Re: safety ?'s
Posted by kenzi on January 13, 2000 at 02:25:57:
In Reply to: safety ?'s posted by prisma on January 13, 2000 at 02:02:02:
Most of the those warning pages are warning you about "black henna"
which usually has some kind of non-henna dye in it (specifically PPD)
which is the ingredient which causes such awful reactions.
Natural henna is perfectly safe, unless you are allergic to henna
itself. The henna is a powder which is mixed with some kind of
liuid. If you are making the paste yourself, you will know exactly
what this liquid is (and you can test it on yourself to see if you
get a negative reaction to it). If you are getting henna done by
someone else, ask the person what is in their paste and make sure to
tell them that you are asking to find out if you might be allergic.
Hopefully the artist that you work with will be open and helpful.
Use your judgment...if the person is being evasive it could be
because they are trying to protect their secret recipe, or worse,
they may be trying to hide the fact that they are using some
dangerous ingredient. In general, i suggest you avoid anyone
promising you "black henna" or a black stain.
If it is real henna, it shouldn't be any problem. Good luck!