The Flowering Acacia Catechu Tree
Did you know that there is another flowering tree that produces a wonderful benefit for hair color? First of all, the acacia catechu tree is found in the forests of India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and other Asian countries.
According to, the World Agro Forestry Centre, acacia catechu is a small or medium-sized, thorny tree up to 15 m tall; bark dark grey or greyish-brown, peeling off in long strips, or sometimes in narrow rectangular plates, brown or red inside. It’s been called: catechu, cutch, katha, khair and more, depending on the use of different parts of the tree. The flowers are long spikes with color of white to pale yellow, numerous stamens. The fruit is contained within a strap-shaped pod tapering at both ends.
In India, three varieties, namely: var. catechu, var. catechuoides and var sundra are recognized. The generic name, ‘acacia’, comes from the Greek word ‘akis’, meaning a point or a barb. The species name comes from 'cutch', a tanning extract isolated from its heartwood.”
Acacia Catechu Growing Season
Acacia catechu leaves are shed around February and new leaves appear near the end of April or May. The flowers appear when the new leaves appear and flowering continues until July or August. Pods rapidly develop and are full-size by September or October. They ripen from November to early January.
Benefits of Acacia Catechu
Throughout the country of India, the use of Acacia catechu as a tanning agent goes back centuries. It was called, ‘cacho’ in a European writing in AD 1514 where it was mentioned as being exported from Cambay to Malacca. In the 17th century it was used in Europe and by the early 19th century, France imported it for commercial use.
Of the numerous uses for acacia catechu, we’ll focus on its benefit for ha A substance called cutch is extracted from the bark and is used for extracting color and dyeing textiles as well as: hair color. Catechu extract is also used to dye textiles such as silk, cotton, canvas, paper and leather to a dark-brownish color.
Where to purchase Acacia Catechu in a Natural Hair Dye
Acacia catechu is just one of the natural botanicals that make up some shades of Lustrous Henna®.
Depending on the color shade, Lustrous Henna® contains pure, highly-sifted herbal henna, indigo leaf powder and other herbal extracts and powders. Dark hair colors are achieved naturally, resulting in excellent black hair color, dark brown hair color, brown hair color and many more, along with excellent gray hair coverage.
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