Temporary Tattoos Are Trying to Kill Your Children

Photo credit: Mirror.co.uk

The conventional wisdom is well established at this point: Outside of certain cultural traditions, henna tattoos are something you get done as a vacation time-killer in between having your hair put into cornrows and getting hit on by swarthy European millionaires who want nothing more than an afternoon with someone else’s wife. Harmless, right? WRONG. Dead wrong. Henna’s bloodlust knows no bounds and, make no mistake, it’s coming for you. You and your children. This red-inked menace is even taking the shape of beloved American cartoon characters in its quest to disfigure and mutilate the youth of today:

A boy of three was scarred for life after suffering horrific burns from a dodgy holiday henna tattoo of Bart Simpson.

Vinnie England got the temporary image of his TV hero from a Spanish street stall.

But the trader may not have been using the safe, natural henna he claimed because Vinnie suffered an appalling reaction. His skin became inflamed, sore and blistered.

Now he has a three-inch bright red outline of Bart drying his backside on his forearm.

The ink has since faded from this young hero’s arm, but the scar may be permanent (probably not). Some suspect that the ink may have been mixed with a low-cost hair dye called PPD, which is known for instigating poor skin reactions and is commonly combined with henna, but who are you going to believe? Those fat-cats shilling for the multi-billion dollar henna industry? I think not.

Three-year-old scarred for life by henna tattoo of Bart Simpson done in Benidorm [Mirror.co.uk]

100 thoughts on “Temporary Tattoos Are Trying to Kill Your Children

  1. While I feel sorry for the boy for having such a bad reaction, the mother really should have been more educated about certian types of henna before entrusting some stranger to apply it. From the article it looked as though the guy used black henna (which tends to have added dyes) PPD added to henna is not a new thing, this has been an issue for a while now. While it’s unfortunate, people should really educate themselves..especially a mother letting a kid getting something as (assumed) harmless as henna. However, the amount of people who fail to educate themselves on things far more “harmfull” like piercing & tattoos….it doesn’t surprise me. Another point, it’s very possible that the guy doing the henna had no clue about PPD additives to the henna either. How many piercers and tattooist (scratchers) out there are equally less educated?

  2. While I feel sorry for the boy for having such a bad reaction, the mother really should have been more educated about certian types of henna before entrusting some stranger to apply it. From the article it looked as though the guy used black henna (which tends to have added dyes) PPD added to henna is not a new thing, this has been an issue for a while now. While it’s unfortunate, people should really educate themselves..especially a mother letting a kid getting something as (assumed) harmless as henna. However, the amount of people who fail to educate themselves on things far more “harmfull” like piercing & tattoos….it doesn’t surprise me. Another point, it’s very possible that the guy doing the henna had no clue about PPD additives to the henna either. How many piercers and tattooist (scratchers) out there are equally less educated?

  3. aww bless, i hope for his young sake, it heals and fades way out.
    my friends always tell me, stay the hell away from the Black and Red henna, always with the green and brown!

  4. aww bless, i hope for his young sake, it heals and fades way out.
    my friends always tell me, stay the hell away from the Black and Red henna, always with the green and brown!

  5. The pic on The Mirror’s site looks like a branding. Well cool on a 3yr old!

    Vinnie England. Sounds like a future football hooligan!

  6. The pic on The Mirror’s site looks like a branding. Well cool on a 3yr old!

    Vinnie England. Sounds like a future football hooligan!

  7. this kid is a “hero” for getting a bad henna tattoo in a street stall?
    Don’t get me wrong, I feel bad for him, but he’s a victim, not a hero.

  8. this kid is a “hero” for getting a bad henna tattoo in a street stall?
    Don’t get me wrong, I feel bad for him, but he’s a victim, not a hero.

  9. 1. it is pretty cool that he has a bart “scarification”
    2. im not sure exactly, but one of my friends from highschool had the same thing happen to him with henna
    he got the suzuki logo on him and had an allergic reaction which left the logo on him in a red outline, not sure about the state it is in now

  10. 1. it is pretty cool that he has a bart “scarification”
    2. im not sure exactly, but one of my friends from highschool had the same thing happen to him with henna
    he got the suzuki logo on him and had an allergic reaction which left the logo on him in a red outline, not sure about the state it is in now

  11. just because the kid has chemical burns that might leave him ‘scarred’ does not make it cool. because you are in this community, you should know better than to say these things.

    how many people educate themselves on the properties of henna before having it done??
    i bet more than half of the people on this site have gotten henna done at a fair or somewhere of the sort without studying it.

    henna is supposed to be derived from natural plants nothing more.

    my sympathies go out to the kid

  12. just because the kid has chemical burns that might leave him ‘scarred’ does not make it cool. because you are in this community, you should know better than to say these things.

    how many people educate themselves on the properties of henna before having it done??
    i bet more than half of the people on this site have gotten henna done at a fair or somewhere of the sort without studying it.

    henna is supposed to be derived from natural plants nothing more.

    my sympathies go out to the kid

  13. I am a henna artist, but I boast about being a NATURAL henna artist. I mix the paste myself, so I can safely tell people the exact ingredients – henna powder, lemon juice and essential oils (tea tree oil most of the time).

    I have a client that has asked me numerous times what I think about black henna, because she says she gets black henna done when she goes down south (Mexico, etc) for vacation, but has never had a reaction. I told her that every time she does this, she’s rolling the dice, and to stay safe, always avoid any kind of black henna. PPD in black henna can cause serious chemical burns, as shown in this picture.

    I know people want henna to look black like a tattoo, but natural henna is NOT black. EVER. Natural henna will only stain various shades of browns & reds.

    It always irks me that when this kind of scenario happens, it always seems that the emphasis is on henna, not BLACK henna. It is very, very rare to have someone have a reaction to natural henna. I wouldn’t put any kind of henna on anyone under 6, nevertheless a 3 year old, but that is my own personal policy.

    /end of rant

  14. I am a henna artist, but I boast about being a NATURAL henna artist. I mix the paste myself, so I can safely tell people the exact ingredients – henna powder, lemon juice and essential oils (tea tree oil most of the time).

    I have a client that has asked me numerous times what I think about black henna, because she says she gets black henna done when she goes down south (Mexico, etc) for vacation, but has never had a reaction. I told her that every time she does this, she’s rolling the dice, and to stay safe, always avoid any kind of black henna. PPD in black henna can cause serious chemical burns, as shown in this picture.

    I know people want henna to look black like a tattoo, but natural henna is NOT black. EVER. Natural henna will only stain various shades of browns & reds.

    It always irks me that when this kind of scenario happens, it always seems that the emphasis is on henna, not BLACK henna. It is very, very rare to have someone have a reaction to natural henna. I wouldn’t put any kind of henna on anyone under 6, nevertheless a 3 year old, but that is my own personal policy.

    /end of rant

  15. I had a few henna tattoos as a kid but they were NEVER black. Always the reddish brown colour you’d associate with a natural henna.

    I don’t think it’s ‘cool’ or anything of the like that this has happened to a child (and I’m sure it won’t just have been this one).

  16. I had a few henna tattoos as a kid but they were NEVER black. Always the reddish brown colour you’d associate with a natural henna.

    I don’t think it’s ‘cool’ or anything of the like that this has happened to a child (and I’m sure it won’t just have been this one).

  17. Holy shit. I actually have that exact allergy, I believe. I researched it a while ago when I broke out in awful rashes all over my body after using permanent black hair dye. And then again when I broke out after using demi-permanent.

  18. Holy shit. I actually have that exact allergy, I believe. I researched it a while ago when I broke out in awful rashes all over my body after using permanent black hair dye. And then again when I broke out after using demi-permanent.

  19. I have a feeling that as the kid grows, it will stretch, fade and smooth out gradually. It may look really bad right now, but it will calm down and fade eventually.

  20. I have a feeling that as the kid grows, it will stretch, fade and smooth out gradually. It may look really bad right now, but it will calm down and fade eventually.

  21. I find the ironic and condescending tone a little weird, but maybe it is just me that misunderstand Jordans writing?

  22. I find the ironic and condescending tone a little weird, but maybe it is just me that misunderstand Jordans writing?

  23. I don’t really see the point in this being posted :/ It’s not exactly the first time I have seen this sort of ‘black henna warning’ story run in mainstream media and I didn’t think Modblog was the type of place to mock an innocent child who probably suffered a lot of pain?

  24. I don’t really see the point in this being posted :/ It’s not exactly the first time I have seen this sort of ‘black henna warning’ story run in mainstream media and I didn’t think Modblog was the type of place to mock an innocent child who probably suffered a lot of pain?

  25. Sigh. Parent’s really should educate themselves on this stuff before letting their kids get it. It’s not like PPD reactions are a new thing. In fact the second I saw the article (in the news paper) I sighed and said “PPD” based only on the picture.

  26. Sigh. Parent’s really should educate themselves on this stuff before letting their kids get it. It’s not like PPD reactions are a new thing. In fact the second I saw the article (in the news paper) I sighed and said “PPD” based only on the picture.

  27. What? Who’s mocking the kid? It’s sarcastically written, sure, but it’s making fun of those “warning” stories that read like doomsday prophecies.

  28. What? Who’s mocking the kid? It’s sarcastically written, sure, but it’s making fun of those “warning” stories that read like doomsday prophecies.

  29. Henna can be very dangerous, He would have been better off getting a tattoo as the ink is under heavy regulation. Had he gotten a tattoo, he wouldn’t have suffered such ill effects.

  30. Henna can be very dangerous, He would have been better off getting a tattoo as the ink is under heavy regulation. Had he gotten a tattoo, he wouldn’t have suffered such ill effects.

  31. I don’t think it’ll be permanent. Kids heal a lot better than adults. My sister had a horrific accident involving boiling soup when she was about six. The skin sloughed off half her torso, but you can’t see anything now.

  32. I don’t think it’ll be permanent. Kids heal a lot better than adults. My sister had a horrific accident involving boiling soup when she was about six. The skin sloughed off half her torso, but you can’t see anything now.

  33. I have a friend who had a reaction to that PPD after getting a temp tattoo in Bali. He is scarred for life. He got very sick from it and ended up in hospital. He has a brown stain that looks like a like it should be a tribal tattoo.

  34. I have a friend who had a reaction to that PPD after getting a temp tattoo in Bali. He is scarred for life. He got very sick from it and ended up in hospital. He has a brown stain that looks like a like it should be a tribal tattoo.

  35. @ michelle
    u may have misunderstood me

    i, like u and many others, do feel sympathy towards him
    seeing he is a toddler and pretty much got something that may be permanent that he may not choose to have when hes older

    but i was saying it was cool in the sense that if he did somehow become modded when hes older, he could look back and say that he had something done at a young age, which is a small chance

    i wish i had my ears and septum pierced at a younger age. i prolly would not have wanted them done then. but i do now

  36. @ michelle
    u may have misunderstood me

    i, like u and many others, do feel sympathy towards him
    seeing he is a toddler and pretty much got something that may be permanent that he may not choose to have when hes older

    but i was saying it was cool in the sense that if he did somehow become modded when hes older, he could look back and say that he had something done at a young age, which is a small chance

    i wish i had my ears and septum pierced at a younger age. i prolly would not have wanted them done then. but i do now

  37. I keep ready a lot of posts saying “Thats cool”

    I do not think that looks cool at all.

    Hes just a child.

  38. I keep ready a lot of posts saying “Thats cool”

    I do not think that looks cool at all.

    Hes just a child.

  39. i feel sorry for this kid not only as a result of the henna, but as a proud parent with a 3 and 4 year old there is no way id let them have henna even natural henna! especially if i was in a foreign country and especially if i didnt know what was going onto my kids skin!

    god only knows what his parents will allow him to do without seeking out any info or advice!

    unlucky kid your parents are twats. but hey it wasnt their fault …… (oh that old story….)

  40. i feel sorry for this kid not only as a result of the henna, but as a proud parent with a 3 and 4 year old there is no way id let them have henna even natural henna! especially if i was in a foreign country and especially if i didnt know what was going onto my kids skin!

    god only knows what his parents will allow him to do without seeking out any info or advice!

    unlucky kid your parents are twats. but hey it wasnt their fault …… (oh that old story….)

  41. although it looks much better than most scars/brandings done by professionals and on purpose, i feel sorry for this kid.
    thank God i never tried henna tattoos (only those ones you buy on newsstands and the ones that come in crisps bags, that fade away with water) when i was a kid. had i been through it, i’d have severely regretted it by now.
    but if he turns out to be “one of us” he might have it covered up some day. hope it doesn’t traumatize him.

  42. although it looks much better than most scars/brandings done by professionals and on purpose, i feel sorry for this kid.
    thank God i never tried henna tattoos (only those ones you buy on newsstands and the ones that come in crisps bags, that fade away with water) when i was a kid. had i been through it, i’d have severely regretted it by now.
    but if he turns out to be “one of us” he might have it covered up some day. hope it doesn’t traumatize him.

  43. A friend of mine also had the exact same reaction on this henna crap! At least his ‘scar’ did go away in a couple of months. Poor little kid

  44. A friend of mine also had the exact same reaction on this henna crap! At least his ‘scar’ did go away in a couple of months. Poor little kid

  45. Emi-Chan: That kid definitely looks his age, probably getting pretty close to 4yrs old. As for being as old as 10? Have you ever seen a 10 year old? My son is 10 and he is over 5′ tall. I could see maybe a very small 6 yr old being this size but he looks like a pretty typical 3-4 year old.

    Poor little guy, but as others have said I think it will fade without leaving a permanent scar.

  46. Emi-Chan: That kid definitely looks his age, probably getting pretty close to 4yrs old. As for being as old as 10? Have you ever seen a 10 year old? My son is 10 and he is over 5′ tall. I could see maybe a very small 6 yr old being this size but he looks like a pretty typical 3-4 year old.

    Poor little guy, but as others have said I think it will fade without leaving a permanent scar.

  47. I mix my own henna too, and I’ve been educated about the black henna horror for quite a while. Really, I’m sure this post is ripe with sarcasm, because the article doesn’t actually say there’s anything wrong with getting a henna tattoo. In fact, it just seems to be in place to warn people about dodgy streetfolk using black henna.

    I think it’s horrible and feel really bad for the kid. Sure, if this were a scarification done to a person who willingly accepted a permanent mark that would be a whole other story. But this kid and his parents were just looking for a temporary orange mark of Bart. People need to be educated on the practise of black henna and I hope that that article at least gets through to a few ignorant parents.

  48. I mix my own henna too, and I’ve been educated about the black henna horror for quite a while. Really, I’m sure this post is ripe with sarcasm, because the article doesn’t actually say there’s anything wrong with getting a henna tattoo. In fact, it just seems to be in place to warn people about dodgy streetfolk using black henna.

    I think it’s horrible and feel really bad for the kid. Sure, if this were a scarification done to a person who willingly accepted a permanent mark that would be a whole other story. But this kid and his parents were just looking for a temporary orange mark of Bart. People need to be educated on the practise of black henna and I hope that that article at least gets through to a few ignorant parents.

  49. wow I have literally been bitching about ppd in henna since 2001!! I had a client come into a shop i was working at with festering wounds in a tribal design on her arm that was originally a henna piece done at the toronto eatons centre. Crazy when things come up. I had a picture of the wound on my station wall for about 6 years, still have the pic if anyone wants to tell me where specifically to send it Ill submit it.

  50. wow I have literally been bitching about ppd in henna since 2001!! I had a client come into a shop i was working at with festering wounds in a tribal design on her arm that was originally a henna piece done at the toronto eatons centre. Crazy when things come up. I had a picture of the wound on my station wall for about 6 years, still have the pic if anyone wants to tell me where specifically to send it Ill submit it.

  51. That’s hilarious. They shouldn’t have used a case where there’s a Bart drying his backside on a three year old’s arm.

  52. That’s hilarious. They shouldn’t have used a case where there’s a Bart drying his backside on a three year old’s arm.

  53. I thought it was old news that henna can cause allergic reactions in some people. Sounds like a case of a retarded mother.

  54. I thought it was old news that henna can cause allergic reactions in some people. Sounds like a case of a retarded mother.

  55. the mum should’ve looked more into it, just stick with temporary stick on tattoos. i remember when the little girl i babysat first saw mine and started rubbing at it and asking “does it come off in the tub?” yeah shortly after she saw it, the next time i babysat she had temporary tattoos all up her legs “look i got tattoos like you kate” tbh it was pretty cute and luckily her fairly straightlaced parents laughed it off

  56. the mum should’ve looked more into it, just stick with temporary stick on tattoos. i remember when the little girl i babysat first saw mine and started rubbing at it and asking “does it come off in the tub?” yeah shortly after she saw it, the next time i babysat she had temporary tattoos all up her legs “look i got tattoos like you kate” tbh it was pretty cute and luckily her fairly straightlaced parents laughed it off

  57. Yeah it sucks that he had an allergic reaction, but I agree with others on here that the mother should’ve perhaps gone with her kneejerk “No” reaction (that is, IF she had one). Telling your kid “no” is not a crime. I wasn’t even allowed to dye my hair until high school, let alone get a henna tattoo at age 3.
    However, it’s a chemical burn that will most likely fade out in a few months. Kids are extremely resilient. After all the scrapes and stuff that kids get themselves into, very little of it makes permanent scars.
    Like I said, it sucks, but I think now this mom is probably going to try to make a huge case out of it and try to sue someone. It could be way worse. The kid is still alive and well, after all.

  58. Yeah it sucks that he had an allergic reaction, but I agree with others on here that the mother should’ve perhaps gone with her kneejerk “No” reaction (that is, IF she had one). Telling your kid “no” is not a crime. I wasn’t even allowed to dye my hair until high school, let alone get a henna tattoo at age 3.
    However, it’s a chemical burn that will most likely fade out in a few months. Kids are extremely resilient. After all the scrapes and stuff that kids get themselves into, very little of it makes permanent scars.
    Like I said, it sucks, but I think now this mom is probably going to try to make a huge case out of it and try to sue someone. It could be way worse. The kid is still alive and well, after all.

  59. it looks like his mom might have a small butterfly tattoo on her hand…she probably just didnt know any better and wanted to make her kid happy. if she has more tattoos, maybe the kid was really bent on the henna, who knows. sad he had to wind up in the hands of someone with the wrong kind of henna. i bet itll heal pretty well, and wont hardly be visible, if at all, when he grows up!

  60. it looks like his mom might have a small butterfly tattoo on her hand…she probably just didnt know any better and wanted to make her kid happy. if she has more tattoos, maybe the kid was really bent on the henna, who knows. sad he had to wind up in the hands of someone with the wrong kind of henna. i bet itll heal pretty well, and wont hardly be visible, if at all, when he grows up!

  61. that sucks…..poor kid is gonna grow up and be so fucking sick of that scar. id be sick of any bart simpson scar i had to see from the age of 6 till whenever…dealing with the teasing from kids would make me hate it if i were little not love it and rock it like a badge of scarification honour.

    my moneys on lazer scar removal for this….

  62. that sucks…..poor kid is gonna grow up and be so fucking sick of that scar. id be sick of any bart simpson scar i had to see from the age of 6 till whenever…dealing with the teasing from kids would make me hate it if i were little not love it and rock it like a badge of scarification honour.

    my moneys on lazer scar removal for this….

  63. His mother should have sticked to the temporary tattoo stickers. If he’s only 3 did he really want that henna tattoo or was it more like a wish of his mother?

  64. His mother should have sticked to the temporary tattoo stickers. If he’s only 3 did he really want that henna tattoo or was it more like a wish of his mother?

  65. i tried henna tattooing when i was about 7 years old and my allergy was, from what i can see, far worse, my skin inflamed, cracked and bled, then healed slightly and i suppose this was bad luck, it got infected. but, the henna burn didnt scar in the least even after the picking and scratching it went through. so, i really think that “scarred for life” must be quite an exaggeration really… more “modification is evil” brainwashing, get em when they’re young hahaa.

  66. i tried henna tattooing when i was about 7 years old and my allergy was, from what i can see, far worse, my skin inflamed, cracked and bled, then healed slightly and i suppose this was bad luck, it got infected. but, the henna burn didnt scar in the least even after the picking and scratching it went through. so, i really think that “scarred for life” must be quite an exaggeration really… more “modification is evil” brainwashing, get em when they’re young hahaa.

  67. bollox to you all. you haven’t got a bloody clue what you talkin about!!

  68. bollox to you all. you haven’t got a bloody clue what you talkin about!!

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