Black henna and hair dye

I don't know if this is the best place for this but anyway. I'm looking at hair dyes at the moment and a lot of them have a warning about black henna, stating that if you've ever had a black henna tattoo, you are very likely to have an allergic reaction to it. I stupidly got a black henna tattoo done in Morocco when I was a teenager, I knew it was slightly dodge but had no idea of the risks, and had no reaction at the time. Have I ruined my life now, like a lot of websites seem to think? I've had highlights and salon dye done since then and been fine but perhaps they are different to home dyes?

Bambi88

Hmmm I don't know now but I don't understand how you would get a reaction to black henna if you have never had one before??

spinandscribble

i've been dyeing my hair for years, black henna, bleach, every colour there is. Pretty sure i've had a few henna tattoos too. Never had a problem. Is it the store dyes are telling you if you use their non henna product and you get a reaction it might be because of your past using black henna? it sounds like they're covering their ass considering black henna and leave hair a GREEN hue which might be difficult to dye over. There was alot about black henna in the news awhile back my guts telling me they just slapped it on because for the life of me I don't understand how say a henna tattoo on your ankle a few years back is going to make your hair act weird if its dyed.

Personally no hairdresser i've met cared I used to use henna and i've yet to have a colour disaster.

LavaLamp

PPD (short for Paraphenylenediamine) is the stuff that makes hair dye permanent, but is also a strong chemical that can cause anything from mild to severe allergic reactions, and this is why you should always do a skin patch test before using any hairdye that contains it, even if you have used it before as a reaction can occur at any time.

I would think so long as you have a skin test done 48 hours prior to using any dye (which a hairdresser will happily do for you) then you should be fine (unless the test shows you have an allergy of course).

fluffo

Hmm i'd agree with the above poster that as long as take a skin test 48 hours before and you have no reaction, you'll be fine.

I would avoid home dying if it's at all possible though and stick to the salon.