Vol 7(1) J anuary-February 2008

45
I ntroduction
Fr o m a n c i e n t d a ys va r i o u s
m a t e r i a l s fr o m p l a n t s l i k e He n n a ,
Chamomile, Indigo, etc. ar e used to dye
the gr ey hair to get natur al black colour.
But instead of getting black colour people
get r ed to copper colour. Loss of colour
i n h a i r i s d u e t o va r i e d r e a s o n s l i k e
genetic influence, effect of envir onmental
fa c to r s, u se o f a lc o h o lic p r e p a r a tio n s,
etc.
1
. Though per manent synthetic hair dyes
ar e available in var ied colour and r anges
r etain natur al lustr e, they have the chief
disadvantage of pr oducing hyper sensitive
r eactions in some individuals. Some hair
dyes mar keted as natur al dye, contain 1-
3 % o f p h e n yl e n e d i a m i n e wh i c h i s a
synthetic hair dye and stain the skin and
clothes dur ing use
2
.
A n eed was felt to fo r mu late a
pr oduct containing only plant pr oducts,
which is safe for use and does not have
the pr oblems of staining skin dur ing use
and hyper sensitive r eactions. In the pr esent
i n ve s t i ga t i o n t h e fo r m u l a t i o n s a r e
d e ve lo p e d to ge t n a tu r a l b la c k c o lo u r
u s i n g c o m b i n a t i o n o f d i ffe r e n t p l a n t
mater ials. This investigation was planned
based on exper iences of sever al people who
wer e using differ ent plant pr oducts for
colour ing their hair without having any
pr oblems of ir r itancy, aller gy or sensitivity.
Th e ma i n a i m o f t h e p r e s e n t
investigation is to for mulate natur al and
safe hair color ants.
Materials and Methods
The plants used in the study ar e:
Hen n a (Lawsonia inermis Linn.)
3
,
Indigo (Indigofera tinctoria Linn.)
4,5
,
Bhringraj [ Eclipta alba (Linn. )
Hassk.]
6
, Amla (Emblica officinalis
Gaertn.)
7
, Shoe flower (Hibiscus rosa-
sinensis Linn. )
8 , 9
, Bl a c k c a t e c h u
(Acacia catechu Willd.)
3
, Cinnamon
( Cinnamomum zeylanicum
Breyn. ) , Te a [ Camellia sinensis
(Linn. ) O. Kuntze]
3
, a n d Brahmi
[ Centella asiatica (Linn.) Urban]
10
.
Preparation of natural hair colorants
Th e l e a ve s o f h e n n a , i n d i go ,
brahmi, te a a n d bhringraj, fr u its o f
amla, shoe flower s, and Cinnamon bar k
wer e collected fr om differ ent places and
d r ie d in sh a d e . Th e y we r e ma d e in to
powder s and used for the pr epar ation of
hair color ants.
Collection of unpigmented hair
Th e h u man h air was co llected
fr o m b a r b e r s h o p s a n d te mp le s fr o m
wh ic h wh ite h a ir s we r e se p a r a te d a n d
used for the studies.
Preliminary preparation of natural
hair colorants
One gr am each of henna, indigo,
amla, bhringraj, h ib isc u s, brahmi,
catechu, cinnamon and tea powder was
taken separ ately and added 200mg ( 20%)
of ur ea in each sample. A smooth paste
was made with water separ ately. The pastes
wer e kept aside for 1 h for imbibition.
The hair was kept in the above pastes for
1 h a n d t h e n wa s h e d wi t h wa t e r a n d
obser ved for its colour ing.
Selection of suitable combination
with henna
One gr am of henna was mixed
wi t h s a me p r o p o r t i o n o f i n d i go , t e a ,
amla, bhringraj and 20% ur ea and
Formulation and evaluation of commonly
used natural hair colorants
Y Madhusudan Rao* , Shayeda and P Sujatha
Univer sity College of Phar maceutical Sciences, Kakatiya Univer sity
War angal-506 009, Andhr a Pr adesh, India
*Cor r espondent author, E-mail: ymr ao123@yahoo.com
Received 8 December 2006; Accepted 9 October 2007
Abstract
Loss of colour in hair is due to var ied r easons like genetic influence, effect of envir onmental
factor s, use of alcoholic pr epar ations, etc. Though the per manent synthetic hair dyes ar e available
in differ ent colour r anges and r etain natur al lustr e, they have the chief disadvantage of pr oducing
hyper sensitive r eactions in some individuals. In the pr esent investigation var ious combinations of
powder ed leaves, fr uits and flower s of dye yielding and hair car e plants like Henna, Indigo,
Bhringraj, Amla, Catechu and Centella wer e evaluated for their colour ing and sensitivity r eactions.
Henna and Indigo for mulation was found to be suitable natur al color ant.
Keywords: Natur al hair color ants, Dye yielding plants, Hair car e plants, Henna, Indigo.
I PC code; I nt. cl.
8
A61K 8/ 97, A61Q 5/ 10, C09B 61/ 00
Research Paper Natural Product Radiance, Vol. 7(1), 2008, pp.45-48
Natural Product Radiance
46
water was added to that in or der to make
a smooth paste. The paste was kept aside
for 1 h for imbibition. The hair was kept
in above paste for 1 hour. After that it was
washed with water and obser ved for its
colour ing.
Selection of suitable combination of
henna and indigo
Henna was mixed with indigo in
d iffer en t r atio s fr o m 1 :1 to 1 :5 , mixed
with wa te r to ma k e smo o th p a ste a n d
pr ocessed similar ly as above to obser ve
colour ing.
Effect of pH on the selected
combination on henna and indigo
1:3 Ratios of henna and indigo
wer e selected because it pr oduced alter ed
colour and effect of pH was studied. To
the paste of above r atio, dilute ammonia
solution was added in or der to obtain the
pH of 6, 7, 8, 9. Fur ther pr ocess was
same for obser ving its effect.
Effect of successive application of
selected combination of henna and
indigo
1 : 3 Ratios of henna and indigo
we r e s e l e c t e d a n d t o t h a t s u c c e s s i ve
a p p lic a tio n o f p a ste wa s stu d ie d . Th e
h e n n a a n d i n d i go p a s t e wa s a p p l i e d
2 to 4 times and washed r epeatedly with
shampoo and obser ved for its colour ing.
Effect of modifying agents over hair
colorants
On e gr a m o f h e n n a a n d th r e e
gr ams of indigo powder s wer e weighed
and taken in a dish; 20% of ur ea and 1%
of fer r ic chlor ide wer e added and made
into paste. The paste was kept for 1 hour.
Si m i l a r l y, p r e p a r a t i o n s c o n t a i n i n g
3 an d 6 % o f fer r ic ch lo r id e wer e also
pr epar ed. The above pastes wer e applied
to the white hair, waited for 1 hour. The
h a i r c o l o u r wa s o b s e r ve d u n d e r
mic r o s c o p e a fte r wa s h in g with wa te r.
Similar ly, same concentr ations of copper
sulphate wer e also pr epar ed and obser ved.
Comparative evaluation of the
formulation with marketed brands
Fo r c o m p a r i s o n wi t h t h e
pr epar ed paste with 1:1 henna and indigo
with 2 0 % o f u r e a p r e p a r e d p a s te two
m a r k e t e d h e r b a l h a i r c o l o r a n t s
[ containing par a phenylenediamine ( PPD)
in their for mulation] . The above thr ee
pastes wer e applied to the hair, waited
for 1 h and obser ved after washing.
Sensitivity test
Primary irritation testing:
This test
11
was conducted on two albino
r a b b its to d e te c t th e p o te n tia l p r ima r y
i r r i t a n t s p r e s e n t i n t h e d e ve l o p e d
fo r m u l a t i o n . Th e a n i m a l e t h i c a l
committee appr oval was also taken. It was
ascer tained that the animals did not have
any skin sensitization or ir r itation histor y.
The r ight side of back of each r abbit was
c l i p p e d wi t h s h a r p b l a d e , wh i c h wa s
ster ilized pr eviously. The henna and indigo
was applied on the lightly scar ified skin
of the r ight side and the left side of the
r abbit' s back and the ar eas wer e cover ed
with closed patches. The cover ed patches
wer e kept in position for 24 hour s. The
applied ar eas wer e examined at inter vals
of four hour s for assessment of changes
on the skin associated with ir r itation.
Predictive sensitivity
testing: The ascer tainment of the ir r itant
and sensitizing potential of for mulation
i s p r o p h e t i c o r p r e d i c t i ve s e n s i t i vi t y
testing. Under this test the ingr edients of
the for mulation and the for mulation as a
whole wer e tested for their ir r itation and
sensitivity
12
. This testing was conducted
o n 8 fe ma le vo lu n te e r s h e n c e , h u ma n
ethical committee appr oval was obtained
( No . i s UCPSC/ s / 2 0 0 6 - 0 1 ) . Th e
for mulation was applied to 1 cm
2
ar ea of
cotton gauze. The gauze was backed with
a d h e s i ve t a p e i n o r d e r t o h o l d i t i n
position. Then 8 female volunteer s wer e
a sk e d to a p p ly th is p a tc h to th e in n e r
s u r fa c e o f fo r e a r m . Th e p u r p o s e o f
selection of this site for application was
to enable the volunteer to r eadily r emove
the patch if any ir r itation is encounter ed.
The volunteer s wer e asked to r emove patch
i m m e d i a t e l y, i f t h e y fe e l i t c h i n g o r
bur ning. Fur ther they asked to keep the
patch site dr y, avoid r ubbing or scr atching
test site. The patch was kept in position
for 24 hour s. After 24 h, the patch was
r emoved. The test site was obser ved up
to 40 min fr om the time of r emoval. This
time inter val is necessar y so that the skin
may r ecover fr om the effects of pr essur e
of cer tain patch test substances.
Results and Discussion
I n t h e p r e l i m i n a r y s e l e c t i o n
i n d i vi d u a l p o wd e r s ( He n n a , I n d i go ,
Bhringraj, Amla, Sh o e fl o we r ,
Ci n n a m o n , Bl a c k Ca t e c h u , Te a , a n d
Brahmi) we r e t e s t e d fo r t h e i r h a i r
colour ing pr oper ty. The colour pr oduced
by these plant pr oducts can be seen in
Fig. 1. Fr om the figur e it can be seen that
a m o n g t h e s e d ye s h e n n a a n d i n d i go
pr oduced good color ation because henna
gives an or ange-r ed colour and indigo gives
an intense violet colour. By using these
two powder s a suitable br own colour can
be developed. The other plants did not
Research Paper
Vol 7(1) J anuary-February 2008
47
pr oduce the desir ed color ation to the hair.
Micr oscopic pictur es of black and white
hair s and white hair s dyed with henna and
indigo ar e shown in Fig. 2.
He n n a a n d in d igo we r e ma d e
into paste in differ ent r atios as 1:1. 1:2,
1:3, 1:4, and 1:5. In these pr epar ations,
1:1, 1:2 gives yellowish or ange shades 1:4,
1:5 gives bluish violet shades wher eas 1:3
r atio gives a br own shade. Hence 1:3 r atio
o f h e n n a a n d in d igo wa s s e le c te d fo r
fur ther study.
The effect of pH was studied on
Fig. 2 : Micr oscopic obser vation of
differ ent hair s
Fig. 3: Effect of pH on colour pr oduced with
henna and indigo
He n n a :In d igo ( A*) -1 :1 He n n a :In d igo ( A*) -1 :2 Henna:Indigo( A*) -1:3
A* - Aged
Research Paper
Fig. 1 : The differ ent colour s pr oduced by gr ey
hair ( white) after tr eatment with differ ent her bal
powder s in the for m of paste
Henna Indigo Bhr ingr aj Amla Shoe flower
Cinnamon Tea Powder Br ahmi
Black hair White ( gr ey hair ) Henna dyed Indigo dyed
white hair white hair
pH-6 pH-7 pH-8 pH-9
Fig. 4 : Micr oscopical obser vation of
colour pr oduced after r epeated application of
henna and indigo 3 times
Fig. 6 : Micr oscopical obser vation of the effect of
modifier ( 1% fer r ic chlor ide) on colour
modification with henna and indigo
Henna:Indigo( A*) -1:1 Henna:Indigo( A*) -1:2 Henna:Indigo( A*) -1:3
A*- Aged
Fig. 7 : Effect of ageing of the indigo leaves on
colour pr oduced with 1% fer r ic chlor ide in
1hour after each application with
r epeated 3 times of application
I Time II Time III Time
Henna:I ndigo(not aged) (1 :3) with 1 % ferric chloride
I Time II Time III Time
Henna : I ndigo(Aged) (1 :1 ) without 1 % ferric chloride
I Time II Time III Time I Time II Time III Time I Time II Time III Time
Henna:Indigo ( 1:1) Henna:Indigo ( 1:2) Henna:Indigo ( 1:3)
Henna:Indigo ( 1:1) Henna:Indigo ( 1:2) Henna:Indigo ( 1:3)
Afte r 6 Sh a mp o o in gs a fte r 3 r e p e a te d a p p lic a tio n s
Fig. 5 : Effect of r epeated application of henna
and indigo on colour development
Henna:Indigo ( A*) 1:1 Mar keted Pr oduct
A*-Age d
Fig. 8 : Compar ison of the colour pr oduced by
the her bal dye with mar keted pr oduct
Henna:Indigo ( A*) 1:1 Mar keted Pr oduct
Microscopical observation
this r atio of henna and indigo. The colour
which was obtained at pH 7 was better
than that of pH 6, 8 and 9 as can be seen
fr o m th e Fig. 3 . Hen ce, all th e p astes
wer e adjusted to pH 7 for fur ther studies.
Th e h e n n a a n d i n d i go p a s t e s
when applied r epeatedly i.e., 3 times or
4 times, ther e was an incr ease in intensity
of br own color ation. The micr oscopical
obser vation of this can be seen in Fig. 4.
When hair was washed with shampoo 6
times after r epeated application of henna
and indigo pastes 3 times and ever y time
the hair was soaked in the paste for 1h
and then washed with water, their br own
colour was r etained as such which can be
seen Fig. 5.
Th e e ffe c t o f mo d ifie r o n h a ir
color ation was studied by using 1% fer r ic
chlor ide. The effect of 1% fer r ic chlor ide
was studied for the pr epar ation containing
with an d with o u t fer r ic ch lo r id e wh ich
was subjected to the shampoo washings.
After ad d in g 1 % fer r ic ch lo r id e, it was
obser ved that ther e was an incr ease in
the intensity of br own colour and colour
Natural Product Radiance
48
r e ta in in g p r o p e r ty wa s a lso in c r e a se d .
Penetr ation of colour intensity of henna
and indigo with differ ent r atios 1:1, 1:2
a n d 1 : 3 wi t h 1 % fe r r i c c h l o r i d e wa s
studied. Ther e was an incr ease in intensity
of hair colour obser ved micr oscopically,
which can be seen in Fig. 6.
Ther e was an incr ease in violet
colour ing pr oper ty, when the indigo leaves
wer e subjected to ageing.The henna and
indigo aged and tender leaves powder s
wer e taken in the r atios 1:1, 1:2, 1:3 and
mad e in to p aste, k ep t asid e fo r 1 h fo r
i m b i b i t i o n . Th e n t h e s e p a s t e s we r e
a p p l i e d o n t o gr e y h a i r a n d a ft e r 1 h
th e h a ir s we r e wa sh e d with wa te r a n d
c o lo u r o f th e h a ir wa s o b se r ve d . Th e
b r o wn c o l o u r o b t a i n e d wi t h h e n n a
and indigo( not aged) ( 1:3) with 1% fer r ic
c h l o r i d e wa s s a m e a s t h a t o b t a i n e d
with henna and indigo ( aged) 1:1 r atio
with o u t 1 % fer r ic ch lo r id e itself wh ich
c a n b e s e e n i n Fi g. 7 . Th e b r o wn
c o lo r a tio n wa s mo r e in th e la te r o n e .
Hence a dar k br own colour was obtained
with p u r e p la n t p r o d u c ts its e lf in th e
r atio of 1:1.
The pr epar ation thus made was
compar ed for the intensity of colour with
that of mar keted pr oducts, which contains
PPD in their for mulation. The dar k br own
colour which was obtained with henna,
i n d i go 1 : 1 a ft e r 3 a p p l i c a t i o n s wa s
compar able with the mar keted pr oduct
as shown in Fig. 8. The penetr ation efficacy
of hair colour into the cor tex was studied
mic r o s c o p ic a lly. Th e r e wa s n o t mu c h
differ ence between henna and indigo and
the mar keted pr oduct which can be seen
i n Fi g. 8 . Th e i n t e n s i t y o f c o l o u r
p e n e t r a t i o n wa s a l s o s t u d i e d a ft e r
subjecting to 6 shampooing. Ther e is no
differ ence between mar keted pr oduct and
h e n n a , in d igo c o mb in a tio n a s se e n in
Fig. 8.
He n n a a n d i n d i go p a s t e wa s
s u b j e c t e d t o p r e d i c t i ve t e s t a n d
pr eliminar y sensitivity test. These tests
wer e car r ied out initially on the albino
r abbits. No ir r itation or hyper sensitivity,
r eactions wer e obser ved. The pr eliminar y
s e n s i t i vi t y t e s t , p e r fo r me d o n h u ma n
volunteer s also shown no sign of ir r itation
or hyper sensitivity.
Conclusion
It c a n b e c o n c lu d e d fr o m th e
i n ve s t i ga t i o n t h a t b y c h a n gi n g t h e
pr opor tion of henna and indigo a suitable
br own colour could be obtained for hair.
A pH of 7 was best for penetr ation of hair
c o lo r a n t. Re p e a te d a p p lic a tio n o f th e
henna and indigo pr oduct gives an incr ease
in the colour intensity. Addition of fer r ic
c h lo r id e e n h a n c e th e c o lo u r r e ta in in g
pr oper ty. It was obser ved that when indigo
leaves ar e subjected to ageing give mor e
colour intensity. No influence of ageing
wa s o b s e r ve d in c o lo u r in te n s ity with
henna powder.
Ad va n ta ge o f th is n a tu r a l h a ir
c o lo r a n t is th a t it d o e s n o t c a u s e a n y
ir r itation. Staining of nails or finger s is
not seen while pr epar ing the hair color ant
for mulation or paste which is the main
pr oblem with mar keted pr oducts. At the
same time the colour does not stick to
the clothes which come into contact with
the pr oduct. Hence it is a suitable natur al
hair color ant and can be r ecommended
for fur ther studies and use.
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Research Paper