A little history

Henna is a century old tradition which dates back over 9,000 years to the time of ancient Egypt. According to the Natural History Museum, London (Seeds of trade website. http://www.nhm.ac.uk/seeds) Henna was a symbol of immortality in Egyptian mythology and was used to decorate the hands & feet as well as colour the hair. In these times men & women used the powdered leaves of the henna plant to colour the fingernails & toenails as well as the hair.

They even coloured the hair of their horses & donkeys as well.

It is said that the ancient Egyptians used the flowers from the henna plant to make a conditioning ointment that made the skin soft & supple.

In India, Persia (Iran) & parts of Africa henna has, & still is used to create intricate patterns on the palms of the hands & the soles of the feet, as well as to colour the hair. This is a tradition that is tied to celebrations such as weddings, births & for religious reasons.

Henna has been mentioned in many ancient texts such as the Bible & the Q’ran & therefore it is celebrated by many different religions. It is used widely amongst the Muslim community as it is said that Mohammed used henna to colour his beard.

In Morocco, henna is known to bring good luck and is worn by pregnant women to protect them & their unborn children from bad luck.