Left Brain reports…
This story about a boy who developed permanent scarring from a henna tattoo is an important reminder of the potential dangers this procedure. According to the report, this 3-year-old boy was allowed to have a henna tattoo in the shape of Bart Simpson while on holiday in Spain. Unfortunately, he had a bad reaction to the ink and may now be left with a permanent scar.
Henna Information
Right Brain had previously written about henna hair dye. And you can find more information in the
references for that article. However, no mention was made of some of the dangers associated with henna tattoos. The risk of reacting to henna painting is rare but incidences have been increasing.
Researchers reported in the Dermatology Online Journal about Cutaneous reactions to temporary tattoos. In this paper, they presented 6 cases of unfortunate reactions to henna tattoos. (CAUTION: There are some unpleasant pictures). The cause suggested is a reaction to “black henna”.
Bad Black Henna
In it’s traditional form, henna dyes give an orange/reddish-brown color. To get a black color, natural henna is spiked with paraphenylenediamine (PPD). In addition to providing a wider color range, PPD also increases the speed at which the tattoo develops. A real henna tattoo can take up to 12 hours to form. Using black henna, results can be achieved in about 2 hours. But for some people, permanent scarring is the cost for a quicker tattoo.
Beauty Brains bottom line
If you’re on vacation and want to get a temporary henna tattoo, make sure you avoid “black henna”. While most people won’t experience a problem, some of you could be scarred with a permanent reminder of your trip.
Loading ...
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
It’s a bit confusing — indigo is also called “black henna” in places, and it’s almost entirely harmless.
The problem is, the stuff that street vendors use to give people temp tattoos isn’t adulterated henna; it doesn’t actually have henna or indigo anywhere near it. It’s almost pure PPD hair dye, which isn’t supposed to be applied to the skin anyhow.
It and the resulting nasty reaction have literally zero to do with real henna OR indigo.
Janis is absolutely right. There isn’t enough distinction on what is what. Henna is not the problem. Adulteration with PPD is the problem.
It is tricky though; henna is legal only as hair dye, not for body art. No one wants to take on the FDA to prove (at a huge cost) the safety. It was lucky that it was grandfathered as hair dye at all.
That said, clearly distinguishing that henna is generally recognised as safe and that PPD is the cause of scarring, burning, and life altering allergies is paramount.
Another frightening aspect is that one application of “black” henna may cause no reaction. Later, you may find yourself allergic to sunscreen, black socks, and lo, the next henna application leaves you scarred and burning. PPD is a nasty substance and it is most emphatically not for the skin. Even in hair dye, users are cautioned from getting the dye on their skin–and the concentrations found in “black” henna are much higher than what is found in hair dye.
Yes, there is a difference between real, natural henna for body art and black henna. Black henna usually isn’t henna at all! And, yes, it’s usually street vendors that are the problem.
If you are ever tempted to get a henna tattoo from a street vendor, consider two things: ask them what’s in their henna mix, and how long it will take the design to develop. If they can’t tell you what’s in their mix, walk away. It’s a good bet they use a pre-made henna mix from India that could have who-knows-what in it. (Pre-made mixes from India often do not have ingredient lists, and the industry is fairly unregulated so they can put anything they want in the mix from essential oils to urine to gasoline.) If they say it only needs to be on the skin for 5 to 20 minutes and you’ll have the design for up to three weeks, walk away. Chances are they’re using black henna and you want none of it. Real henna should be on the skin for a minimum of 4 hours and kept warm for a decent stain to form. (Yes, I’m a henna artist. Can you tell?)
Also, the people in the article shouldn’t have had their 3-year-old hennaed anyway. In children under 6-years-old, there can sometimes be a reaction even with natural, unadulterated henna. It has to do with a genetic condition called G6PD Deficiency. It’s rare, but it’s still something a responsible henna artist should be aware of. There’s more info about this on the site http://www.hennapage.com.
Also, the Henna Page has all the info you could ever want to know about black henna. Just click on the link in my post above and then click where it says “Black Henna” at the top of the page. Black henna – it’s just plain bad stuff!!!
I’d just ask them how long it will take the thing to develop — ask them what’s in it, and they’ll lie to your face. “Henna! Sure, 100% pure henna! It’s henna!” Right, buddy …
Nice post. What’s the source of this?
So What is ‘Black Henna’?
Para-phenylendiamine or PPD based black hair dye. This is an illegal chemical to use on the skin in Canada, because of its severe toxicity:
Para-phenylenediamine is a strong sensitizer.
Sensitizer means that every body is naturally allergic to PPD to some degree, and every time the PPD is used, the body will react more violently to it. Some people have PPD tattoos once or twice without reaction. But on the 3rd or 4th time, that same person could end up with permanent scarring or end up in the hospital in a life threatening reaction. There can also be sensitization to other products. So after having a PPD tattoo without reaction, you could a week later react severely to: cosmetics, lotions, sunscreen, medications, black clothing, ink, dark leather, etc..
PPD is carcinogenic & causes many other health problems!
Within seconds the toxins from PPD ‘henna’ enter the blood stream and can cause: Cancer, liver tumors, asthma, angioneurotic edema, renal failure, mutated cells, muscle necrosis causing death, permanent scarring, chronic skin conditions, eye & face irritation, bronchitis, etc…
When PPD breaks down in the body, the metabolic residue is more damaging than the actual PPD molecule.
PPD has a delayed reaction:
Typically, a person won’t react until 3 – 10 days after having a PPD tattoo applied. Usually by this time the negligent artist has moved on, unaccountable to the damage caused & the person fails to make the connection between the PPD and reaction.
How to tell if it’s PPD ‘Black Henna’
1. If you can watch first & see that the paste is black & stains the skin right away, it’s PPD.
2. Ask how long the paste needs to stay on. If they say less than 1 hr, it’s not real henna.
3. Ask them what colour it will stain. If they say black instead of red-brown, it’s not henna.
4. Ask the artist what’s in the paste. If they can’t tell you, don’t trust them.
For your safety & the health of others, please report anyone using illegal PPD “Black Henna”
I’m a firm believer that anything can cause allergic reactions. Fortunately, most are fairly benign; skin rash or irritation that goes away either with no treatment or with a topical ointment or one or two doses of Bendadryl, or a similar antihistamine or steroid.
Now, those people who say henna can not cause a reaction and then suddenly one day, out of the blue, boom! Well, let’s just say these individuals aren’t well-versed in the way allergic reactions work. The allergic reaction (histamine release, immune system stimulation) is more than likely happening from the VERY FIRST time you use a product containing PPDs (or any other allergen, for that matter) and it’s only until the allergic reaction reaches a critical mass that you have severe enough symptoms to take full notice of them. Hardly any allergic reaction happens the first time you use or ingest something. It’s almost always a case of repeated exposure.
Early allergic symptoms are really important. A general feeling of being unwell, an achey feeling, even excessive urination can be the only signs of histamine release in the body after exposure. The trouble is that the reactions can either lessen with more exposure so that you never realize your body is effectively using it’s defense weapons to thwart the allergen, or if you’re unlucky, your immune system will become overwhelmed exponentially with continued use and it can kill you. That’s called anaphylaxis and it’s incredibly rare. Blood pressure drops and the airway swells as histamine is release and a cytokine storm develops in the lungs and upper airway.
So, no allergies happen “all of a sudden.” You might not have any signs, but monitor yourself closely for any strange symptoms (even those traditionally non-allergic in nature) every time you expose yourself repeatedly to a product like hair color. Chances are in the vast majority that you will NEVER have a serious allergic reaction.