade reaches it.
Frequently asked questions
What is the henna plant?
A hardy flowering shrub grown in hot, dry regions. Its leaves hold the dye that stains skin and hair red brown. Only the leaf is used, and it is dried and milled into powder.
Where does the henna plant grow?
Mostly India, and within India mostly Sojat in Rajasthan, which grows and processes the bulk of the national crop. It also grows in Pakistan, Iran, Sudan, Egypt, Morocco and the Arabian peninsula.
How long does a henna plant live?
A well kept plant crops for 20 to 30 years. It gives little in its first two or three years, which is why supply cannot be expanded quickly when demand rises.
Can the henna plant dye hair black?
No. Henna gives red and copper tones only. Black and brown come from following henna with indigo, a separate plant. A single powder that claims to give black has something else in it.
Do you supply henna powder in bulk?
Yes. We mill in Sojat from leaf only material, from 50 kg minimum, in grades from body art quality through to standard commercial. Certificate of Analysis per lot, free sample, quote within 24 hours.
Specs change with the crop, the season and the grade. Ask our export desk for a current lab report, the minimum order and a price to your port, and we will come back within 24 hours.