First, henna is never black. It is a plant native to the tropical regions of Africa, South Asia and Australasia, and its leaves produce a dye called lawsone, which is orange-red in color, which adheres well to proteins and is therefore used to dye the skin. , hair, nails and silk. Pure henna should not irritate the skin, although some people may develop allergies, henna can actually be a good skin conditioner. Traditional henna tattoos are caramel or reddish brown, but not black.
To make real henna tattoos, the leaves are dried and ground into a powder that is mixed with lemon juice, strong tea, or other slightly acidic liquids to form a paste. This is allowed to “set” for 6 to 12 hours for the cellulose in the leaves to dissolve and release the lawsone. Once on the skin, the lawsone molecules migrate from the henna paste to the outer layers of the skin. The paste cracks and falls off, but applying sugar or lemon mixtures on the dry paste can seal it. When you remove the paste, the stain will be orange but will darken to a reddish brown. It can be further darkened by steaming, heating or using alkaline solutions, but chlorinated water and soap can damage the stain. The blemish should fade as the skin exfoliates and sheds the outer layer of blemished skin cells.
The concept of “black henna” may have originated from tribal people seen with black tattoos which may be from alkalized henna or other sources. Indigo plants can be fermented and partially dried, then mixed with henna and used to dye hair black, but they cannot dye skin.
In the US, henna is only approved for use in hair dyes and is not allowed to be imported for other uses such as tattoos, therefore people offering black henna tattoos are doing so illegally and, they don’t use real henna anyway. “Black henna” generally contains unlisted dyes, the main one being 1,4-phenylenediamine or para-phenylenediamine (PPD). This chemical is used in hair dyes but can only be 6% or less, cannot come into direct contact with the scalp and must be rinsed off immediately. However, in “black” henna tattoos it usually makes up 10% to 60% and is left on the skin for half an hour.
PPD is used because it is a cheap substitute for henna and stains the skin in half an hour, while henna can take up to 8 hours before staining is complete. The PPD can be mixed with peroxide or the peroxide can be rubbed on the tattoo to bring out the color and it dries quickly. However, PPD is much more abrasive than henna and has several adverse effects:
- Severe allergic reactions can cause permanent sensitivity, making the use of PPD-based hair dyes life-threatening.
- permanent scarring
- intense itching
- rashes
- blister skin
- chemical burns
- It is toxic, either by inhalation or in contact with the skin.
- Irritating to eyes, respiratory system and skin.
- It is a possible mutagen (it can cause the genetic information or DNA in your cells to change so the wrong proteins are made or no proteins are made depending on the change, both of which can be extremely harmful).
Black henna is often used by street performers and at resorts or attractions. Countries that are known to have tattoo artists using black henna are:
- thailand
- the philippines
- Australia
- Mexico City
- Greece
- Turkey
- Egypt
- South Africa
- Goa (in India)
- Bali (in Indonesian)
- Key West (in Hawaii, USA)
These places or rather tattoo artists can get away with it because there is often a delayed reaction to the PPD as the ink sinks into the skin. This can take anywhere from 3 to 12 days and by then many tourists have left so the tattoo artists don’t pay.
