Is henna tattoo really safe? US tourist was left with blisters while holidaying in Thailand

When the US tourist Amanda Drish-Adolf tried the mandala style henna tattoo on her left arm while holidaying in Thailand, little did she know about the side-effects awaiting her.

On January 24, the 30-year-old spent £23 for the complex tattoo design by a vendor near the Bangkok hotel they were staying. She was impressed with how the tattoo turned out that took almost one hour to complete.

"It felt like it was burning as it was being painted on, like the gel you put on when you have a sore muscle that feels hot and cold at the same time. I used Google Translate on my phone to tell the person painting it on that it was burning and was told 'that's normal', the tingling stopped after it dried," The Mirror reported.

However, two days later she was left with numerous blisters on her arm. Immediately, she started hospital treatment and was left with a 13-inch by a 5-inch chemical burn. The hospital staff scrubbed off the top of the fluid-filled bumps, used antiseptic cream and bandaged the affected area. The hospital cost came around £530 and the couple was forced to cancel their trip plans and spent time at a beach near their hotel.

However, it is understood that Amanda had tried doing natural henna and black henna tattoos two or three times before, but never suffered any such chemical reaction.

Violinist Amanda visited Thailand with her husband Nick Adolf to fulfil their pre-children bucket list. The couple, who have reached their home in Des Moines, Iowa, now requests people to get natural henna only and to avoid black henna.

Is henna tattoo really safe?

The leaves of the henna shrub are dried and made into a fine powder, which is commonly used to dye hair. During ceremonies, women apply it on the hands and legs as a temporary tattoo that will fade in about 2-4 weeks. However, the Food and Drug Administration has approved henna only as a hair dye as certain products marketed as henna may contain other ingredients that can cause injuries to the skin.

Experts claim that chemical burn might happen due to paraphenylenediamine (PPD), which is a chemical found in black henna and dark hair dyes.