Black Henna Allergies and Permanent Tattoos

Last February, out of a whim and spontaneity, I got my self a henna tattoo that I blogged about here.

It's probably my third time getting a henna tattoo, so I pretty much know how it roll. It just stays on for 2 weeks or three if you're lucky. I remember sleeping on the couch and my Dad saw my henna tattoo and he got mad. I told him to relax because it's only going to be there for two weeks tops.

So can you imagine the que horror feeling that I had when on the third week, my ugly henna tattoo seemed embossed on my skin and turned from black to red?

Third week

 So I did what a cheapskate would do: Google the symptoms.

I learned that after years of getting henna tattoo, the one that I got in UP's feb fair is actually a Black Henna, I know I am allergic to a lot of things but I did not know that I was allergic to Black Henna.

As I have said, I have had henna tattoos before, one in Puerto Galera and the other one was in Tagaytay, but it turned out that they're using NOT pure black henna.

I self diagnosed myself with PPD. To know more about it click here. (But thank God mine did not go that far because I panicked early and called up my doctor bff)

According to eHow:

Causes

One of the products often added to black henna to give it a dark color is the chemical paraphenylenediamine, known as PPD. According to the FDA, while PPD has only been approved for use in hair dyes, they have received several reports of PPD causing an adverse reaction when applied directly to the skin. Because the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act does not apply to products used exclusively by professionals such as henna artists, consumers often are not aware of what is being applied to their skin when receiving a black henna tattoo.

Symptoms

The most common reaction to PPD is contact dermatitis in the form of skin inflammation, blisters and open sores. Symptoms usually appear within three to 10 days of contact and can last for weeks, though if you are already sensitive to PPD they can appear much more quickly. In rare cases PPD can trigger anaphylaxis, a life-threatening, multisystem allergic reaction that can constrict the airway and affect heart rhythm. - SOURCE

Fourth week

Fifth or sixth week

Chaka no? If only I had known that it'll look like this, I would have gone for a cooler design. I let the creepy Bob Marley-wannabe bully me into letting him create his own hippie design for Php100!

So before it got any worse, when it was still in it's embossed red stage (see photo for 3rd week), I applied Contractubex and it somehow did the trick of mellowing it down. After finishing the small tube, I had to apply whitening cream next.

Now three months later, this is what it looks like now:

It's still there, it has faded, but I have not been exerting any effort to get rid of it for a month now. I am keeping it as a memory as one of the recent times that my Tatay, before he fell into a coma, scolded me like a teenager when I got a henna tattoo.

Lately, I've been having this insane craving to get a permanent tattoo to commemorate this painful experience that I am going through right now. I never wanted it before but I thought that if I am going to get one for my self, I am going to make sure that it is highly significant and not some patterns that I just saw from one of the artist's catalogue.

I have made up my mind to get one in sanskrit (because I am fond of buddhists, temples, and the culture) so I had a translator translate my "future" tattoo:

My father's daughter

I intend to have it done on my rib cage in white ink. I learned from one of my favorite blogger, Alessa Lanot, that she got her white tattoo about eight years ago in Robinson's Galleria. I find it so alluring that I really want to get one for my self, but it costs twice as much as the regular tattoo because they had to ink it twice for the color to show. ( So if the tattoo costs 4k, white tattoo will costs 8k).

I also have another one in mind that I will have my translator translate in Hebrew. The next one's going to say "One Woman Army", but I have not found the time to email him yet.

Again, still I am thinking about it. I wouldn't want my Tatay scolding me again in my sleep.