Lawsone – The Henna Dye Molecule
Introduction to Lawsone Henna can dye skin, hair and other materials because of the high content of Lawsone, a tannin, which dyes other substances through the way in which it binds well to protein, particularly the keratin in skin and hair. Lawsone has a number of other names, the official chemical name is: 2-hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone, and it is also known as hennotannic acid, or henna. How does Lawsone work? The process by which henna binds to keratin is called the Michael…