Black Henna Nightmare

If you're worried maybe seek medical advice? This thread dates back to April 2022.

Hi, was your daughter ok? We’ve done the same thing on holiday and I can’t sleep with worry 😫

How is she op ?

She's highly unlikely to react on a first exposure. However, any further use of black henna or hair dye etc could result in a serious reaction so she should be very careful in the future.

I completely understand what you are feeling. My daughter had a reaction 2 weeks afterwards. My key advice is ti try and get it off as soon as you can. A flannel and hot water, baby oil, baby wipes- whatever you can. Flannel worked well for us but we only did it when the reaction started. Use any cream for dry skin (eczema style) on the area. You will be fine. My daughter was fine but it was really scary once the reaction took hold. Good luck.

[quote getawayfromme]@mumosa she'd have to be careful with hair dye anyway - any reputable hair colourist would do a patch test every six months.

I can see why you are doing it, but you're overreacting. If she hasn't had a reaction now, she won't have one. Try to relax and you'll know better for future. [/quote]
My friends son did a patch test and still reacted

May well just be an extreme case though

Are you sure it’s black henna? It just looks like fresh red henna to me. What’s the colour when it dried?

I doubt she’ll come up with anything now, as it usually comes up straight away.

But yes, she must be very weary of PPD allergy now which is found in hair dye.

What could happen now is everytime she comes into contact with PPD, the reaction will be slightly worse.

I had a black henna tattoo on holiday in Greece at around 14/15.

I dyed my hair for many years, but after a while I started to notice a little rash around my hairline, and the reactions got progressively worse and worse, the last time I dyed my hair I was around 25 and my whole head was weeping, so any thing with ppd she will have to do a patch test first.

It’s horrendous stuff, they should make it clear!

@mumosa she'd have to be careful with hair dye anyway - any reputable hair colourist would do a patch test every six months.

I can see why you are doing it, but you're overreacting. If she hasn't had a reaction now, she won't have one. Try to relax and you'll know better for future.

Before I was old enough to get real tattoos I used to get black henna ones. I had them in multiple places on my body at once and had large designs. I’ve since been dying my hair since I was 16 and have never had an allergic reaction.

Try not to worry too much, chances are she’ll be fine. Can you get some antihistamines to keep any reaction down.

Try not to worry, as least you can keep an eye out in case something happens

Ds2 had a henna tattoo which he developed a reaction to, it was incredibly itchy and and went very red and scabby

He ended up getting a white scar but that faded dramatically over time, you can’t see it at all now

(Which is almost a shame cos it would have looked awesome and was on his leg so very easily hidden)

HOWEVER….if she gets a reaction she will have to be careful around things like hair dye when she is older as the henna reaction can be a bit of a precursor to a reaction to hair dye

This next week is going to be hard just waiting to see if she reacts badly or not.

I’m no expert but I think any really serious reaction would happen quickly. I don’t think you need to be watching her 24/7 for signs of a reaction, just keep an eye out for any redness or itching etc. Easy for me to say though, I’m not a parent and I am sure you won’t be able to help worrying no matter how much you rationally tell yourself it’ll be ok.

It's awful that black henna is still being used, particularly when people like yourself are just expecting natural henna. Also, many people probably won't realise there is a difference.

If you did it last night, and there's not been a reaction so far, that sounds like a good sign. It may be worth mentioning to your husband though, so that he's also aware to avoid it. Try not to feel guilty. It was a mistake. The people selling black henna designs to unsuspecting people are the ones who ought to feel guilty.

I wouldn’t worry too much, your DD’s design looks tiny in comparison. My brothers was literally a whole sleeve of big thick tribal design on his entire arm.

God knows what he or my Mum were thinking but I guess it was his holiday money to spend as he wished. One benefit is that it put him off the idea of proper tattoos for life!

Yes that definitely looks like black dye, not henna. It’s ok though, stay calm. You know what to look out for and she will almost definitely be fine.

My sibling had a full sleeve of black henna done on holiday when he was about 13. His entire arm erupted in huge blusters. It was very bad and it was such a large area of blistered/burnt skin that the crew on the plane home sought telephone medical advice on the flight home, the plane diverted to a different airport and he was let by an ambulance on the ground to take him to Birmingham burns unit. He was followed up by burns and plastics for months for dressings and reviews, there was talk of grafting at one point but wasn’t necessary in the end. He’s 25 now and you wouldn’t even be able to tell from looking at his arm, no scars or marks.

BUT, his skin began to blister within a few hours of the henna being done. So I think if that hasn’t happened then it’s probably gonna be okay.

Don’t panic. She will almost certainly be fine and if she isn’t, you will know it very quickly. If she’s not showing any signs of a reaction then just keep an eye on it over the next week or so. But I really think she will be fine.

My understanding is that black henna contains PPD and having a lot of it on your skin at once might cause you to become sensitive to it in future, which could cause issues with things like hair dye. But she isn’t going to be dying her hair for a long time yet and any reaction would get picked up by a patch test if and when she does one, so it’s really not worth getting yourself worked up about now!