Can Henna Tattoos Trigger Other Allergies?
Temporary henna tattoos, made fashionable by pop icons such as Madonna and now available at many holiday resorts, can trigger dangerous allergic reactions to other substances, a leading German dermatologist on July 24. Professor Joerg Christoph Prinz said the widely available tattoos tend to contain paraphenylenediamine, or PPD, banned in the European Union for general use. A bad reaction to the tattoo dye can leave people with life-long allergies to such varied things as sun-protection cream, local anaesthetics, black clothes, eye shadow, many hair dyes and printing chemicals. He told a training session for doctors in Munich that it was difficult to know how much PPD is in specific tattoos but it is widely used to make the natural red of the henna dye more intense and darker in color. It also makes the dye dry more quickly–most of the holiday tattoos contain it.” He noted, “It is already known that if there is as much as 10% PPD in an ink it will spark allergies in 80% of people.” “I
