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Ingredient on hair labels

Lawsonia Inermis (Henna) Extract

TheWashDay editorial · Updated · From the EU ingredient register and the makers’ own labels · How we match names

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Lawsonia Inermis (Henna) Extract is on 2 of the 177 hair-product labels we compare, from 1 maker. Its uses in the EU ingredient register include hair conditioning, hair dyeing and antimicrobial. None of these labels names it among its first five ingredients.

See it on each label Products without it

What it is

In the register’s words: “Lawsonia Inermis Extract is an extract of the dried flowers, fruit and leaves of the Henna, Lawsonia inermis L., Lythraceae.”

EU register name (INCI)
LAWSONIA INERMIS EXTRACT
CAS number
84988-66-9
EC number
284-854-1

Labels often add a second name in brackets, so a label may say Lawsonia Inermis (Henna) Extract where the register says LAWSONIA INERMIS EXTRACT. Both are the same ingredient.

What the register lists it for

These are the uses the European Commission’s CosIng register lists for Lawsonia Inermis (Henna) Extract in any cosmetic, hair roles first. They say why a maker might add it, not what it does in one formula, and they aren’t a safety rating.

Hair conditioning

The register’s hair role for ingredients that make hair feel softer, smoother or easier to comb. Most conditioners, masks and leave-ins list several.

Register definition: “Enhancing the appearance and feel of hair. Leaving the hair easy to comb, supple, soft and shiny and/or imparting volume, lightness, gloss, texture, etc.”

Hair dyeing

Colors hair. In these wash-day products, an ingredient with this role is usually there for a listed use of its own, not to dye your hair.

Register definition: “Imparting color to hair. Hair dyeing preparations may be temporary, semi-permanent, permanent, depending on the length of time the colorant remains on the hair.”

Antimicrobial

Slows the growth of microbes, in the product or on the surface it touches. Some preservatives, extracts and essential oils carry this role.

Register definition: “Preventing and/or slowing down microbial growth.”

Antioxidant

Slows the oxygen damage that makes oils go rancid in the bottle. Vitamin E (tocopherol) is the common one.

Register definition: “Inhibiting reactions promoted by oxygen, thus avoiding oxidation and rancidity.”

Where it sits on each label

US labels list ingredients from most to least, except that those at 1% or less may follow in any order. A name near the top is a large part of the formula. A label doesn’t mark where the 1% point falls, so further down, the order says little about how much is in it.

Every label, product by product (2)

Each line runs from the first name on a label to the last; a dot is where this ingredient sits. Makers change formulas now and then; if the list on your bottle differs, go by your bottle.

Your next step

Find products without Lawsonia Inermis (Henna) Extract Check every name on your own label All ingredients on the labels we compare

Other hair conditioning ingredients on these labels

Updated · The name, numbers and uses come from the European Commission’s CosIng entry (CC BY 4.0); we write the uses in US spelling and put the hair ones first. The labels are each maker’s own. The order rule is the FDA’s Cosmetics Labeling Guide. All our sources are on the Sources page.