Woman, 23, who suffered a ‘burning’ allergic reaction to henna tattoos she had inked while on holiday in Zanzibar says she is still ‘scarred’ four months later

• Alexandra Hallman, 23, from Santa Barbara, got the henna sleeves in Zanzibar
• Took hours for the first part to be done so she completed the rest herself
• 23-year-old touched up the henna herself around four to five days afterwards
• Left with chemical burns and itchy pimples on her skin after allergic reaction 
• Said it felt as though she was being ‘burned alive’ and she has ‘permanent scars’ 

A holidaymaker was forced to ‘handcuff’ herself while she slept after she had a horrific reaction to two full henna tattoo sleeves covering both her arms.

Alexandra Hallman, 23, from Santa Barbara, California, was visiting Zanzibar when she got ‘beautiful’ henna tattoos covering her arms, hands and shoulders which took hours for the artist to complete.

However after growing inpatient, the film photographer asked them if she could buy some to complete the rest of her arm, shoulder and bicep herself.

A week after having the henna done, itchy pimples erupted and spread across the 23-year-old film photographer – so she spent hours desperately scrubbing off the tattoos in the shower. 

She had suffered an allergic reaction to the paint, which turned into chemical burns that were so ‘excruciating’ she was bedbound for a fortnight and said she was ‘screaming and crying all day long’ and feeling like she was being ‘burned alive.’

Alexandra has been left with permanent scarring on her arms after her ordeal and is keen to raise awareness that it is possible for people to have such severe reactions- up to a week after getting henna done.

Alexandra Hallman, 23, from Santa Barbara, California, a film photographer, was forced to ‘handcuff’ herself while she slept after she had a horrific reaction to two full henna tattoo sleeves covering both her arms

She was visiting Zanzibar when she got ‘beautiful’ henna tattoos covering her arms, hands and shoulders which took hours for the artist to complete (Pictured are her arms when they were first tattooed) 

She suffered an allergic reaction to the paint, which turned into chemical burns that were so ‘excruciating’ she was bedbound for a fortnight (pictured, the henna around two weeks later)  

Alexandra, whose family is middle eastern, has had henna done all her life and enjoys embracing the cultural tradition. 

Photos and videos captured by Alexandra show her embracing her beautiful henna tattoo. 

Alexandra said: ‘I loved it so much. It came out beautifully and in the first whole week it was beautiful.

‘I actually even did it again to touch it up around four to five days from originally first getting it.

The 23-year-old, who was travelling in Zanzibar at the time, said she has had henna done all of her life and enjoys doing it

Initially, she revealed how she loved her tattoos ‘so much’, adding that it had ‘come out beautifully’ (pictured) 

Afterwards, Alexandra reapplied the tattoo herself (pictured) around four days after getting it done 

Alexandra, who said she loves henna, was initially overjoyed with her ‘beautiful’ tattoo design and even topped it up at home herself 

What is black henna? 

Natural henna is orange/brown in colour and will not stain your skin black. It’s created by crushing the leaves of a henna plant.

Black henna temporary tattoos (BHTTs) are not based on henna at all, but a substance called para-phenylenediamine (PPD) which is found in hair dyes.

PPD is allowed for use in hair dye, but its use for skin contact products such as temporary tattoos is illegal in the European Union.

When PPD is used on the skin in this way it can cause blistering, painful skin burns and may even lead to scarring.

It can also leave the person with a lifelong sensitivity to PPD, which increases the risk of a severe allergic reaction when using hair dye in the future.

Research among dermatologists in 2015 revealed that they were seeing an increase in reactions at their clinics across the UK. 

‘Which was absolutely my mistake and my fault but I didn’t realise that after seven days I’d have a delayed reaction, even on places that I didn’t go over. 

‘It would have been just normal chemical burns and I made it worse by doing it again because I didn’t have any symptoms yet.’

A week later, she suffered an allergic reaction to the henna, with itchy pimples spreading across her skin.

Alexandra said: ‘The henna started to turn into little bumps that looked like pimples – they were kind of gross pimples with white heads.

‘At first I was worried it was a rash as it really itched.’

Alexandra scrubbed her arm trying to remove the henna before visiting hospital where she had steroid injections and antihistamines.

She said she also plastered her skin multiple times a day with anti-itch cream and antibiotic ointment.

The 23-year-old had became so itchy that when she went to bed she had to use a towel as ‘handcuffs’ as she would otherwise scratch her skin until it bled.

She added: ‘My roommate had to tie my hands together at night because I started to scratch off my own skin while I was asleep.

‘I slept with a towel as handcuffs but that way I wouldn’t make my skin bleed throughout the night.

‘And then the bumps started to go all over my entire arm so it looked like it was covered in pimples.

‘I got really scared because I’d just done a second coat a day before to make it last longer.’ 

A week later, she suffered an allergic reaction to the henna, with itchy pimples spreading across her skin (pictured left and right)  

The 23-year-old said: ‘It was a really crazy experience. I was screaming and crying all day long for two and a half to three weeks.

‘I couldn’t even leave the bed or go outside or do anything. It felt like I was being burned alive.

‘It’s not like being burned alive for one second, or one day, it’s being burned alive for like three weeks constantly, and there’s nothing you can do about it.

‘It was the most excruciating thing I’ve ever gone through and I’ve been through a lot in my life.’

Alexandra said that her burns slowly healed but it took some time for her skin to grow back. 

The 23-year-old became so itchy that when she went to bed she had to use a towel as ‘handcuffs’ as she would otherwise scratch her skin until it bled (left and right, two weeks after she had the tattoo) 

Alexandra described the ordeal after having the tattoo, pictured five weeks afterwards, as the ‘most excruciating’ thing she has ever gone through 

Calling the experience, ‘really crazy’, Alexandra admitted the painful henna and chemical burns left her ‘screaming and crying’ for weeks afterwards (left and right, after five weeks) 

She explained that four months after having the tattoo in February, she has permanent scars of ‘flowers, dots and beautiful designs’ on her skin. 

The 23-year-old said:  ‘I really just had to wait it out.

‘I tried covering it in Aloe Vera and doing whatever I could but touching it was really hard and basically just moving your skin and watching it get worse every day.

‘That was the scary thing about it – it was going to get worse before it got better.’

She advised people of thinking getting henna: ‘I would tell people to do their research on where the henna is coming from – what bottle and if it was actually made in that bottle.

She said that the burns slowly healed but that it took some time for her skin to grow back afterwards (left and right) 

She said she was  felt forced to just ‘wait’ until her arm recovered, because everytime she touched the skin it became more and more painful (pictured)

‘And to check all the ingredients as the only ingredients that really should be the henna root powder actually made from the root and water.

‘Don’t use anything that’s not 100 percent natural or organic.

‘Also people seem to do a patch test, like hair dye, but the scary thing is with black henna you don’t get a reaction for about a week,’ she added. 

‘So people do it and the next day they’re like ‘oh it’s fine, I’m going to do my whole arm’.

‘That’s how I felt too. I went four days and did the rest of my arm without knowing because after seven days you finally get symptoms.’

Four months later, Alexandra has been left with painful scars across her arms and hands from the henna  

Pictured: The flowers and dots design which has been burned into Alexandra’s skin by the henna 

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