Microscopic comparison of hairs treated with different commercial brands of henna

Abstract

Cosmetic treatments are in trend of fashion these days. The application of henna on hairs is one such treatment done to enhance the texture, colour and other features of the hairs. Microscopic analysis of henna treated hair can provide quality information about the trace evidence, such as hairs, recovered from a crime scene during forensic investigations. The henna, on treatment, covers the cuticle of the normal hair and changes the colour and texture of the hairs. In this study, the microscopic analysis of henna treated hair has been done to see the effect of henna on hairs within a time interval of 20 days. Hair samples treated with different brands of henna (viz. Neha Herbals Herbal Mehndi, Godrej Nupur Henna and Patanjali Kesh Kanti Herbal Mehndi) were analysed under phase-contrast microscope, indicating the changes in the scale pattern, texture and colour of the hair. It was found that the effects of Patanjali Kesh Kanti Herbal Mehndi on the texture and colour of the hair lasts for more than 20 days with respect to Nupur Henna and Neha Herbals Mehndi. This study can provide a base of narrow downing the number of suspects using henna or any kind of cosmetic treatments of hair.