Not All Henna Tattoos Are Created Equal!

[Guest guest]

I figured this is a warning some folks want to know about ....

 

*Smile*

Chris (list mom)

http://www.alittleolfactory.com

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http://abcnews.go.com/sections/GMA/Living/GMA030925Black_henna_concerns.

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Not So Temporary

Black Henna 'Tattoos' May Leave Lasting Damage

 

Celebrities like Madonna and Uma Thurman have brought temporary henna

" tattoos " into vogue, and now those who want the look can get henna

painted onto their bodies in special booths and tattoo parlors across

the country.

 

 

But even more popular are so-called black henna tattoos, which are

popping up everywhere from Florida's beaches, to shopping malls, to an

outdoor stand right in front of the Good Morning America studios in

Times Square.

 

 

Black henna is advertised as a fun, temporary decoration that, because

of its dark stain, looks like a real tattoo. It is supposed to last only

one to three weeks, but some people are getting a nasty surprise after

they've paid for their new look.

 

 

Joey Vitello, 6, of Newport Richey, Fla., got a black henna tattoo

earlier this summer at a beach in Clearwater, Fla. At first he loved it,

but soon, to his parents' shock, it became a health issue.

 

 

" I was scared. I thought maybe, you know, he had an infection or

something, " said his mother, Doreen Vitello. " It started stinging, but I

didn't think anything of it, and he didn't make a major big deal about

it. As the days went on, it just spread. It was horrible. It was all

red, blisters, swollen, oozing. It was terrible. "

 

 

Now Joey has a scar that his doctor says may be permanent.

 

 

Warnings in Canada, Florida

 

 

In August, Health Canada warned Canadians about the potential danger

posed by black henna, which isn't pure henna at all. Much of the time,

it's mixed with commercial hair dye, which includes a chemical called

p-phenylenediamine, or PPD.

 

 

But in the United States, concern over the safety of black henna tattoos

has been prevalent only in areas where the tattoos are readily

available. Communities in Florida have tried to keep on top of tattoo

artists on beaches and streets and the Florida State Department of

Health even issued a warning over the summer. Doctors at New York

University School of Medicine have studied black henna and its

ingredients.

 

 

" The hair dye when mixed with henna accelerates the dyeing process, "

said NYU's Dr. Ronald Brancaccio. " So instead of taking two to six hours

to dye the skin, it only takes minutes. "

 

 

PPD is one of the top 20 allergens in the country, and hair dye has

warnings about it written right on the box, Brancaccio said.

 

 

Unfortunately, black henna artists rarely give the type of warnings

found on hair dye packaging, or do skin tests, even though their product

could be much stronger.

 

 

" The concentration of PPD in hair dye is by law less than 5 percent, and

usually it's 2 to 3 percent, " Brancaccio said. " In the black henna

tattoo that we studied, it was almost 10 times the amount. "

 

 

When the concentration increases, the rate of allergy increases, he

said. When you have a higher concentration of PPD on the skin, the rate

of people contracting allergies because of it will increase.

 

 

Only Legal Use of Henna Is Hair Dye

 

 

According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, all henna is

approved for use as a hair dye, but not as a product that is applied

directly to the skin, as it has not been safety tested for that purpose.

Henna is only supposed to be used as a hair dye. On its Web site, the

FDA notes that " black henna " may contain the " coal tar " also known as

PPD, and that some people may have allergic reactions to it.

 

 

" The only legal use of PPD in cosmetics is as a hair dye, " the FDA says.

" It is not approved for direct application to the skin. Even brown

shades of products marketed as henna may contain other ingredients

intended to make them darker or make the stain last longer. "

 

 

Though the FDA does not approve of applying any type of henna to the

skin, it should be noted that the skin problems seem to be associated

with black henna rather than regular henna, which has been used since

ancient times to ornament the hands and body as art and as a bridal

tradition.

 

 

 

Lifelong Sensitivity?

 

 

Traditional henna paste is khaki green, greenish brown, or very dark

brownish green. It smells like spinach, or may smell of fragrances like

pine, tea tree oil, or mentholatum from essential oils henna artists

use. The PPD often found in black henna does not have a smell.

 

 

Henna artists say that if a tattooing parlor tells you to leave the

paste on for less than one hour, it is using PPD. Those working with

real henna tell you to leave on the paste more than an hour, as long as

you can, even overnight.

 

 

Most people are unaware of the warnings about the black henna.

 

 

" I figured it was a safe thing - I even asked the lady there when he was

getting it, " said Joey's father, Steve Vitello. " I said, 'Is he too

young?' And she says no, she says, 'It's no problem, we do it to other

kids, younger kids, and even 2-year-old kids do it.' "

 

 

Reactions to black henna can cause not just scarring, but lifelong

cross-sensitivities to everything from sunscreen to clothing dye,

Brancaccio said.

 

 

It is all information that Doreen Vitello wishes she'd known before her

son got his tattoo.

 

 

" It's very scary, very scary, " she said. " I'm not only concerned about

my children but everybody else's child. "

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