Australian suffers severe burns, boils from henna tattoo in Egypt
What started out as a temporary henna tattoo turned into something dreadful for one traveller who visited Egypt.
Henna tattoos have been around for a while and are commonly used as a form of decorative art with patterns placed on hands, arms, legs, and even feet.
My Modern Met reports that the origins of henna date back thousands of years to Africa, India, and the Middle East. Henna comes from a small flowering plant. It is said that the flowers of the plant are used to create perfume, but it's the leaves that make it popular. It has a pigment which stains the body temporarily when applied.
READ: The Muslim feminist drawing her story in henna
In Hindi and Urdu, Henna is known as Mehndi, and many local Durbanites love the decorative art on their bodies. It is also common for brides to be adorned with the patterns before their big day.
Although beautiful to look at, one particular Australian traveller who ventured off to Egypt did not have a pleasant time with her recent henna tattoo, which she paid $5 (about R70) for in Egypt.
Daily Mail reports that 26-year-old Brooke Crannaford from Melbourne got a henna tattoo from a local woman in Egypt. Hours later, however, she lost all feeling in her fingers, and blisters and painful boils started to appear.
It is reported that it turned into a skin infection with a severe burn. Thankfully, three weeks after the incident, everything healed.
"Black ink henna is generally known to cause burns as they contain an ingredient called paraphenylenediamine (PPD). PPD is mostly used in hair dye and is extremely toxic for the skin resulting in chemical burns, blisters and scarring," it was published in the article.
I know they say beauty is pain, but this is taking it one step too far. Ouch!