Black Henna Beware - Page 3

Zorba · 06-30-2008, 04:01 PM

Its good to post this kind of thing from time-to-time. I've done so often when someone is talking about "black" henna or Kohl. Never hurts to remind folks. I use Kohl all the time - but only Kohl that is made by a "real" cosmetics company that follows FDA guidelines and lists their ingredients! It was Sally Hansen for years, but they stopped making it, so now I'm using a Guerlain product - at 4X the price of the Sally Hansen!

And never, EVER "black" henna! Besides, I like the look of the traditional stuff a lot better!

gypsy8522 · 07-01-2008, 06:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Salome

Silly question but why do people use the black henna if it's dangerous and there is a safe alternative?

Hi everyone,

I've had the black henna done before, so I have a personal experience with this.

The black henna is often called Sudanese henna in arabic speaking countries, and it IS the traditional henna in the culture of Sudan. The reason they add black die to the henna (as I was told) is because Sudanese women tend to have darker skin and they need a stronger, bolder color than other non-Sudanese women. The Sudanese designs are also different from the Indian designs, they are bigger and more flowery. It is a tradition for women to have their hands and feet done for weddings and contrary to popular belief, many of them are fully aware of the health consequences that may result from using this type of henna, yet they continue to have it done because it is part of their tradition.

Wearing henna to a wedding for them is like the color scarfs that women in Egypt spend hours before a wedding pinning to their heads and coordinating with their dresses, and it's very similar (from a health and beauty perspective)to the many Western women who sit out hours in the sun or in the tanning salon (ie the cancer booth) to get that desired bronze color for a special occasion.

I was invited to a Sudanese friend's henna wedding party once (it's a tradition to have all family and friends come over to the bride's house the day before the wedding to get their henna) and it took the henna artist a whole day to apply her designs for about 60 people. The artist was professional and very fast, it took her about 15 minutes to draw each hand, and 30 minute for each foot. She could create new designs off the top of her head and she never used the same design for two people! It took another half an hour for the henna to dry and after that they make you sit in a sauna type thing, except that it isn't relaxing at all but rather the most painful experience a woman can go through, but I guess that's the price you pay for beauty! There was also another problem I remember, the henna lady was hesitant about drawing on a 6 year old's hand because children have a tendency to forget and unconsciously put their hands into their mouths. She then told us a story about a child back home who died after drinking out of a henna mix cup.

My Bahraini classmate had the Sudanese henna once drawn as a necklace around her neck. I thought she was crazy to have it done so close to her lungs, and asked her if she knew about its danger.. turns out she did and she even gave me the name of the cancerogenous element in the dye. She said it was her sister's wedding and she wanted to look pretty and different.

As far as I know these women (the truly talented henna artists) get invitations to travel to different countries specially for weddings and they make fortunes out it. It is a business to them, so they are very aware of the dangers of this henna. They also have good knowledge about the different chemicals the henna contains since they prepare the mix themselves and due to their long experience in that profession etc.. So it is not necessarily true that these women are ignorant about the chemicals because they are uneducated (hello Tarik!

, just look at some of the answers here, it proves that one can be educated yet ignorant about a subject.

jenc · 07-01-2008, 07:58 AM

well how many of us smoke, or use hair dye........there are links to modern hair dye being carcinogenic

Samira bint Aya · 07-01-2008, 09:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aniseteph

From
"Stay Away From Products That...." lists of 8 warning signs including "Claim to be ‘Black Henna'" and "Contain a greyish – purple coloured powder that you need to mix with water."

Gosh! Thank you for pointing that out Antiseteph. It describes exactly what I bought!

I guess I will have to stick to brown henna then. I like it a lot, however, the patterns come out somewhat pale, compared to the jet black henna I had done in Egypt…

There is a safe alternative to black henna, called Jagua. I will seek that option out, or stick to the red-brown Indian henna.

Reen.Blom · 07-01-2008, 01:00 PM

Thanks for posting, I never heard of it before!

Eve · 07-01-2008, 01:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mosaic

OMG! Eve, it sounds so painful what you went through, you poor thing. Thank goodness you haven't had any lasting trauma to your head.

Samira Bint Aya, I think you should do a test on an tiny area of skin as Dipali suggested before using the henna you have got, I would do it twice as the first time you may not have a reaction. But do it 24 to 48 hours apart and in different spots. I haven't heard of, or seen a grey colour, so it is hard to say if it is totally unadulterated. maybe the Egyptian soil makes it go a greyish colour, but do test to be sure.
~Mosaic

It was sore and itched but I think it looked much worse than it was, wandering about with a head like the elephant woman is not a look I'd usually go for.

Henna/Indigo -If in doubt don't buy and buy from a reputable source. I now use a lady based in Canada - if anyone wants her details then leave me a message.
Different hennas give different shades and strength of colour/dye release depending on what they are mixed with eg. water, lemon juice, essential oils.

khanjar · 07-01-2008, 01:10 PM

Seem to remember Mehndi oil, an oil which smelled like melissa, which is awful. Lemon makes the skin photosensitive, as does many citrus oils

Eve · 07-01-2008, 01:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by khanjar

Seem to remember Mehndi oil, an oil which smelled like melissa, which is awful. Lemon makes the skin photosensitive, as does many citrus oils

lemon juice - when using henna for hair.

Reen.Blom · 07-01-2008, 02:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by khanjar

Seem to remember Mehndi oil, an oil which smelled like melissa, which is awful. Lemon makes the skin photosensitive, as does many citrus oils

Why is melissa aweful? LOL

Tarik Sultan · 07-01-2008, 06:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gypsy8522

Hi everyone,

I've had the black henna done before, so I have a personal experience with this.

The black henna is often called Sudanese henna in arabic speaking countries, and it IS the traditional henna in the culture of Sudan. The reason they add black die to the henna (as I was told) is because Sudanese women tend to have darker skin and they need a stronger, bolder color than other non-Sudanese women. The Sudanese designs are also different from the Indian designs, they are bigger and more flowery. It is a tradition for women to have their hands and feet done for weddings and contrary to popular belief, many of them are fully aware of the health consequences that may result from using this type of henna, yet they continue to have it done because it is part of their tradition.

Wearing henna to a wedding for them is like the color scarfs that women in Egypt spend hours before a wedding pinning to their heads and coordinating with their dresses, and it's very similar (from a health and beauty perspective)to the many Western women who sit out hours in the sun or in the tanning salon (ie the cancer booth) to get that desired bronze color for a special occasion.

I was invited to a Sudanese friend's henna wedding party once (it's a tradition to have all family and friends come over to the bride's house the day before the wedding to get their henna) and it took the henna artist a whole day to apply her designs for about 60 people. The artist was professional and very fast, it took her about 15 minutes to draw each hand, and 30 minute for each foot. She could create new designs off the top of her head and she never used the same design for two people! It took another half an hour for the henna to dry and after that they make you sit in a sauna type thing, except that it isn't relaxing at all but rather the most painful experience a woman can go through, but I guess that's the price you pay for beauty! There was also another problem I remember, the henna lady was hesitant about drawing on a 6 year old's hand because children have a tendency to forget and unconsciously put their hands into their mouths. She then told us a story about a child back home who died after drinking out of a henna mix cup.

My Bahraini classmate had the Sudanese henna once drawn as a necklace around her neck. I thought she was crazy to have it done so close to her lungs, and asked her if she knew about its danger.. turns out she did and she even gave me the name of the cancerogenous element in the dye. She said it was her sister's wedding and she wanted to look pretty and different.

As far as I know these women (the truly talented henna artists) get invitations to travel to different countries specially for weddings and they make fortunes out it. It is a business to them, so they are very aware of the dangers of this henna. They also have good knowledge about the different chemicals the henna contains since they prepare the mix themselves and due to their long experience in that profession etc.. So it is not necessarily true that these women are ignorant about the chemicals because they are uneducated (hello Tarik!

, just look at some of the answers here, it proves that one can be educated yet ignorant about a subject.

Good point. My question would be what did they add to it to make it black before they started using unnatural chemicals? They must have had something. I think the problem is everyone wants the quick fix. Perhaps the original additives were more time consuming or expensive? So perhaps a hair dye powder is quicker to mix and easier to obtain, but in the long run it is not a great thing. As for sun tanning etc. I see your point. The thing is I guess when the negative effects happen within a matter of hours it seems more alarming than something that shows up over a period of time.

Well, gotta go perm my hair. What?! Don't look at me that way! After all, I never finished grad school so what do you expect?

06-30-2008, 04:01 PM	#21 (permalink)
Zorba Moderator Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 862	Its good to post this kind of thing from time-to-time. I've done so often when someone is talking about "black" henna or Kohl. Never hurts to remind folks. I use Kohl all the time - but only Kohl that is made by a "real" cosmetics company that follows FDA guidelines and lists their ingredients! It was Sally Hansen for years, but they stopped making it, so now I'm using a Guerlain product - at 4X the price of the Sally Hansen! And never, EVER "black" henna! Besides, I like the look of the traditional stuff a lot better! __________________ -Zorba "The Veiled Male" http://www.doubleveil.net "There is nothing sadder than a veil, that is for sale."

07-01-2008, 01:00 PM	#25 (permalink)
Reen.Blom V.I.P. Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Between Heaven and Earth Posts: 2,263	Thanks for posting, I never heard of it before! __________________ Join WORLD BELLY DANCE DAY! www.worldbellydanceday.com

07-01-2008, 01:10 PM	#27 (permalink)
khanjar Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: England Posts: 444	Seem to remember Mehndi oil, an oil which smelled like melissa, which is awful. Lemon makes the skin photosensitive, as does many citrus oils __________________ I am a dream to some...and a nightmare to others.

07-01-2008, 07:58 AM	#23 (permalink)
jenc V.I.P. Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Colchester UK Posts: 1,050	well how many of us smoke, or use hair dye........there are links to modern hair dye being carcinogenic