Caution: Black Henna Temporary Tattoos Could Leave Permanent Scars
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If you want to show off some cool body art over spring break, but you're not willing to have itpermanently etched onto your arm, realistic-looking temporary tattoos seem like a healthy compromise. But the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday warned people to watch out. Apparently, certain temporary tattoos can still cause permanent damage.
"Just because a tattoo is temporary it doesn't mean that it is risk free," Dr. Linda Katz, director of FDA's Office of Cosmetics and Colors, said in a statement.
The FDA's warning has to do with temporary tattoos made with "black henna" ink containing para-phenylenediamine (PPD), a coal-tar product that is approved for use in hair dye but is known to cause skin reactions in some people. Traditional, reddish-brown henna and stick-on temporary tattoos (the ones that look like stickers and are applied with water) are not part of the warning.
Unlike permanent tattoos, in which ink is injected under the skin, "black henna" tattoos are drawn or stenciled onto the skin's surface. They're popular with vendors at beaches, boardwalks, resorts, and fairs because they're easy to apply quickly and make for long-lasting, dark, realistic-looking temporary body art.
These temporary tattoos, drawn on with so-called black henna, left lasting scars. (Photos: www.doh.state.fl.us) …But PPD can also have horrible side effects. The FDA has received reports of "redness, blisters, raised red weeping lesions, loss of pigmentation, increased sensitivity to sunlight, and even permanent scarring" in adults and children who have had "black henna" applied to their skin. Reactions can occur right away, a few days after exposure, or even as long as two or three weeks after the temporary tattoo was applied.
One mother, whose teenager had gotten a black henna tattoo on her back, told the FDA that her daughter's skin looked "the way a burn victim looks, all blistered and raw" and that doctors have said she will have permanent scars. Another mother reported that her 17-year-old daughter's "black henna" tattoo began to blister soon after it was applied.
"At first I was a little upset she got the tattoo without telling me," the mom, who works as a nurse, told the FDA. "But when it became red and itchy and later began to blister and the blisters filled with fluid, I was beside myself."
There are several ways to tell whether a temporary tattoo artist is using PPD instead of actual henna. According to Catherine Cartwright-Jones, who runs The Henna Page, "If the stuff they're using is jet black and stains your skin quickly, it's probably PPD-based black hair dye."
Traditional henna paste needs to stay on your skin for several hours or even overnight in order to create a long-lasting design (and, even then, the design will be orange before it darkens to red-brown and finally fades back to orange after a few days). If the artist says to leave the paste on your skin for less than an hour and promises that the stain will be black (and will stay black) once the paste is removed, then they're probably using PPD.
"You will not get a straight answer just by asking," Cartwright-Jones warns on her website. "You'll have to look at the paste itself."
Traditional henna comes from a flowering plant that is native to Asia and Africa, and has been used in skin decoration for centuries. The paste is greenish brown or khaki colored and smells like vegetable matter or pine, Tea Tree, or other essential oils. PPD, on the other hand, may have no odor or, if they're using straight hair dye, may smell like bleach or ammonia.
The FDA cautions that even traditional henna is only approved for use in the United States as a hair dye, in spite of the fact that it has been used in skin decoration (like mehndi in India), for centuries.
"By law, all color additives used in cosmetics must be approved by FDA for their intended uses, with the exception of coal tar colors intended for use in hair dyes," the agency says on its website. "Some states have laws and regulations for temporary tattooing, while others don't. So, depending on where you are, it's possible no one is checking to make sure the artist is following safe practices or even knows what may be harmful to consumers."
People who have had bad reactions to temporary tattoos should notify the FDA by calling 800-FDA-1088 or via its website.
Also on Shine
Ladylike Tattoos: Are They a Thing?
A new line of tattoos for women—tiny birds, stars, hearts, and script designs—is being marketed for its feminine attributes of being dainty and pretty.
More on Shine: The Tattoo Allure: More Women are Inking Up Than Men
“These tattoos were designed with me in mind,” Shelly Coffman, creator of the temporary Poppy Drops Lady-Like Tattoos, told Adweek Tuesday. “You can wear this on the weekend if you’re feeling a little edgy and still take it off before the business meeting on Monday.”
More on Yahoo!: Celeb Tattoos Gone Wrong
But, in the day of Demi Lovato’s armful of birds and Megan Fox’s shoulder-blade poetry—and when more U.S. women than men are tattooed (23 percent vs. 19), according to a 2012 survey—is there really such a thing as a “lady-like” tattoo?
“This would have been a perfect idea in about 1978,” Margot Mifflin, author of the new Bodies of Subversion: A Secret History of Women and Tattoo, told Yahoo! Shine about the Poppy Drops idea. “Women don’t tend to get dainty tattoos like birds, flowers and butterflies so much anymore. And the imagery is less gendered in general.” Trends Mifflin does see, she said, include Gibson Girls, Day of the Dead–style vixens, pinups and “animals dressed as humans.”
As far as where they’re getting inked, “the tramp stamp is considered an unfortunate cliché now, and more women are getting tattooed on their ribs,” she added.
Still, tattoo artists around the country say that what women want really depends on the customer, and whether she is a tattoo aficionado or the impulsive walk-in client who “wants that quick, I-want-to-sit-there-for-10-minutes-and-then-show-my-friends tattoo,” noted Briga Lapiner, an artist at the all-female staffed Beaver Tattoo in Queens, New York. And in that latter case, it seems Poppy Drops may be onto something.
“There are certain trends, especially if you’re not a tattoo enthusiast,” Lapiner told Shine, explaining that “tiny little pieces,” like stars, flowers, cherry blossoms, brightly colored dragons and kanji, Japanese calligraphy, all continue to be popular.
A Poppy Drops Lady-Like temporary tattoo. Photo: Poppy Drops via AdweekCelebrities, too, largely dictate which tats are in demand with female customers. “I had a full week last month where everyone wanted the Demi Lovato black cross or mentioned Rihanna, wanting stuff on their fingers,” she added. “Lots of tiny little script.”
Jen Beirola, owner of the lauded Grinn & Barretttattoo shop in Omaha, Nebraska, told Shine that, “In the past, women wanted the smallest tattoo possible. That was ladylike. But I always recommend going large enough to complement your body part, otherwise it’s going to look like a little black dot on your boob.”
More and more women are taking heed, she said, as many, lately, are wanting “an entire paragraph on their ribs.” Infinity signs are also big, with many of her customers citing celebs, “or a photo that goes viral,” as their influence.
Demi Lovata's cross tattoo. Photo: Steve Granitz/Getty ImagesA particularly all-inclusive take of women’s tattoo wants can be found in the just launched UK quarterly magazine Things & Ink, which “embraces female tattoo culture, for artists, collectors and those yet to go under the needle,” writes editor Alice Snape. Issues are filled with colorful images, real-life stories, tattoo art, opinion pieces, fashion, history, beauty and more. The current cover girl is a redheaded tattoo artist from Leeds, covered with bright art—yellow stars on her shoulder, a red hearts on her left temple, and a trail of pink flowers on the side of her neck—that’s both feminine and bold.
Related:
Mom Arrested After Giving Her 11-Year-Old a Tattoo
Tat-tered Love: 7 Awesome Couples Tattoos that Say "I'm Yours"
Mommy Tattoos: New Trend Spawned by Female Celebrities
More on Shine: The Tattoo Allure: More Women are Inking Up Than Men
“These tattoos were designed with me in mind,” Shelly Coffman, creator of the temporary Poppy Drops Lady-Like Tattoos, told Adweek Tuesday. “You can wear this on the weekend if you’re feeling a little edgy and still take it off before the business meeting on Monday.”
More on Yahoo!: Celeb Tattoos Gone Wrong
But, in the day of Demi Lovato’s armful of birds and Megan Fox’s shoulder-blade poetry—and when more U.S. women than men are tattooed (23 percent vs. 19), according to a 2012 survey—is there really such a thing as a “lady-like” tattoo?
“This would have been a perfect idea in about 1978,” Margot Mifflin, author of the new Bodies of Subversion: A Secret History of Women and Tattoo, told Yahoo! Shine about the Poppy Drops idea. “Women don’t tend to get dainty tattoos like birds, flowers and butterflies so much anymore. And the imagery is less gendered in general.” Trends Mifflin does see, she said, include Gibson Girls, Day of the Dead–style vixens, pinups and “animals dressed as humans.”
As far as where they’re getting inked, “the tramp stamp is considered an unfortunate cliché now, and more women are getting tattooed on their ribs,” she added.
Still, tattoo artists around the country say that what women want really depends on the customer, and whether she is a tattoo aficionado or the impulsive walk-in client who “wants that quick, I-want-to-sit-there-for-10-minutes-and-then-show-my-friends tattoo,” noted Briga Lapiner, an artist at the all-female staffed Beaver Tattoo in Queens, New York. And in that latter case, it seems Poppy Drops may be onto something.
“There are certain trends, especially if you’re not a tattoo enthusiast,” Lapiner told Shine, explaining that “tiny little pieces,” like stars, flowers, cherry blossoms, brightly colored dragons and kanji, Japanese calligraphy, all continue to be popular.
A Poppy Drops Lady-Like temporary tattoo. Photo: Poppy Drops via AdweekCelebrities, too, largely dictate which tats are in demand with female customers. “I had a full week last month where everyone wanted the Demi Lovato black cross or mentioned Rihanna, wanting stuff on their fingers,” she added. “Lots of tiny little script.”Jen Beirola, owner of the lauded Grinn & Barretttattoo shop in Omaha, Nebraska, told Shine that, “In the past, women wanted the smallest tattoo possible. That was ladylike. But I always recommend going large enough to complement your body part, otherwise it’s going to look like a little black dot on your boob.”
More and more women are taking heed, she said, as many, lately, are wanting “an entire paragraph on their ribs.” Infinity signs are also big, with many of her customers citing celebs, “or a photo that goes viral,” as their influence.
Demi Lovata's cross tattoo. Photo: Steve Granitz/Getty ImagesA particularly all-inclusive take of women’s tattoo wants can be found in the just launched UK quarterly magazine Things & Ink, which “embraces female tattoo culture, for artists, collectors and those yet to go under the needle,” writes editor Alice Snape. Issues are filled with colorful images, real-life stories, tattoo art, opinion pieces, fashion, history, beauty and more. The current cover girl is a redheaded tattoo artist from Leeds, covered with bright art—yellow stars on her shoulder, a red hearts on her left temple, and a trail of pink flowers on the side of her neck—that’s both feminine and bold.Related:
Mom Arrested After Giving Her 11-Year-Old a Tattoo
Tat-tered Love: 7 Awesome Couples Tattoos that Say "I'm Yours"
Mommy Tattoos: New Trend Spawned by Female Celebrities
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