para-Phenyldiamine, a.k.a ‘PPD’, a.k.a. ‘Black Henna’
PPD is a commonly used abbreviation for the man made chemical dyes known as p-Phenyldiamine, p-Phenylenedimine, para- Phenyldiamine & para- Phenylenedimine. This dye does in fact stain the skin black. However it is very dangerous and it is also illegal to use it in any country where such safety legislation regarding cosmetic ingredients exists. It is strictly forbidden for use on the skin under European Cosmetic (Safety) Regulations. It is also forbidden for use on the skin by the FDA, in the USA.
It is illegal to use this substance on the skin for good reason. It is classified as an extremely toxic substance. It is dangerous to have any contact with the skin – it causes chronic excema, with raised lesions that lead to hyper-pigmentation & hypo-pigmentation. The more exposure to the product, the more extreme the reactions will be when they eventually take place. The chemical can also cause blindness, and is extremely harmful if ingested. It is also a carcinogenic.
People have been hospitalised from exposure to PPD both from direct contact on the skin from so called ‘Black Henna Tattoos’ and also from hair dyes.
This chemical is one of the coal tar dyes that was originally created for hair dye manufacture. It is still used in all manner of permanent hair dyes today. There is apparently no risk of PPD exposure to the skin, as all hair dyes are supplied with gloves to protect the skin on your hands, and the words ‘avoid contact with scalp’ to protect the skin on your head from contact with the chemical!
Please note, it is still legal in Europe and the USA to supply PPD in certain percentages in hair dye products – though given the serious risks involved with exposure we would advise that you check your hair dye ingredients for any PPD content before use.
Tuesday, January 22nd, 2008 at 12:01 pmand is filed under Black Henna. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
2 Responses to “para-Phenyldiamine, a.k.a ‘PPD’, a.k.a. ‘Black Henna’”
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August 30th, 2008 at 4:38 am
My Daughter (who is 5) and my nephew (15) and I, All got Henna Tatto’s at the beach a couple weeks ago. These tattoo’s were VERY Black! And I didn’t mess w/ mine at all, and it is Still Black & looks like a real tattoo. My daughter’s tattoo got rubbed by her shorts, so it was not as dark as mine. And after we got home about a week & 1/2 after we got them, She developed a reaction to the black henna. The Tattoo ( which was now faded a little, but still visible) had red blotchy patches, and the skin was raised up & very sore. We are now using a topical steriod to help it. So yes, we learned our lession about Black Henna. Don’t Use It~!
September 17th, 2008 at 5:11 pm
i’d also like to add my story of the dangers of having a henna tattoo abroad.
my 9 yr old daughter had a large tribal style tattoo on her arm on our last night in zante.
now she,d had one the prevoius year and did’nt have a problam.
she also developed a severe reaction to what we think may have been “dodgy henna”.
her arm blisterd badly so bad we had to take her to hospital were they treated it but told us that we would have to take her to the special burns unit.she also had to go on antibiotics.when seen by the specailist he said although it was healing it could scar her for life
but we have wait at least 5mths before he can give us a definte answer.he also warned us that if it does scar she’ll need a skin graft.this a 9 yr old we are talking about.also it’s happening to adults as well.the plroblam is how do you know what’s being applied to your skin?this is why i feel the ink should have tighter control’s over it also the tattooist to be registerd with proof that they are.it’s disgraceful that people are being scared for life.