Before buying pre-made cones from the grocery or any store, ask the store owner/sales associates the following questions to determine how safe their cones really are.
Q: When was the henna mixed?
A: Check to see if there is a manufacturing date.
Q: When was it shipped?
A: Shipping can take 10-21 days or 3 months depending whether it's by air or ship.
Q:How long have the cones been in the store?
A: There is no sell or use by date, so no way to determine how long the henna has been sitting at room temperature in the store.
Q: Are the ingredients listed?
A: The ingredients are not listed.
The cones have obviously been mixed at least a few days or months before they are packaged and it takes between 10-21 days or longer to deliver, so how does the colour stay strong and rich? The answer is simple - chemical preservatives or dyes. When you cut the cone, and start squeezing, there is a very strong chemical odour.
The shop assistants will tell you its natural but I know with 20+ years experience that the quality of henna paste depreciates on a daily basis. So how can store purchased henna give a really dark stain within a few hours? It takes 48 hours for the true colour of natural henna to show on the skin.
What makes Henna4You's cone different:
Henna4You's paste contains: Organically certified henna powder (crushed leaves of the plant), lemon juice, sugar and tea tree oil. The paste is vacuum sealed and stored in the freezer within 24 hours of mixing as the shelf life for 
henna paste is 10 days. It cannot be left at room temperature for more than a day and should be refrigerated. We ensure that the henna paste is fresh and mixed within a 24-hour time frame for any event. Our cones smell natural. If someone is sensitive to tea tree oil, we are happy to substitute it with lavender oil.
We advise that the henna stay frozen until the day of the event and provide each client with an information sheet detailing the ingredients and instructions on how to take care of the henna once applied.
If you have any other questions, please feel free to contact us.