>There is an article in the European Journal of Emergency Medicine about children having reactions to henna tattoos. The journal article presents two cases of children who ended up in the emergency room.

I’ve posted about this before. Now the BBC has picked up a story about Henna tattoo alergic reactions. In this case an 8 year old boy may have been permanently scared by a Henna tattoo.

The trader who applied the tattoo to Nathanial’s skin admitted that hair dye is added to the natural henna to make it black and also to make it last longer, but said there is a warning on price boards.

This isn’t breaking news, but it is news to me. The black henna tattoo may cause an allergic reaction. The black henna contains paraphenylenediamine which can cause skin irritation.

This chemical, PPD for short, is contained in hair dye and other products. The Center for Disease Control lists PPD as causing contact allergens. You can read more about this chemical at Wikipedia.