Is Black henna safe?

[Luna12345]

Hi, I bought some black henna a couple days ago and just realized that the box doesn't have the contents written, it just ssays it's all natural....anyway...after typing black henna on google I discovered that there is no such thing as black henna but people use Indigo sometimes to color hair black, I also read that Indigo powder is green and smells like peas.....well the henna I have is either a very dark brown or black powder...so now I'm confused.....Is this stuff even henna? and is it safe?:confused:

[Anje]

If it's dark powder, I wouldn't use it. Most likely it's some herbal concoction with PPD to make it black. You might be OK, but PPD's known for triggering allergies, and the last thing you want is a bad allergic reaction on your scalp. More reading (http://www.hennapage.com/henna/ppd/index.html)

ETA: To be fair, a lot of dark hairdyes also have PPD. For example, this Natural Instincts does. (http://www.clairol.com/cem/product_details.jsp?id=94&productId=134) That's probably why they recommend allergy testing every time you dye.

[Mairéad]

Yes, I echo that too. Sometimes black henna means indigo but other times it's PPDs which can be trouble.