Uttam Henna?

[Ayralea]

Does anyone here have experience with Uttam brand henna? I purchased a couple of boxes at a local Indian grocery. The only listed ingredient is Lawsonia inermis, but I looked up the brand online and came up with this FDA import alert (http://www.fda.gov/ora/fiars/ora_import_ia5319.html). Needless to say, it made me a bit nervous. I'm afraid I wasted my money, but the temptation of walking out of the store with henna in hand, instead of waiting on the mail got the best of me. *lol*

My other question is, when I do a strand test, should I mix up my entire batch at the same time? How long does the paste keep? I've been reading as many articles and posts as I can, but that's one thing I'm not sure on yet.

Anyway, any advice is appreciated. ^_^

[Aisha25]

Well since no one else has come ill say something. Does it say herbal henna or just henna?

[Ayralea]

The package says Henna Herbal Mehndi Powder, and has a picture of a woman's decorated hands on it. On the side under ingredients it only has "Henna (Lawsonia inermis) leaf powder" listed.

Thanks for replying. :)

[Aisha25]

Ok then its pure. Heres a hint to help to see. Take out small amount of powder and add some hot water to it and mix it into a paste wait few minutes if it turns brown on top then put a dab of it onto your palm and wipe off after couple of seconds you will see faint orange stain. That means its pure:)

[Ayralea]

Thank you so much Aisha! I'll try that. :D

[Velouria]

If you read that alert really closely you'll see that the "unsafe color additive" they're referring to IS henna, and that the issue is that the boxes of these brands depict (or depicted) pictures of henna on skin....hands or feet.

See, the FDA has never approved henna for body art use, only as a hair dye. So, in reference to skin application it's classified as "unsafe" in this country. Strange, as allergic reactions to henna are pretty rare, and even more rarely serious.

[Ayralea]

*nods* I thought that was what it meant, but I wasn't entirely sure if I was reading it correctly. Thank you for the explanation.

I did find an answer regarding the strand test and dye longevity, so no worries there. I'll report back with my results. Wish me luck! :o

[Ayralea]

Just a quick update, in case someone else needs to know about this brand in the future. :)

I mixed with strong chamomile and let it rest overnight. The strand test didn't chew up the hair, so I went ahead and dyed my hair this morning. My medium brown hair took on a nice coppery stain, and my hair feels amazingly soft afterwards. The color change is subtle indoors, but fiery in the sun.

Anyway, thanks again to those who gave me advice. I very much appreciate it! ♥

[Velouria]

You're welcome. Glad you're happy with your results.

As a frugal person who uses cheap Indian shop henna myself, I'm always happy to see someone else get a good deal on pure henna. The online prices are shocking!

[hennaphile]

I'm about to try their amla and shikakai.

I'll be thrilled to pieces if their henna is nice/pure, since it's available here and CHEAP :D