What is "Black Henna?"

Henna is NOT black. However, there are several things marketed as "Black Henna", and some things believed to be "Black Henna". Some are very dangerous. Some are harmless. When para-phenylenediamine black hair dye is used to make black temporary tattoos, often called "black henna", it can cause blistering, open sores, scarring, and life-ling health problems.

How do you know if an artist is using traditional safe Henna?

Safe, natural, traditional henna paste is made of things like pure henna, lemon juice, tea, spices, and pure essential oils.

Traditional henna paste is some shade of green. It may be brownish green, khaki, or dark green, but it will look like it came from a plant.

Any artist working with pure, natural, safe, traditional henna will tell you what is in the paste, and you should be able to see and smell it. Henna paste should have a fresh smell. Sometimes henna paste smells like spinach or hay, and sometimes you can smell the spices or fragrant essential oils. You might smell pine, clove, Tea Tree, or other fresh scents. If you smell kerosene or something nasty, don’t put it on your skin.

Ask the artist to show you what the henna looks like on their skin. If they have reddish-brown stains, they’re working with traditional henna. If they put the paste on their skin and an orange stain remains when the paste is scraped away, they’re working with traditional henna.

Traditional "red" Henna is Safe!

Some medical journal articles have shown henna may be beneficial for skin, and no test has ever shown that pure henna applied to skin causes harm. Women in over 60 countries have safely used henna for at least 5000 years. Henna traditions are associated with many religions: Muslim, Hindu, Jewish and Christian.

The FDA unconditionally approves henna for use on hair, though is has not extended this approval to henna patterning on skin. Henna art on skin is new to the USA, though it has been practiced for thousands of years in Africa, the Middle East and South Asia.

There are very rare reactions to henna, and these are ‘napthaquinone sensitivity" reactions. If within three hours of henna application, a person becomes very itchy, and wheezes, or has a tight feeling in the chest, they are allergic to natural henna. The itching does not take the shape of the design, as in PPD "Black Henna", and the onset of the reaction is within hours rather than days. This sensitivity will not leave open sores, scars, or harm a person’s future health. However, the person should NOT get henna again!