Paste o' Death, North of the (U.S.) Border

[ Follow-ups ] [ Post Follow-up ] [ The Henna Page Forum ] [ FAQ ]

Posted by Kenzi on July 25, 2000 at 19:29:14:

I have been silent for a few days because I was on vacation in Montreal, a city which should now be called the City of Black Death. I saw quite a few henna artists there (probably 20 total) and every single one of them was using black henna. It was quite incredible. And one thing that really struck me was the smell of black henna...it was the usual wonderful smell of natural henna but mixed with that awful and unmistakable smell of hair dye/die. That might be something, Catherine, toadd to your list of things to look for when distinguishing black henna from natural henna.

I started checking out the henna artists while just walking around town and right away some very familiar designs jumped out at me. The ones I saw first were Liisa's beautiful brushwork designs (my fave is the dolphin). One person had the whole gamut plus some that I hadn't seen before. I saw a few other familiar designs, even a few of mine, but usually ones that I had copied from elsewhere.

Catherine, one guy had, among his designs, printouts of all your desgins on your website! He saw me looking at them and said that I was looking at very ancient henna designs from his part of the world (he was Iraqi). I said, in a friendly way, "I know the woman who did these designs!" and he said, "that's impossible unless she lived 5,000 years ago!" ha ha ha! I know you always say how old you are Catherine, but you don't look a day over 4,500!

While looking at all these designs I also watched the artists working. They were doing great business with all the tourists filing by. They were all using paste o' death and applying it with a syringe. They held the tip of the syringe like a pen and then used the other hand to push the plunger down. Seemed very cumbersome to use two hands. I also noticed that a lot of them had their fingertips stained black from the "henna" they were using. Another way for it to get into their systems.

I was appalled at how much black henna was flowing but I felt shy about saying anything to them. My hubby engaged some of them in talk of henna and made me show them my henna work (some fresh new stuff on hand and arm). Most of them really liked the color and that got us on the subject of black henna. One guy said that he used it because people asked for it and everyone else was using it. I told him that it was dangerous and he wasn't too open to that idea. He said that it was just a rare allergy and that he tests each person before applying the "henna". I told him that it wasn't an allergy and that it often didn't show up for 2-3 weeks after application so a test wouldn't work. He didn't agree so we just left it at that. He was interested, however, in buying some of my henna so maybe he can be swayed by some good stuff! I talked to another guy, the one with Catherine's website pics. He also was impressed by the color of my henna (sorry for tooting my own horn!) and that got us going with the black henna discussion. He insisted that no one ever complained of a problem with black henna; I explained that the reaction shows up 2-3 weeks later and that most of his clients are tourists who aren't going to bother to track him down to complain. That gave him pause so I kept going and suggested to him that he was compromising his own health by touching the stuff and that the health authorities in several areas of the US were starting to crack down on the stuff. We talked to a Moroccan woman henna artist, also using black henna, but she was with a client and didn't have time to talk to us much.

I think that if these people do order henna from me I am going to put together a little package of pictures of black henna burns plus the chemical warnings. It's tiring to have to explain this stuff over and over again, but eventually I think it will get through.

Follow Ups:

And at the Southernmost Point. Nick 07:53:43 7/26/00 (5)
- And Venice Beach.........CRAPHEADS! MyST 10:32:08 7/26/00 (0)
- Re: And at the Southernmost Point. Erfan 08:38:21 7/26/00 (3)
  - Re: And at the Southernmost Point. Nick 09:05:39 7/26/00 (2)
    - Re: And at the Southernmost Point. Erfan 13:44:16 7/26/00 (1)
      - Re: And at the Southernmost Point. Nick 15:41:56 7/26/00 (0)
What!! Oh no... oh my God... *sob* Liisa 04:34:57 7/26/00 (8)
- Re: What!! Oh no... oh my God... *sob* Giselle 11:57:50 7/26/00 (0)
- MYST RANTS about BLACK HENNA and MORE... MyST 10:28:52 7/26/00 (0)
- Liisa they're taking advantage of you too Linda in NJ 06:57:28 7/26/00 (5)
  - Re: Liisa they're taking advantage of you too Kenzi 17:52:04 7/26/00 (4)
    - Is this the one you saw? Liisa 03:07:14 7/27/00 (1)
      - Re: Is this the one you saw? Kenzi 17:34:25 7/27/00 (0)
    - I hate the idea, but there's little I can do. Liisa 02:59:10 7/27/00 (0)
    - Re: Liisa they're taking advantage of you too Christine 22:28:09 7/26/00 (0)
Re: Paste o' Death, North of the (U.S.) Border Giselle 00:51:32 7/26/00 (1)
- Re: Paste o' Death, North of the (U.S.) Border Kenzi 18:09:57 7/26/00 (0)
Re: Paste o' Death, North of the (U.S.) Border Theadora 00:40:28 7/26/00 (0)

Post a Followup

Name:
E-Mail:

Subject:

Comments:
: I have been silent for a few days because I was on vacation in Montreal, a city which should now be called the City of Black Death. I saw quite a few henna artists there (probably 20 total) and every single one of them was using black henna. It was quite incredible. And one thing that really struck me was the smell of black henna...it was the usual wonderful smell of natural henna but mixed with that awful and unmistakable smell of hair dye/die. That might be something, Catherine, toadd to your list of things to look for when distinguishing black henna from natural henna. : I started checking out the henna artists while just walking around town and right away some very familiar designs jumped out at me. The ones I saw first were Liisa's beautiful brushwork designs (my fave is the dolphin). One person had the whole gamut plus some that I hadn't seen before. I saw a few other familiar designs, even a few of mine, but usually ones that I had copied from elsewhere. : Catherine, one guy had, among his designs, printouts of all your desgins on your website! He saw me looking at them and said that I was looking at very ancient henna designs from his part of the world (he was Iraqi). I said, in a friendly way, "I know the woman who did these designs!" and he said, "that's impossible unless she lived 5,000 years ago!" ha ha ha! I know you always say how old you are Catherine, but you don't look a day over 4,500! : While looking at all these designs I also watched the artists working. They were doing great business with all the tourists filing by. They were all using paste o' death and applying it with a syringe. They held the tip of the syringe like a pen and then used the other hand to push the plunger down. Seemed very cumbersome to use two hands. I also noticed that a lot of them had their fingertips stained black from the "henna" they were using. Another way for it to get into their systems. : I was appalled at how much black henna was flowing but I felt shy about saying anything to them. My hubby engaged some of them in talk of henna and made me show them my henna work (some fresh new stuff on hand and arm). Most of them really liked the color and that got us on the subject of black henna. One guy said that he used it because people asked for it and everyone else was using it. I told him that it was dangerous and he wasn't too open to that idea. He said that it was just a rare allergy and that he tests each person before applying the "henna". I told him that it wasn't an allergy and that it often didn't show up for 2-3 weeks after application so a test wouldn't work. He didn't agree so we just left it at that. He was interested, however, in buying some of my henna so maybe he can be swayed by some good stuff! I talked to another guy, the one with Catherine's website pics. He also was impressed by the color of my henna (sorry for tooting my own horn!) and that got us going with the black henna discussion. He insisted that no one ever complained of a problem with black henna; I explained that the reaction shows up 2-3 weeks later and that most of his clients are tourists who aren't going to bother to track him down to complain. That gave him pause so I kept going and suggested to him that he was compromising his own health by touching the stuff and that the health authorities in several areas of the US were starting to crack down on the stuff. We talked to a Moroccan woman henna artist, also using black henna, but she was with a client and didn't have time to talk to us much. : I think that if these people do order henna from me I am going to put together a little package of pictures of black henna burns plus the chemical warnings. It's tiring to have to explain this stuff over and over again, but eventually I think it will get through.

Optional Link URL:
Link Title:
Optional Image URL:

[ Follow-ups ] [ Post Follow-up ] [ The Henna Page Forum ] [ FAQ ]