Concentration matters!!

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Posted by Jeremy on August 13, 2001 at 16:59:37:

In reply to: Ammonia can be used safely posted by Nick on August 12, 2001 at 20:09:41:

: It is safe to use ammonia to deepen a henna stain, but only on the
: calloused skin on palms and soles. It should never be put on
: thinner skin.

If you're going to post under the subject title of "Ammonia can be
used safely" [on the skin], it is, I feel, important to stress at
what concentration it should be used, and to list the safety
precautions needed.

Read Catherine's page and you'll see she makes specific mention
of "household" ammonia, which she defines as a 10% solution in water.

Even at this concentration, the product is a severe hazard to the
eyes, should not be ingested, and can cause skin irritation also.
Catherine has determined by her own experiments that her well-
calloused palms can cope with brief exposure, and it is these
experiments which she documents.

My own palms are not that well calloused and I personally wouldn't
try the "ammonia" trick myself.

So far I have been unable to find a reference to the concentration of
ammonia in urine, the substance traditionally used for this process,
so I can't compare the two methods. However, I believe that urine is
substantially less than 10% ammonia. You might want to consider
diluting to 5% (1 cup household ammonia to 1 cup water) or 3%.

However, after much reading around, it is clear that if the ammonia
is damaging your skin, you're going to know about it, because you're
going to feel the irritation. I can find no evidence for long term
damage caused by 10% ammonia solutions on skin.

So, if you're determined to experiment with 10% ammonia, do so with
no children around (40% of ammonia related emergency room incidents
involve children under 5), plenty of water and vinegar available, and
wear safety glasses. Oh, and make sure there is no source of bleach
anywhere near by as bleach and ammonia react dangerously together.

And stress all of these points *every* time you mention the process.
Catherine's web page is littered with such warnings, but discussion
on the forum can lead to people missing the warnings and
experimenting without appropriate precautions.

Follow Ups

I thought bleech was ammonia Khoa 19:58:05 8/13/2001 (4)
- Re: I thought bleech was ammonia Nick 20:25:50 8/13/2001 (3)
  - Re: I thought bleech was ammonia Maureen 20:53:44 8/13/2001 (2)
    - bleach Jeremy 11:08:43 8/14/2001 (0)
    - Re: I thought bleech was ammonia Nick 21:47:14 8/13/2001 (0)

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Subject:
: : It is safe to use ammonia to deepen a henna stain, but only on the : : calloused skin on palms and soles. It should never be put on : : thinner skin. : : If you're going to post under the subject title of "Ammonia can be : used safely" [on the skin], it is, I feel, important to stress at : what concentration it should be used, and to list the safety : precautions needed. : : Read Catherine's page and you'll see she makes specific mention : of "household" ammonia, which she defines as a 10% solution in water. : : Even at this concentration, the product is a severe hazard to the : eyes, should not be ingested, and can cause skin irritation also. : Catherine has determined by her own experiments that her well- : calloused palms can cope with brief exposure, and it is these : experiments which she documents. : : My own palms are not that well calloused and I personally wouldn't : try the "ammonia" trick myself. : : So far I have been unable to find a reference to the concentration of : ammonia in urine, the substance traditionally used for this process, : so I can't compare the two methods. However, I believe that urine is : substantially less than 10% ammonia. You might want to consider : diluting to 5% (1 cup household ammonia to 1 cup water) or 3%. : : However, after much reading around, it is clear that if the ammonia : is damaging your skin, you're going to know about it, because you're : going to feel the irritation. I can find no evidence for long term : damage caused by 10% ammonia solutions on skin. : : So, if you're determined to experiment with 10% ammonia, do so with : no children around (40% of ammonia related emergency room incidents : involve children under 5), plenty of water and vinegar available, and : wear safety glasses. Oh, and make sure there is no source of bleach : anywhere near by as bleach and ammonia react dangerously together. : : And stress all of these points every time you mention the process. : Catherine's web page is littered with such warnings, but discussion : on the forum can lead to people missing the warnings and : experimenting without appropriate precautions.
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