Perth mum issues Bali henna tattoo warning after son developed rash

An Aussie mum has shared horrifying photos of her son’s rash that spread all over his body after allowing the little boy to get a black henna tattoo while on holiday in Bali.

Jessie Kingscote has issued a harrowing warning about the popular temporary design to parents as her four-year-old Riley’s rash worsened a month after the tattoo was applied.

His seven-year-old sister Ella also got a henna tattoo but didn’t develop an infection or reaction. 

Since returning to home to Perth, Riley has been rushed to the doctor several times after his entire body broke out in a rash due to the infection.

The frantic mum-of-two rushed her son to hospital on Thursday after a sleepless night as the extreme skin reaction spread from head to toe.

Ms Kingscote has spoken out about the terrifying experience after going through every parent’s worst nightmare. 

One month on, Riley has developed a rash which has spread all over his body

‘The poor little dude was pretty uncomfortable and had trouble sleeping from the whole body rash that’s come up from the infection which just kept getting worse,’ Ms Kingscote told Daily Mail Australia.

‘I panicked as I thought it had gotten into his bloodstream. It really, really scared me.’ 

‘Even after going to the hospital I still don’t have a peace of mind.’ 

Riley has since been referred to an emergency dermatologist to ensure it’s nothing more than a severe allergic reaction.

He didn’t start developing a rash until 12 days after he got the tattoo.

By that time, the family had returned home and Riley had contracted Covid-19.

‘First there was redness but then it started to blister and ramp up,’ Ms Kingscote recalled.

‘Some days it started to look like it was getting better, then it began to get worse.’

Ms Kingscote had previously heard about the potential dangers of henna tattoos in Bali before she had children.

Unlike natural henna, which is a orange/brown in colour and won’t stain your skin, black henna contains a chemical called paraphenylenediamine (PPD), which is a known irritant and allergen.

Riley started developing an allergic reaction 10 days after the back henna tattoo was applied

Riley was rushed to hospital on Thursday after a sleepless and uncomfortable night as the rash spread across his face

PPD is found in many popular skin and haircare products such as sunscreen and hair dye but usually in tiny doses 

The black henna can leave result in bubbly blisters in shapes like suns, stars and flowers which can result in a lifelong scar.

The addition of PPD in henna is now regarded as a public health issue, as this allergenic chemical often causes hypersensitivity reactions in children such as Riley. 

‘It didn’t cross my time at the time, otherwise I wouldn’t have risked it,’ Ms Kingcote said.

‘They didn’t provide any warnings, not even about the need to wash it off afterwards.’

She’s now warning others against henna tattoos, regardless if they’re natural or not.

‘Steer clear of them, it’s not worth it,’ she told Daily Mail Australia.

‘Find something else for the kids to do, like braid their hair. We definitely w’

She fears Riley’s scar could be permanent.

‘We joke about it him being 21 and still having it there and saying he got his first tat when he was 4,’ she said.

‘He thinks he’s pretty cool actually with a real bad boy tattoo like his dad.’

Ms Kingscote shared a photo of Riley’s’s arm to the ‘Bali Bogans’ Facebook page warning others not to take the ‘risk’ with henna tattoos, a temporary design popular among Bali holidaymakers, especially among children.

The allergic reaction from Riley’s henna tattoo has now also spread to his legs (pictured)

‘This photo was taken 15 days ago, two weeks after application and has since gotten worse,’ she wrote on Wednesday.

‘I’m an idiot, I know!’

She said she´d previously seen a warning about henna reactions, but didn´t think of it while her son was getting one in Bali.

‘Even as I was watching my son get it done, it totally slipped my mind,’ she said.

‘So just a refresh for anyone who may already know or not. Don´t risk it.’

As the post attracted hundreds of comments of share, she provided a harrowing update within the comments.

‘I thought bepanthen would clear it right up and we be on our way but nope not the case, Ms Kingscote wrote on Thursday.

‘If this full body rash keeps going the way it has in the last two hours I think we’ll be heading to the hospital. Really want to know what’s in this stuff that’s making his little body fight do hard against it. He’s only 4!

This is Riley’s rash 15 days after getting the henna tattoo. The rash has since spread to the rest of his body

Two weeks on, the rash has since spread to his face (pictured) and legs

While Ella (pictured left in Bali on holidays) didn’t suffer a reaction to her black henna tattoo, her little brother (right) wasn’t so lucky 

The Kingcotes are among thousands of holidaymakers who have flocked to the Indonesian island in recent months as Bali welcomes back international tourists for the first time in two years due to Covid-19 pandemic.

Travellers are urged to avoid temporary black henna tattoos while in Indonesia.

‘The dye often causes serious skin reactions,’ the SmartTraveller website warns.

Ms Kingcote’s Facebook post prompted many others to share similar horror stories.

‘I had this done on my first trip to Bali when I was 10,’ one woman said.

‘I came up exactly like this photo, but worse and it was years before the scars finally healed. When I was sick they would show through more clearly. I´d never recommend anyone to get it done.’

Another wrote: ‘I knew nothing about it either and got my whole hand and forearm done in Seminyak.’

‘I’m so lucky nothing happened or I would have had to cut my arm off.’

Others thanked Ms Kingscote for warning of the dangers.

‘Thanks for sharing and reminding everyone not to get the henna tattoos,’ one person wrote.

The Perth family (pictured) are warning others about the dangers of  black henna tattoos

The family jokes that Riley has a real bad boy’s tattoo just like his dad

 Mum’s worst nightmare comes true after allowing her sons to get temporary tattoos as a holiday treat while in Bali: ‘When we came back to Australia the horror began’

A horrified mother who let her two sons get temporary tattoos in Bali has warned other travelling parents after the ink left her boys with chemical burns.

Elena Kovalenko and her husband Phillip Saenko, along with their two boys Luke, 8, and Adrian, 6, arrived in Bali on a family holiday on July 27.

The family were staying at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Nusa Dua when they paid $30 at a nearby night market for their boys to have temporary henna tattoos on the third night of their trip.

Ms Kovalenko said she regrettably dismissed the boy’s (pictured) irritation from henna tattoos for sunburn as her attention was focused on her husband, Phillip Saenko (pictured), who was injured and hospitalised in Bali while on their family vacation

Ms Kovalenko’s sons Luke, 8, and Adrian, 6, suffered chemical burns to their skin after getting temporary henna tattoos while in Nusa Dua, Bali (pictured, Luke’s arm (left) and Adrian’s leg (right)

The Melbourne mother-of-two said every time her family is on a holiday, her boys get temporary tattoos, but this was the first time they had had one in Bali.

‘They (Luke and Adrian) have done it before in Russia, Thailand and the Gold Coast, so we didn’t think twice and agreed,’ Ms Kovalenko told Daily Mail Australia.

‘Luke and Adrian chose their tattoo designs and sat down ready for their tattoos.’

Ms Kovalenko said she was surprised by the temporary tattoo application as the Balinese vendor took 30 minutes to draw it on rather than a 20-second’ spray and stencil’.

As the night progressed, Luke and Adrian complained about a burning sensation, but Ms Kovalenko admitted she regrettably dismissed it as sunburn as the family was in the sun all day.

‘I didn’t pay attention to the kids’ tattoos because at the same time, my husband was injured and hospitalised while we were in Bali,’ Ms Kovalenko said.

Ms Kovalenko said she ‘didn’t think twice’ when her two sons asked for a temporary tattoo as they have previously gotten inked in Thailand, Gold Coast and Russia (pictured, Luke and Adrian at an animal safari in Bali) 

Ms Kovalenko was horrified when the tattoo began to fade five days later, revealing painful ‘itching and burning’ red welts on Luke’s arm and Adrian’s leg where the tattoo had been.

‘When we came back (to Australia) the horror began,’ Ms Kovalenko said.

‘The dye came off, and it looked like a chemical burn.

‘The kids were crying that it was itching and burning, so we went to the pharmacy, and we were given a cream that we applied on their sores straight away.’

The distraught mother took her boys to the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne the following day after the burns appeared to be getting worse.

Doctors prescribed steroid cream to Adrian and Luke but advised the damage caused by the tattoos could be permanent.

‘If it was just one child, I would think it’s some kind of allergy, but because it’s two kids with two different skin types, I’m just shocked,’ Ms Kovalenko said.

‘My kids don’t have any allergies, but they will have horrible scar forever!’

Ms Kovalenko said she wanted to share her experience to warn parents and children considering temporary tattoos and called for ‘black henna’ to be banned.

‘We all know not to drink tap water in Thailand or Bali, and we know about robbery facts in the countries too,’ Ms Kovalenko said.

‘The media screams about foot and mouth disease, but I never heard anything about it (black henna).

‘It’s a dangerous thing. It might even be life-threatening. People should be aware of it, and it should be banned.’

Ms Kovalenko shared a picture of Adrian’s burn to ‘Australian Bali info for traveling’ Facebook group on Monday and has received over 150 comments – most of which are other travellers detailing similar bad experiences. 

‘My sons temp tattoo lasted for 6 years with a lot of different creams and medical visits, never again,’ one user wrote. 

‘The same thing happened to my son and he still has the scar and that was 20 years ago,’ another user commented. 

‘This happened to my daughter. She now has a lifelong allergy to PPD (black dye), cannot colour her hair or eyebrows – Be very careful,’ a third user chimed.  

The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade advises travellers in Indonesia to avoid temporary black henna tattoos as they can cause ‘serious skin reactions’ (stock image,  Temple Street in Nusa Dua, Bali)

The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade advises travellers to avoid temporary black henna tattoos while in Indonesia, stating that they ‘often contain a dye which can cause serious skin reactions’. 

Henna has been used by different cultures for centuries and is usually brown or orange-brown in colour and is a paste made from grinding dried henna leaves. 

Traditional henna is considered safe to use in temporary tattoos and causes few allergic reactions. 

However travellers are warned to avoid ‘black henna’ as it typically contains para-phenylenediamine or PPD – a black ink found in hair dye.  

PPD can cause serious adverse reactions including redness, itching, burning, swelling, blisters and scarring which appear seven to ten days after the ink is applied to the skin.