Using Dye to Cover Grays Has Been Going on for Centuries

If you uncover the history of hair color, its origins go back to ancient Egypt. About 3000 BC, the Egyptians were dyeing their hair with henna. It is reported Cleopatra, called one of history's greatest beauties, used henna.

What is "henna" and how is it used in hair color?

Henna is a shrub of the Myzoide family and grows in a well-drained area such as North Africa and India. Henna leaves etc. have been dried and used to dye hair from the ancient Egyptian era. Although it is said that Cleopatra also used henna, it is not certain whether the hair color of the ancient Egyptian era had been done as a religious ceremony and whether it was used as a hair dye.

Japanese Samurai were dyeing gray hair with ink

Don’t be surprised. In Japan, all the way back to the 1180s, there was a warrior who dyed gray hair with black ink. In Genpei War (1180-1185), in the Battle of Shinohara of 1183, Suzumi Saito, a warrior of Hokuriku, dyed his gray hair with black ink, in order to present himself as young as possible on the battlefield.