I see warnings on bottles of hair dye that you should not use it if you have recently had henna tattoos. I always wondered why. Now I think I know why.
Now I see that some henna tattoos contain black henna which can cause allergic reactions and scarring. The scary thing is that you can have a painful and ugly reaction to the henna tattoo several days afterwards. Pitting of the skin. Or raised, lumpy scars and welts. You could end up in hospital. And/or have permanent scarring. That is not what you want on your face, or indeed, anywhere.
I would not want the pain, the unsightly scars, nor to have to avoid hair dyes.
I have always admired the henna tattoos on women's hands, which are done for weddings. However, I already have allergies to shellfish. One hot year, when I was aged 16, there was a long hot summer, starting from the month of march, with a glut of strawberries, which I ate every day, then one day in June, around the time of my exams, I developed swelling in reaction. At first we thought it was a stress reaction to exams. But the GP (general practitioner - British term) diagnosed the reaction being an allergy, and we realized the cause was the strawberries. Luckily, when I was about 21, I found, little by little, that I could eat strawberries with no reaction.
Now, when travelling, or at home, I avoid shellfish. I shall avoid henna dyes, too. Apparently, in some countries they are banned. In others, the people applying them, like the customers, may be unaware of the risks.
Picture credit Wiki -
In addition to Indian and Asian and Middle Eastern wedding preparations, you might see tattoos offered in markets, night markets, and seasonally, such as in the USA for Halloween.
You can read warnings about safety in foreign countries in Wikivoyage and on the US government websites and if you live elsewhere on your government's websites about travel overseas - look on the passport and visa pages and you then start to find links. Other information is in Tripadvisor. The use of temporary tattoos is worldwide, for example, from America, Australia, Indonesia, the UK, Israel, when travelling around your own home town or city or country or travelling abroad.
Products which are allowed for hair dye for twenty minutes are not allowed against the skin, to be worn all day, or injected permanently. Bans are in place in the EU and elsewhere. Hair dyes warn you to do a test on a small area of skin several hours in advance of applying it all over your head.
Remedies include drinking water to rehydrate because your body is sending water to the damaged area, and calling into the nearest pharmacist or drug store or a dermatologist or GP. In the UK there is a free NHS (National health service) helpline, NHS direct.
Useful Websites
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mehndi#/media/File:Mehndi_front.JPG
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jagua_tattoo
https://www.britishskinfoundation.org.uk/the-dangers-of-black-henna-temporary-tattoos
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