Ancient Sunrise Henna for Hair Chapter 2

Part 1: The Evolution and Migration of Henna into Cultural Practices

Section 1: The History of Henna Hair Dye in Pre-History and Ancient Egypt

The Cultural and Social History of Henna

Henna, lawsonia inermis, with new growth after rain breaks a hot summer drought: the newly
grown leaves have vivid red from lawsone, the dye molecule in henna. This red is masked by
chlorophyll in mature leaves.

Humans have used plants to create dyes, paints, stains, and pigments for hundreds of thousands
of years. Neanderthals used cosmetic paints to ornament their bodies. There is evidence of
cosmetic preparation from 400,000 BCE in Zambia. We dont know when hominids began to
mask the appearance of aging by dyeing their hair with henna, but henna appears to have been
used as hair dye and for skin and hair wellness by the end of the Neolithic period in the Eastern
Mediterranean and Egypt. Henna grows most easily in tropical semi-arid zones and will endure
long periods of drought and temperatures over 100F. Henna leaves will be damaged and the
plant will become dormant when the temperature falls below 40F; frost damages henna, and a
prolonged freeze will kill the plant. Since the henna plant can live fifty years, the areas where it
grows must have reliably warm weather year-round.

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 Regions of traditional henna use, 1850 CE

Henna was a cultural tradition in the brown areas of the map above at the middle of the
nineteenth century. The area of cultural use extended into Spain and Sicily during the Medieval
Warm period through the expansion of Muslim culture northwards, but these areas of cultural
influence receded as the climate cooled in the fifteenth century and Muslim culture retracted into
Northern Africa. During the colonial period, henna use expanded through commerce as hair dye.
As global commerce, migration, and globalization increased toward the 21st century, the use of
henna spread. The use of henna in the regions marked in brown on the above map was
established and maintained for many centuries, though the archeological record in many of these
areas is unevenly researched. There is reliable evidence of early henna use in some of this area,
but none in others. It is probable that henna was used in any area wherever and whenever it grew
naturally. Intensive archaeological research in the eastern Mediterranean and Egypt has
uncovered Bronze Age use of henna, but this does not exclude early use of henna in other areas.

Theoretical use of henna in prehistory

Henna plants grow in North Africa wherever seasonal precipitation is available and where
temperatures do not drop to freezing. Henna thrives in soils that dry out for extended periods.
Henna will withstand long droughts, so it is well suited to semi-arid regions with monsoonal
flows. Henna is vulnerable to pests in damp soils and areas with floods or frequent precipitation.
Henna probably thrived in the area that is presently the Sahara desert 14,800 to 5,500 BCE,
during the African Humid Period, when the Sahara region was a subtropical savannah biome
with large areas bodies of water, made fertile through a seasonal monsoonal flow rather than the

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hyper-arid climate that presently exists.1 This area began to dry out, first in the northern region
of the Sahara and gradually extending south; as the monsoonal flows altered course the area
became increasingly arid. People and plant life withdrew when they could no longer survive on
the remaining water supplies. Though it is not possible to prove that people in the pre-arid
Sahara were familiar with and using henna, there is proxy evidence from prehistoric plant pollen
that the area was suitable for henna, and there is evidence that people who migrated out of that
area as it became arid were familiar with henna and had established a working relationship with
the plant.

The warmer climate during the prehistoric period may have also facilitated henna growth into an
area farther north than at present, such as to atalhyk in central Turkey where red hands are
associated with a bull god, as were henna, fertility, and the bull god in later Minoan, Cycladic,
and Ugaritic belief systems. The arid event and climate cooling that occurred around 3200 BCE,
combined with the drying of the Sahara pushed henna into the growing regions where it remains
at present: the frost free zones from latitudes 15 to 35 north. Henna would have been seeded by
birds migrating on the Black Sea-Mediterranean Flyway, having consumed henna seeds in North
Africa, and excreting them as they migrated north through wetland areas of the Eastern
Mediterranean as the Sahara became arid. In the areas where henna grows naturally, the
cultivation and understanding of henna are co-dependent with the cultures in the areas.

There is no reason to exclude archeologically understudied areas from potential Bronze Age or
even Neolithic henna use, but without confirmation the early use of henna is moot. It is probable
that henna was discovered in many times and places, and was planted by birds migrating
1
The Milankovitch cycles caused by the precession of the equinoxes and obliquity of the earths axis of rotation
cause a slow cycle of intensification of monsoonal flow affecting the North African climate. The diversity of North
African henna genotypes and absence of henna from the western hemisphere supports the probability that henna
developed in North Africa, and spread by bird migration as well as human trade and culture movements.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_African_climate_cycles

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along their flyways. Areas of Bronze Age artifacts indicating use of henna are consistent with
routes of the Black Sea-Mediterranean Flyway out of Africa. Wadis, springs, ponds, and rivers
would have been reseeded annually by birds, and the henna plants would have grown, or not,
according to the advancement and recession of the seasonal frost line.

Extension of henna-growing region out of Africa through activities of migratory birds

The understanding of henna followed the expanding region of growth: browsing animals eat
henna leaves, and their mouths become stained with the red-orange dye molecule in henna
leaves, Lawsone. The highest concentration of lawsone is in the petiole of just-budded leaves.2
Any person herding goats or cattle would have noticed the red on their animals mouth if it had
chewed henna. If the herder had become concerned at the appearance of a bloody color, and put
their fingers into the animals mouth to check for injury, their fingers would have been stained
red. Thus, the discovery of henna dye would probably have occurred many times. If the animal
had drooled while chewing henna, the herder would have noticed that the red-orange color stains
hair and skin.3 Recognition of less obvious characteristics of henna such as cure for ringworm,
head lice, and fungal infections would have come subsequently.

Henna in Ancient Egypt

Egyptians used henna to mask gray hair during the pre-dynastic period to dye graying hair in
Hierakanopolis, Egypt,4 3650-3500BC.5 Ahmose-Henttimehus (c. 1574 BCE) hair was dyed
with henna at the time of her death in the 18th dynasty; this elderly womans mummy has vivid
2
The petiole is the center rib of a leaf. In Romaine lettuce, this is the crunchy center part of the leaf.
3
This is the Catherine Cartwright-Jones PhD henna discovery hypothesis, A cow discovered it. Cows (bos
Africanus) were domesticated during the Green Sahara period in North Africa, and herders moving their cows
through the landscape may have had occasion to worry about a cow with a henna-stained mouth. This continues
today when cows get into the henna bushes and look like theyre wearing lipstick. In other areas, a goat might have
discovered henna.
4
Friedman, Renee F., Rene F. Friedman, Amy Maish, Ahmed G. Fahmy, John C. Darnell, and Edward D. Johnson.
1999. Preliminary Report on Field Work at Hierakonpolis: 1996-1998. Journal of the American Research Center
in Egypt 36. American Research Center in Egypt: 135. doi:10.2307/40000200

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red hair.6 Ramses IIs mummy had hennaed hair, covering his natural color that had become
completely white by the time of his death in 1213 BCE, at about the age of 90. Henna grew
easily in Egypt, and was appreciated for its fragrant flowers, its leaves for dyeing hair, and for its
potential therapeutic properties. The wall paintings and funerary portraits of Egyptians portray a
stylized human form, with heavy black, braided hair wigs, but the mummies show a genetically
diverse population with brunette, dark brunette, black, and occasionally light colored hair, all of
whom inevitably began graying by middle age. The mummies whose hair was hennaed at or
before death do not have a counterpart in wall paintings. Hennaing hair to cover gray may have
been for private, informal circumstances, a wig being worn formally, or hennaing hair may have
occurred only in preparation of the body after death.

If it may be argued that the Egyptian civilizations predecessor was a population which migrated
north and eastward from the Sahara as it became an arid zone, one may propose that the
understanding of henna developed during the prehistoric period in North Africa and migrated
outwards with the populations. The mentions of henna in the Ebers Papyrus are intriguing in that
they show careful observation of the differences in the henna plant according to where it is
grown, and the plant part, and the resulting different effects. They also had observed that henna
can reduce inflammation and fungal diseases, and can strengthen skin. They recognized that
aromatic plants, oils and resins make a useful difference in henna pastes. The Egyptians did not
seem to be using henna for body art in 1550 BCE as did their adversaries and neighbors, the
Libyans, Tunisians, Canaanites and Syrians, but they did make sophisticated use of its
therapeutic properties and as a hair dye.

5
Fletcher, J. 2002. Ancient Egyptian hair and wigs. The Ostracon, the Journal of the Egyptian Study Society.
Volume13, Number 2

In 1998 the plundered burial of a middle-aged woman from the predynastic workers cemetery at
Hierakonpolis proved particularly revealing after numerous scattered fragments of skull and hair were
reconstructed to allow us to recreate her original hairstyle. This was clearly the result of many hours work
undertaken by someone other than the lady in question, her natural hair of slightly more than shoulder-
length having been turned into an imposing crest-like coiffure using numerous hair extensions, providing
the earliest evidence of false hair yet found in Egypt.

The find was even more significant when we discovered that the womans graying brown hair had been
dyed either shortly before death or as a post-mortem treatment, the dye turning the brown parts auburn
while transforming the unpigmented white hairs bright orange. Those familiar with the vegetable dye henna
(Lawsonia inermis) will recognize its characteristic effect, and indeed henna shrubs still grow at the site
and continue to be used for the same purpose by the local population. They kindly showed us where the
best leaves were to be found and, allowing us to help ourselves, they demonstrated the heavy stone they use
to grind them to a fine powder which is mixed with water to color the hair, skin and nails. Inspired, we
decided to undertake comparative tests using modern hair samples kindly supplied by members of our
team, and our tests duplicated exactly the effects observed in these ancient samples.
6
Asru, An Ancient Egyptian Temple Chantress: Modern Spectrometric Studies As Part of the Manchester Egyptian
Mummy Research Project Volume 117 of the series NATO ASI Series pp 153-162

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 Henna leaves with lawsone showing in petiole of the young leaf

Henna in the Ebers Papyrus

The Ebers Papyrus was written around 1550 BCE in Thebes, Egypt. It is a compendium of
nearly nine hundred remedies, pharmacopoeia and doctors medicinal formulae gathered and
catalogued at that time. It contains notes from at least forty different sources. The papyrus
describes diseases and injuries, their symptoms, diagnosis, treatments, prescriptions, and the
preparation and administration of the remedies. Prayers and incantations frequently accompany
the prescriptions.

Henna is one of the 400 plants, minerals, and animal parts, used to create remedies in the Ebers
Papyrus pharmacopoeia. In Egypt in 1500 BCE, henna was called Kupros, or Cyperus,
depending on the author transliterating the consonant group KPR, the ancient Egyptian word for
henna. The pharmacopoeia specifies seven forms of henna based on where it was harvested, the
age of the plant, and the plant part.

Henna from the north, henna from the fields, henna from the meadow, and henna from
the marshes, specify henna harvested from locations with different soil and moisture levels.
Soil and moisture affect hennas Lawsone levels. Moist, fertile, cool conditions produce low
Lawsone levels. Dry, hot, iron-bearing soils produce high Lawsone levels. Knots of henna,
thorns of henna and henna grass are parts of the plant specific to age and growth cycle,
which again have different characteristics.

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 Detail from Culturgeschichte Druck und Verlag von F. A. Brockhaus in Leipzig Aegyptische
Volkstrachen and Heutige Numidier: People from Lower and Upper Egypt

Henna from the north may either indicate henna from a northern arid desert area, which would
have higher Lawsone level, or it might indicate henna from the marshy Nile Delta, which would
have a lower Lawsone level. North could also indicate henna from a coastal area. Henna will
tolerate salinized sandy soil, and grows close to the shores of the southeastern Mediterranean.
That henna would not have high Lawsone levels, because coastlines dont get as hot as the
interior. Therefore, the characteristics of henna from the north are moot.

Henna from the fields may have been henna at the edge of cultivated areas, where it is often
grown as a hedgerow or windbreak. That henna would have received regular irrigation along
with the field, so that henna might have not had as high a Lawsone content as henna from
unirrigated soil.

Henna from the meadow may have been plants growing in grazing areas. Meadows would not
have been regularly irrigated, so henna from meadows would have had higher Lawsone content
than that from fields. Henna from the marshes would have had abundant water, and relatively
low Lawsone levels.

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 Detail from Culturgeschichte Druck und Verlag von F. A. Brockhaus in Leipzig
Aethiopische Konigen, Priesterin, Hofbeamter, Aegyptischer Pharao, Fchertrger.

Knots of henna, thorns of henna and henna grass refer to parts of the henna plant rather
than their harvest location. Knots of henna might be the seed-filled berries or seedpods.
Henna seeds were pressed for their oil, which was used as a liniment. Thorns of henna refers
to the thorns that begin to grow when the plant is 3 years old, from which henna gets its name
Lawsonia Inermis or armed (as in having a weapon). Henna grass is the young shoots of
the henna plant as they grow from seed. In specifying different sorts of henna, the physicians
understood that hennas from different microclimates had different Lawsone levels, and different
parts of the plants had different properties.

The uses of henna in the Ebers Papyrus are consistent with what we know of the henna now.
Henna has differing levels of Lawsone during different growth periods of its life cycle, and in
different soils and available moisture. Dry, hot, iron-bearing soils produce henna with high
Lawsone levels. Moist, fertile soils produce henna with lower Lawsone levels. The tannins in
henna bind with keratin in the skin, making the skin stronger and resistant to desiccation7.
Lawsone is mildly anti-inflammatory8 and is effective against ringworm and other fungal skin

7
Stankiewicz A., Hutchins J., Thomson R., Briggs D., Evershed R., 1997
Assessment of Bog-Body Tissue Preservation by Pyrolysis-Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry
Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry, Vol. II, 1884 1890
8
S. Yogisha, D.S. Samiulla, D. Prashanth*, R. Padmaja, A. Amit, 2002. Trypsin inhibitory activity of Lawsonia
inermis. Fitoterapia 73 (2002) 69069

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diseases.9 In the Ebers Papyrus, henna is used for skin diseases, as opposed to respiratory, heart
or circulatory diseases, so the ancient Egyptian use of henna seems to be based on observation
and experience and is largely knowledgeable and appropriate.

One remedy for scabs in every limb features henna. Scabs in every limb could be ringworm,
or another fungal skin disease, or it could be some other source of open lesions. In any case, this
indicates broken skin. Henna will stain broken skin permanently. The remedy for scabs in
every limb is Henna from the marshes, henna from the fields, henna knots and red grain,
crushed in oil, goose oil and semen. Except for the addition of semen and red grain, this seems
to be a straightforward henna paste, but one that would have minimal stain. Henna from the
marshes would not have been dark-staining henna because abundant moisture does not favor
high Lawsone content. If henna from the fields were from irrigated fields, it also would not
have been dark-staining henna. Oil mixed into henna paste (goose oil and henna seed oil) would
also have inhibited the stain. This seems to indicate the paste was made to be applied frequently
to reinforce anti-fungal anti-inflammatory effects and, with minimal skin staining. If body art
quality henna paste was applied to broken skin, the basal layer of the skin would be permanently
stained. This may be a well thought out, carefully observed, and effective treatment for
ringworm or other conditions with broken skin, making use of hennas anti-fungal properties,
while minimizing skin staining.

Another treatment to allay itching from all limbs was a paste of henna from the meadow,
onion meal, incense, and wild date juice. The instructions were make into one and apply to the
scurvy place, implying that the practitioner would make and apply this henna paste topically.
Henna from the meadow could have had higher Lawsone content than henna from the fields
because fields were irrigated and meadows were not: high Lawsone content favors low moisture.
Wild date juice was the sour/sugar ingredient common to most henna pastes. Henna has been
used to treat psoriasis and eczema,10 which could have been the source of the itching from all
limbs. If the skin was itching but not broken, as the scabs in every limb then higher quality
henna from the meadows could be used with less concern over permanent skin staining. The
writer of the Ebers Papyrus commented on this remedy, Look to it because this is the true
remedy. It was found among the proven remedies in the temple of the God Osiris. It is a
remedy, which drives away the scurf in every limb of a person. Yes, it heals at once. You see.
Osiriss recommendation was a guarantee of quality and reliability.

Diseased toes was a common complaint in Ancient Egypt, with several remedies proposed
depending on the severity of the condition. Diseased toes could have been a fungal or bacterial
infection from working in muddy irrigated fields, or problems from conditions such as cracked
and infected calluses. Minor fungal and bacterial infections of the feet would have been easily
treated with a henna paste spread on skin. If diseased toes referred to what is presently
diagnosed as Athletes Foot, tinea pedis, henna leaves dried, crushed, and made into a mildly
acidic mix would eliminate the fungal infection.11
9
Bosoglu A., Birdane F., and Solmaz H., 1998. The Effect of Henna (Folium Lawsonia) Paste in Ringworm in
Calves. Indian Veterinary Journal 75, January
10
Aburjai and Natsheh, 2003. Plants used in Cosmetics. Phytotherapy Research 17, 987 1000
11
Rahmoun N1, Boucherit-Otmani Z, Boucherit K, Benabdallah M, Choukchou-Braham N. (2013) Antifungal
activity of the Algerian Lawsonia inermis (henna). Pharmaceutical Biology. Jan;51(1):131-5.

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A more complicated formula is proposed for a more serious condition of diseased toes: the
physician made a poultice of fennel, wax, incense, henna, wormwood, dried myrrh, poppy
plantings and cuttings (raw opiate), elderberries, berries of the uan tree, resin of acanthus, dough
of acanthus, resin of mafet tree, grain (small pieces of wood) of aloes (aloes wood), fat (resin) of
the cedar tree, fat (resin) of the uan tree, fresh olive oil, and water from the rain of the heavens.
This would have created a mildly acidic (rain being mildly acidic) antibacterial and antifungal
henna paste. A more acidic paste might have been painful on open wounds. The paste had olive
oil that would have soothed dry skin, and an opiate for pain relief. If diseased toes refers to
what is presently diagnosed as the progressive problems of diabetes and diabetic neuropathy in a
persons feet, this complex henna based paste in the Ebers Papyrus would have been useful in
relief of foot ulcers, pain, drying skin and nerve damage to feet from diabetes.12 10% of the
present-day adult population of Egypt is diabetic. We cant assume that there was a similarly
high incidence of diabetes in Ancient Egypt, but diabetes did exist in the population.13

Ancient Egyptian use of henna is evidenced through medical texts, paintings and sculpture, and
through hennaed hair remaining on mummified bodies. Paintings and sculptures of living people
do not appear to have any clear evidence of henna being used as skin decoration or hair through
the Old and Middle Kingdoms. Mummified hair has evidence of henna. Some mummies
fingernails are darkened with an appearance consistent with henna, but this darkening may be
from other burial preservation materials. There may have been some decorative henna use in the
New Kingdom through cultural exchange with other people in the eastern Mediterranean where
there is clear evidence that henna was used as womens adornment.

12
Mutluolu M, Uzun G., (2009) Can henna prevent ulceration in diabetic feet at high risk? Experimental Diabetes
Research. 2009:107496.
13
Weaver, L.J., Venkatnarayan, K. M. (2008) Reconsidering the history of type 2 diabetes in India: Emerging or
re-emerging disease The National Medical Journal of India. Vol. 21, No. 6,
An ailment suspected to be diabetes was recognized by the Egyptians in manuscripts dating to 1550 BCE.
They tested for diabeteswhich they called sweet urine diseaseby determining if ants were attracted
to a persons urine.

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Ancient Sunrise Henna for Hair Chapter 2,

Part 1: The Evolution and Migration of Henna into Cultural Practices

Section 1: The History of Henna Hair Dye in Pre-History and Ancient Egypt

Copyright 2016 Catherine Cartwright-Jones

Cover Graphic by Alex Morgan

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