A mother reported that her daughter experienced a severe reaction to a temporary henna tattoo in Bali, leaving burns that may cause permanent scarring. The daughter's tattoo faded after about a week, leaving stinging, itchy skin with pink welts, and doctors fear it may leave a long-lasting or permanent scar on her hand. In a separate incident, five-year-old Mason Abrams suffered an allergic reaction to a black henna tattoo in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, leaving a dragon-shaped scar on his arm. His tattoo faded after 10 days, revealing a red, raised imprint of the dragon, and his mother, Kirsty Campbell Russell, fears he will be scarred for life.
The daughter is on a four-day course of steroid cream and slowly recovering. A doctor confirmed Mason had an allergic reaction due to the use of black henna instead of traditional brown-orange henna, advising careful sun exposure and extra sunscreen on his arm until it heals fully. According to Daily Mirror - Main, Kirsty Campbell Russell described that the tattoo looked fine initially, but 10 days later when the black faded, they realized he had reacted, and she is worried it will be permanent.
He's the youngest of five, so if all the others are getting one, it was a bit mean not to let him get one. I had one done too and mine and everyone else's was fine.
Black henna contains the chemical paraphenylenediamine (PPD), which can cause severe allergic reactions, permanent scarring, oozing blisters, and long-term sensitization to hair dyes and other substances. The specific brands or sources of black henna used in these incidents are unknown, and it is unclear whether local authorities in Bali or Egypt have taken any action against the henna artists or vendors involved. The exact medical prognosis for the long-term scarring in both children also remains uncertain.
The tattoo looked fine and he didn't complain at all. It was only 10 days later, when the black had faded, that we realised that he had reacted. It was raised and you can still see it now. I think he's going to be scarred for life, it looks like a scar now.
I noticed that it was an allergic reaction and I did feel a bit guilty about it, but we asked if it was safe and the guy showed us photos of toddlers getting it done. We trusted where we had it done.
The doctor just told us to be careful in the sunshine and put extra suncream on it until it's fully healed. You can still see it on his arm and I'm worried it's going to be there forever and he's going to be left with a permanent tattoo from it.
I would tell people to check what ingredients are in the henna and note it shouldn't be black, it should be brown. The man just told me it was safe and I just presumed henna was henna. I didn't realise there were different types.