A woman has revealed her summer of hell after a spur-of-the-moment henna tattoo left her arm burned and scarred. Chloe Goodwin, 20, from Swadlincote, went on holiday with her family for two weeks earlier this summer to Sunny Beach in Bulgaria.
While walking along the sea front in Sunny Beach, Miss Goodwin decided to have a temporary, black henna tattoo of a flower on her left forearm.
Henna tattoos are very popular among party-goers and holiday-makers, due to their temporary nature.
But with black henna, a substance called para-phenylenediamine is used, which is typically found in hair dyes, but is not used in normal henna tattoos.
The para-phenylenediamine can cause blistering of the skin, painful burns and can lead to scarring.
It can also cause the sufferer to have a lifelong sensitivity to para-phenylenediamine, increasing the risk of severe allergic reaction when using hair dyes in the future.
Miss Goodwin had the tattoo done at a market stall along the sea front and has explained that for the first 10 days or so, it felt fine.
She said: "It was fine at first, but after 10 or 11 days it started to burn as it faded. When I got back I was given antibiotics after going to the walk-in centre, the doctors and A&E.
"They all told me the same thing; that the black henna ink had given me a chemical burn and it will now be a permanent scar. Now I'm on strong antibiotics and I'm at high risk of getting sepsis. I can't even get my hair dyed anymore."
Miss Goodwin explained that once the henna started to fade, it became itchy and started to burn. And now, Miss Goodwin has appealed to other people not to make the same mistake as she did and avoid having black henna tattoos.
"I've made the stupid mistake of having one done and could potentially be scarred for life. I'm on strong antibiotics due to the nasty chemicals that black henna contains, any slight change and 999 have to be called.
"I’m not saying this for attention. This is to warn others of the danger and damage they cause. Don’t be fooled into having black henna even if a patch test has been done. I had it on my arm for 11 days before I started to have a reaction; don’t make the stupid mistake I did."
Warnings about black henna tattoo burns have become a national issue, and Dr Anjali Mahto, a consultant dermatologist and British Skin Foundation spokesman, says: "Black henna is well known to cause skin reactions and should be treated with caution, particularly in children. Year after year we see ever more severe reactions to black henna tattoos.
"What might seem like pretty body art can quickly turn nasty with horrific blistering, permanent scars and even, in most severe cases, life-threatening allergic reactions. During the summer tourists and parents are advised to think twice whether it is worth the risk for a piece of body art.”
The difference between real and fake henna ink
Henna is an ideal way of getting a tattoo, without the long-term implications.
And real henna, not black henna, is perfectly harmless, but the two can be confused.
The NHS has issued some guidance to help people tell the two inks apart.
Its suggests that simply the colour of the ink is typically a good guide, with black henna, as the name suggests being black in colour, and regular henna being an orange colour, with a red or brown tint to it.
Very dark temporary tattoos should be treated as suspicious and with caution. They also advise anyone considering having a henna or other temporary tattoo to ask for a list of ingredients in the mix. If there is no list, do not allow the product to be used.
It is not guaranteed that black henna will cause a chemical burn.
Signs begin with discomfort in the area, then burning and tingling, eventually leading to painful stinging, swelling, redness and blistering of the skin.
With many cases, like Chloe Goodwin's, the sufferer is left with a permanent scarring of the temporary tattoo area.
