Black Henna – Live and Learn

One thing I always do when we’re in Morocco is have henna designs applied to my hands and feet.  I wait until just before we go back home, so the design lasts beyond the vacation.  The henna I’ve had in the past leaves a brownish/orange design on the skin.  It is subtle, and beautiful.

Today was the day for us to get our henna tattoos.  When I sat down with the henna artist, she asked in Arabic if I wanted the regular henna or the black one.  I had never even heard of black henna, but my sisters-in-law and nieces said it was “ouwadda,” which has always been a good thing although I’m not sure of the exact translation.  She asked if I was allergic to it and Ben translated that if I was allergic I could get “pimples.”  It’s tough to know whether you’re allergic to something when you don’t know what it is.  I thought it was a different kind of henna.  I asked a couple of questions but the language barrier was an issue and the artist said she would do a mix of regular and black henna.  After almost 3 weeks here I am chill to the point that I just went along with it.

I wish I’d Googled black henna but I didn’t do it until after she was done.  Black henna has PPD added to it – a chemical that is present in a lot of hair dyes.  It can cause serious allergic reactions and lifelong sensitivities.  The reaction is typically delayed so if I do have a reaction it probably won’t happen until I’m headed home, which will at least allow me to get to a dermatologist quickly.  After reading a lot about black henna on the internet, it makes me really mad that people are using this chemical even though it can cause serious damage.  I think the motivation is financial…people want the darker, longer-lasting temporary tattoos, and the artists can charge more for them.

Chances are I won’t have a reaction, but I definitely wouldn’t have had the black henna if I had known.  Plus I don’t like it as much since it looks kind of like someone drew on me with a black Sharpie.  Oh well…makayn mooshkeel, unless it becomes a mooshkeel (problem) within 2 to 7 days.  Keep your fingers crossed for me.  I’m very thankful that I didn’t cave in to Norah’s insistence that she wanted black henna too.  Both of the girls got the natural henna.