--- title: Henna and Temporary Tattoos Can Cause an Allergic Reaction description: Black henna tattoos—a type of temporary tattoo—can contain ingredients that cause severe allergic reactions and scarring, doctors warn canonical: https://time.com/4320124/henna-tattoo-allergy/ author: Alexandra Sifferlin article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-05-05T22:30:36.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T17:19:39.002Z article:section: Health og:title: Why You Shouldn't Get This Type of Henna Tattoo og:description: Black henna tattoos—a type of temporary tattoo—can contain ingredients that cause severe allergic reactions and scarring, doctors warn og:url: https://time.com/4320124/henna-tattoo-allergy/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0307cf980d5be0e7/698892175f570f15a9b20cd4/henna.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2193 og:image:height: 1234 og:image:alt: 85445656 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Why You Shouldn't Get This Type of Henna Tattoo twitter:description: Black henna tattoos—a type of temporary tattoo—can contain ingredients that cause severe allergic reactions and scarring, doctors warn twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0307cf980d5be0e7/698892175f570f15a9b20cd4/henna.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Why You Shouldn't Get This Type of Henna Tattoo > Sponsored content. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's weekday health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free weekday newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=af3b195f-c6d4-46b8-9988-c559f8704cbf&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin May 5, 2016 10:30 PM UTC  Celebration of Tradition & Culture Celebration of Tradition & Culture Getty Images by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin May 5, 2016 10:30 PM UTC A 10-year-old boy on vacation received a black henna tattoo that led to a severe allergic reaction, doctors [report in a new study](http://casereports.bmj.com/content/2015/bcr-2016-212232). In a [case report](http://casereports.bmj.com/content/2015/bcr-2016-212232) published in the journal _BMJ Case Reports_, doctors report on a healthy child who got a temporary black henna tattoo while on a trip to Spain. The reaction resulted in a painful, swelling rash along the tattoo’s outline. Black henna is different from the popular brownish, red henna people may be more familiar with, and it may have different ingredients. To treat the allergic reaction, the child was given intravenous antibiotics as well as topical treatments and creams. After two days, his reaction improved and the swelling and inflammation went down. The reaction was likely caused by a dye called paraphenylenediamine (PPD) that is often added to black henna to make it darker and to quicken its drying time, the authors say. A reaction is sometimes visible three to 10 days after a person gets a temporary tattoo, and sometimes, the reaction can result in scarring. Some black henna has a concentration of up to 30% PPD. In the past, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned Americans about getting black henna tattoos. “Inks marketed as black henna may be a mix of henna with other ingredients, or may really be hair dye alone,” the [agency said in a 2013 warning](http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm343932.htm). “Skin tattoos with black henna should be avoided, especially during foreign travel, as this can make the tracing of the vendor and any subsequent public health management challenging,” the authors conclude. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4320124/henna-tattoo-allergy/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4320124/henna-tattoo-allergy/"},"headline":"Why You Shouldn't Get This Type of Henna Tattoo","datePublished":"2016-05-05T22:30:36.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T17:19:39.002Z","description":"Black henna can cause skin allergic reactions and even scarring","url":"https://time.com/4320124/henna-tattoo-allergy/","keywords":["toxins","tattoos","tattoo","allergy"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0307cf980d5be0e7/698892175f570f15a9b20cd4/henna.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alexandra Sifferlin","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0307cf980d5be0e7/698892175f570f15a9b20cd4/henna.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"85445656","caption":"85445656","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/toxins/","name":"toxins"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4320124/henna-tattoo-allergy/","name":"Why You Shouldn't Get This Type of Henna Tattoo"}}]}] ```