Ayurvedic hair care · Single herb
Colorless Henna
Cassia obovata — neutral henna, Senna italica, Senna obovata
Not henna. Used exactly like it.
Radico Organic Colorless Henna Leaf Powder is a single-ingredient hair mask, milled from Cassia obovata leaf grown on our own certified organic farms. It is called neutral henna not because it is henna — the two plants are not related and sit in different families — but because it is used in exactly the same way: mixed with warm water, applied as a paste, rinsed out. Where true henna carries lawsone, an intensely coloured naphthoquinone, this leaf carries anthraquinones that are only weakly pigmented. Same kind of interaction with keratin; almost none of the colour.
What each herb is for
Radico makes eight single herbs for hair. They are not variations on one another — they do three different jobs.
Cleanse
Used in place of shampoo. Both clean through natural saponins.
Scalp and roots
Worked into the scalp with the fingertips, where hair begins.
Strand
Drawn through the lengths, where the hair itself needs help.
-
Methi
Trigonella foenum-graecum
Dry, brittle strands
-
Amla
Emblica officinalis
Dullness — and it cools henna
-
Colorless henna
Cassia obovata
Body and gloss, near-neutral
You are here
Two of the eight touch colour, and this is one of them. Amla cools and deepens a henna result — which is why it is in 23 of our 24 shades, as a deliberate part of the recipe. Colorless henna is named for what it does not do, and on most hair it does not do it: it carries little to no lawsone and leaves natural, coloured or grey hair essentially unchanged. The exception is white and very pale blonde hair, where a long application can leave a faint golden or straw-toned cast. If your hair is in that range, strand test. The other six — including bhringraj and methi — are colour‑neutral and can go into any Radico shade without changing it.
- Botanical name
- Cassia obovata, syn. Senna italica, Senna obovata
- Plant family
- Fabaceae — the legume family. True henna is Lythraceae; they are not related
- Part used
- Leaf, milled
- Lawsone
- Little to none. This is the whole of the distinction from true henna
- Key compound
- Chrysophanol, an anthraquinone — only weakly pigmented
- Our reading
- pH 5.12 at 1:3 with water — inside hair’s own range of 4.5 to 5.5
- Consistency
- A yogurt-thick paste at 1:3 — the reference ratio for the range
- On the hair
- 30–60 minutes, every 2 to 4 weeks. Start at 20 minutes if your hair is very light
- Effect on colour
- Near-neutral. A long application on white or very pale blonde may leave a faint golden cast
- In Radico’s shades
- One of the herbs in 13 of the 24 — the third most used, after amla and bhringraj
Composition
What is actually in colorless henna
Radico Organic Colorless Henna Leaf Powder has one ingredient: milled Cassia obovata leaf, grown and processed on our own certified organic farms. Nothing is added — no fillers, no synthetic preservatives, no fragrance.
The whole of what separates this from true henna comes down to one compound, and to how strongly coloured it is.
Principal compound
Chrysophanol
Also called chrysophanic acid. A trihydroxyanthraquinone — chrysazin with a methyl group at C-3 — and the most abundant constituent of Cassia obovata.
- Formula
- C15H10O4
- Molecular weight
- 254.24 g/mol
- CAS number
- 481-74-3
- PubChem CID
- 10208
- Systematic name
- 1,8-dihydroxy-3-methylanthracene-9,10-dione
Look up chrysophanol on PubChem, the NIH chemical database →
The honest version is not “no colour”
PubChem describes chrysophanol as appearing in golden yellow plates. It is a dye. What it is not is a strong one — at the concentrations and contact times used on hair, it deposits so little that most people see no change at all.
That is why this page says near-neutral rather than colourless, and why we keep repeating the caveat about very pale hair. On brown, black, red or grey hair there is nothing to see. On white or platinum, an hour of a weak yellow dye can leave a faint golden cast. The compound explains the exception rather than contradicting it.
Why it behaves like henna without colouring like henna
Both plants work through the same kind of chemistry. Quinones carry hydroxyl and carbonyl groups that form hydrogen bonds and weak electrostatic associations with keratin’s polar amino acid side chains — which is why both leaves are used the same way, mixed with water and left on the hair.
The difference is which quinone dominates, and how much light it absorbs.
| This powder | True henna | |
|---|---|---|
| Botanical name | Cassia obovata | Lawsonia inermis |
| Plant family | Fabaceae — the legumes | Lythraceae |
| Principal compound | Chrysophanol | Lawsone |
| Compound class | Anthraquinone | Naphthoquinone |
| Colour strength | Weak — golden yellow, and very little deposits | Intense — red-orange, and it deposits readily |
| On grey hair | Largely unchanged | Vivid copper |
They are not related plants, and the shared name comes entirely from shared use. Lawsone is one of the most chromophoric plant dyes there is; chrysophanol is a weak one. That single difference is the whole product.
| Component | Class |
|---|---|
| Chrysophanol | Anthraquinone — the most abundant |
| Emodin | Hydroxyanthraquinone |
| Aloe-emodin | Anthraquinone, related to emodin |
| Physcion, rhein | Anthraquinones |
| Kaempferol, quercetin | Flavonols, widely distributed across plants |
| Tannins | Polyphenols with affinity for protein |
| Mucilage and polysaccharides | Film-forming, from a legume leaf |
The anthraquinones are the group specific to this plant. The flavonols are not — kaempferol and quercetin turn up across a great many species, so naming them tells you far less about what is in the pouch than chrysophanol does. We list them because they are there, and we say which is which.
Where the paste sits
We measure the pH of our powders because it is the one number that separates them, and because we have not found anyone else publishing any.
| Reading | Relative to hair | |
|---|---|---|
| Shikakai | pH 2.1–3.0 | Well below |
| Reetha | pH 4.54–4.90 | Inside the range |
| Colorless henna | pH 5.12 | Inside the range |
| Hair’s own surface | pH 4.5–5.5 | — |
| Methi | pH 5.61 | Just above |
At 5.12 the paste sits comfortably inside hair’s own range, with nothing added to adjust it. Acidic conditions keep cuticle scales lying flat against the shaft, which is the same reason conditioners and acid rinses are formulated on the acid side — though at 5.12 this is a mild effect rather than the pronounced one you get from shikakai at 2 to 3.
One incidental note from the chemistry: chrysophanol solutions turn red on the addition of alkali. Nothing in normal use comes anywhere near the concentrations involved, and a paste at 5.12 is on the opposite side of neutral — but it is a reason not to mix this powder with anything strongly alkaline.
This is one reading from a handheld meter calibrated against pH 4.00 and 7.00 buffers, on a suspension of milled leaf rather than a clear solution, so the probe reads whatever is against it. Water hardness will move it. We publish it because it is a number you can check yourself with an inexpensive meter.
It is not a protein treatment
Conventional strengthening masks work by depositing hydrolysed protein — keratin, wheat, silk, rice. Some hair, particularly low-porosity hair, responds badly to that and goes stiff and straw-like.
There is no added protein here at all. That is a statement about the ingredient list rather than a claim about outcomes, and for people who have found protein masks unsuitable it is the useful fact about this powder.
Check the ingredient list — on any brand
Some products marketed as “neutral henna” contain added synthetic dyes or PPD. Genuine Cassia obovata should list one botanical ingredient and nothing else. If a colourless product is producing a definite colour, that is worth asking about.
This applies to us as much as to anyone. Our pouch says Cassia obovata and that is what is in it.
What the research has examined — and what it has not
Chrysophanol, emodin and aloe-emodin have all been reviewed in the pharmacological literature, and you will find antimicrobial, antifungal and anti-inflammatory activity described there. If you look up chrysophanol on PubChem you will see some of it listed on the page we link to above.
That work concerns isolated compounds in laboratory conditions — not milled whole leaf, in a water paste, on a human scalp, at the concentrations and contact times involved here. Controlled trials on Cassia obovata hair masks specifically are limited. We are not claiming this powder treats dandruff, flaking, scalp inflammation, or any other condition, and in the United States a cosmetic may not make that claim.
What we can tell you is what is in the pouch, that the anthraquinones are only weakly pigmented, where the paste sits on a pH meter, and that Cassia obovata has been used this way across Ayurvedic and North African traditions for a very long time.
Radico Organic Colorless Henna Leaf Powder is a cosmetic product for external use on hair and scalp. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any condition. Persistent scalp inflammation, severe flaking or sudden hair loss should be evaluated by a dermatologist. Patch test on the inner forearm 48 hours before a full application, and stop use if irritation develops. If your hair is white, platinum or very pale blonde, strand test before a full application.
In practice
What using colorless henna looks like
This is a full-length mask — scalp through to the ends — and of the eight powders it is the most ordinary to mix. One part powder to three parts water gives a yogurt-thick paste, and that is the ratio the rest of the range is described against. Reetha and methi are the two that behave differently.
- On the hair30–60 minutes20 minutes if your hair is very light
- ConsistencyYogurt-thickSpreads without dripping
- Effect on colourNear-neutralSee the note on white and pale blonde
One part powder, three parts water
By weight. This powder is the reference point. When we describe another herb as behaving differently at 1:3, this is what we are comparing it to.
| Powder | Part of the plant | What 1:3 gives you |
|---|---|---|
| Reetha | Fruit | A pourable liquid |
| Colorless henna | Leaf | A yogurt-thick paste — the reference |
| Bhringraj, Brahmi | Leaf | A thick yogurt paste |
| Neem | Leaf | A paste, on the firm side |
| Amla | Fruit | A paste, on the firm side |
| Methi | Seed | Peanut butter — needs 1:5 |
Let the paste stand 15 to 20 minutes before applying. The polysaccharides in the leaf need that long to hydrate fully, and the mixture becomes noticeably smoother and easier to spread once they have. It will thicken a little as it sits; add water a spoonful at a time if it goes past what you want.
How much to make
Enough to cover from the scalp through to the ends. This is a full-length mask rather than a scalp treatment, so the amount tracks how much hair you have.
| Hair length | Powder | Warm water |
|---|---|---|
| Short to chin | 15–20 g (½–¾ oz) | 45–60 ml (1½–2 fl oz) |
| Shoulder length | 20–30 g (¾–1 oz) | 60–90 ml (2–3 fl oz) |
| Long or very thick | 35–45 g (1¼–1½ oz) | 105–135 ml (3½–4½ fl oz) |
Weigh the powder rather than spooning it — milled leaf varies by as much as a third depending on the spoon and how it is scooped. A 100 g pouch gives roughly three to five applications at shoulder length.
Using it
- Mix to a yogurt consistency. Add warm water gradually to the powder at one part to three, stirring until smooth. Break up any lumps — they will not spread.
- Let it stand 15 to 20 minutes. This is the step most people skip, and it is the one that makes the paste behave. The leaf polysaccharides hydrate in that window and the mixture goes from grainy to smooth.
- Apply in sections, scalp through to the ends. Work the paste into the scalp with your fingertips and then draw it down the lengths. Full, even coverage matters more than speed.
- Cover and leave 30 to 60 minutes. A cap keeps the paste from drying out, and a paste that has dried has stopped doing anything.
- Rinse with warm water until the water runs clear. Take longer over this than feels necessary — milled leaf settles at the nape and behind the ears. Conditioner afterwards if you want it; many people find they do not need one.
If your hair is white, platinum or very pale blonde
Strand test first, and start at 20 minutes rather than 60. Chrysophanol, the principal compound in this leaf, is a golden yellow substance — a weak dye rather than no dye. On brown, black, red or grey hair there is nothing to see. On hair with no pigment of its own to compete with, a long application can leave a faint golden or straw-toned cast.
This is the one place where we would insist on a strand test rather than suggest one.
How often: every two to four weeks. There is nothing here that needs to build up on a schedule — use it when your hair wants it.
Afterwards
Hair usually comes out feeling denser and smoother than it went in, and the effect is most obvious on fine hair. That is what we notice; we have not measured it. The chemistry gives a reason to expect it — quinones associate with keratin at the surface, and the leaf polysaccharides leave a film — but we have not run tests on strand diameter, porosity or combing force, and we would need to before claiming any of them.
There is no added protein in this powder at all. If you have found conventional protein masks leave your hair stiff or straw-like, that absence is the useful fact here.
Colorless henna and colour
Colorless henna is one of the herbs in 13 of Radico’s 24 shades — the third most used, after amla and bhringraj. Look at which thirteen and the reason is obvious: they are the blondes, the ashes, the light reds, and Light Brown.
This is how a pale shade exists at all. Henna, indigo and manjistha are strongly coloured. To make a blonde you have to dilute them — and the alternative to a colourless plant is a filler that is not a plant. Cassia obovata is what lets a shade be light and still be made of nothing but certified organic herbs.
| Family | Shades |
|---|---|
| Blondes | Wheat, Beige, Champagne, Golden, Caramel |
| Ash | Dark Ash Blonde, Ash Blonde, Light Ash Blonde |
| Light reds | Strawberry Blonde, Light Reddish Blonde, Reddish Blonde |
| Brown | Light Brown |
| Bold | Sun Blonde |
Adding it to a shade yourself is different from adding a colour-neutral herb. Methi and bhringraj carry no pigment and change nothing. Colorless henna carries no pigment either — but it takes up room in the mix, so every gram you add lowers the concentration of the herbs that do the colouring. The result comes out lighter and softer than the shade on the pouch. That can be exactly what you want; it is not an accident to be surprised by.
One thing worth timing. Do not use colorless henna in the 72 hours after a plant colour. Henna and indigo keep developing for up to three days, and an hour of a wet mask inside that window can carry some of the result away with it.
The rest of the range
Colorless henna is one of eight single herbs Radico makes for hair — and the one that makes a pale shade possible.
See all Ayurvedic hair care Organic Colorless Henna Leaf Powder
Single ingredient in every pouch. No fillers, no fragrance, no synthetic preservatives.