HENNA- Why does the stain fade and disappears?

Henna tattoos and designs are provisional or temporary in nature as compared to the pierced tattoos that leave their mark permanently on the body. There are certain biological processes that take place inside our body continuously that account for the temporary affect of the Henna paste. Skin is comprised of many layers of cells that protect the inner organs from damage by the exterior lethal agents or liquids. The human skin consists of living tissues as well as dead and dry cells. Instead of softening and moistening, the dead cells harden on reaching the surface and eventually peel off naturally. This natural exfoliation process takes place every day and night. The Stratum Corneum layer consists of interlocked cells throughout its column. As the lower cells reproduce rapidly, they push up the column to replace the exfoliating cells from the surface. The Henna paste is applied on to the surface of the skin which is hardened and dried. The dye molecules in henna paste are small enough to penetrate inside the skin cells. Hence, the cells closest to the paste become greatly saturated with the dye as compared to those lower in the column of Corneum. As the upper cells die and become hard and flaky, they are cast off by the new cells beneath them that are being pushed by the newly forming cells beneath. Thus the cells with lesser dye saturation rise above to the surface soon enough. In this way, the Henna design slowly fades after approximately 72-96 hours. The dye molecules are unable to penetrate much in to the column or till the living tissue layers. This is the main reason why a permanent mark is not made as the cells in Stratum Corneum are continuously reproducing and exfoliating as compared to those in the living tissues.