NEWS: Needled News by Marisa DiMattia

CULTURE: Needled News by Marisa DiMattia

Black Henna Kills!

Actually, I don't know of any casualties per se but it does some serious nastiness so it needs attention, and I'm all about drama.

For many years, especially in the summers, the media has filled pages with sorry tales of massive rashes and even severe scarring due to body art called "black henna." In truth, henna that is black doesn't exist naturally.

Unadulterated henna paste is a beautiful reddish-brownish color used by Mendhi artists to decorate the bodies (and color hair) of Indian brides, Moroccan grandmas, and of course, Madonna. Natural henna is organic, safe, and allergies are rare.


Photo by David Dennis via Wikipedia.

In contrast, black henna is made with Paraphenylenediamine (PPD), either added to the henna paste or alone. You'll find PPD in some black hair dyes, where you'll also find colorists wearing gloves and avoiding the scalp while using it. There's a reason for that—it's one nasty chemical.

So why am I bringing this up on Needled News?

Because people are still putting this shit on their bodies and, even worse, on their kids. I've seen it this past week while on vacation and it's been making headlines yet again. A lawsuit against the company making so-called black henna has even been filed. News of the suit follows this dramatic intro:

A video of the children's scars accompanies the article. Parents of the kids said that they're hoping the lawsuit will lead to removing PPD from temporary tattoos.


Black henna scar photo via Hennapage.com

While New Jersey regulates artists who tattoo permanent designs, it does not legislate temporary tattoos. The US FDA doesn't regulate the dyes in either permanent and temporary tattoo inks, despite receiving numerous reports of allergic reactions to black henna. It should. Canada does, then again, they're an advanced civilization.

I would've been surprised to read the news of the suit if I hadn't seen the ubiquity of black henna stands from Florida to Mexico to the Bahamas. If they're all over the place, they gotta be safe right? Problem is that allergic reactions are not always immediate. As in the case above, it wasn't until after the black paste wore off on the kids that the blisters started appearing.

Children are more likely to experience reactions to these temporary tattoos, but adults aren't spared. When on our cruise last week, my husband and I witnessed aging frat boys and their wives coming back from ports of call with black henna armbands and dolphins on the lower back. I guess no one told them about the dangers—or that the nineties are over.

Body art can be beautiful, temporary or permanently. But in both cases you gotta know what you're putting on and in your skin. You'll find a number of Mendhi artist directories online. To see a gallery of some exceptional work, check out the portfolio of the Ash Kumar, the Guinness World Records "Fastest Henna Artist" who is also profiled in the UK press today.


Marisa_DiMattia is a lawyer and editor of Needled.com, a blog on tattoo art and culture.

Here's a nastier pic:

Wow that's pretty bad. Thank god i've read this article... Geez I can't believe that happened to someones KIDS! I'd be pissed if my kid was left scarred!!!

I used to work on campsites in France and Italy where they sell the henna tattoos everywhere. I had one kid with one too and the tat got terribly infected and he ended up with a scar as well. His lil brother didn't get anything though, but I wouldn't take the chance. After this we started warning kids and parents about it.
I used to do mendhi's on myself all the time when I was younger, i loved the smell of the henna and the lemon oil you bought with it.

"my son is left with a cross on his arm that he has to bare"

i'm sorry, but did anyone else laugh at this part?

(also, journalists should know the difference between 'bear' and 'bare')

PPD really is a nasty chemical, its found in almost all dark hair dyes. I used to dye my hair black until my body said quit it and now I'm allergic to it. I found this out the hard way when I decided to dye my hair black and had to be taken to the emergancy room. My scalp was close to peeling off, my face and neck were swelled up for 2 weeks, and I was in general just sick.

People really need to be careful with dyes or anything that has PPD in it, that shit is dangerous and anyone can have an allergic reaction to it.

REmember, where children are involved the safest method of temporary bodily decoration is the oldschool method of paper or mylar stencils and liberally applied acrylic spray paint. MAKE SURE THE KIDS CLOSE THEIR EYES IF YOU ARE DOING THE FRONT.

yes, you might say that he literally has a "cross to bear"

My goodness gracious. I've never heard of temporary tattoos causing scarring before! Whoa. That is nuts.