Allergic contact dermatitis to pure henna.

Henna is a naturally occurring brown dye made from the leaves of the tree Lawsonia inermis. The active ingredient of henna is lawsone (2-hydroxy-1, 4-naphthoquinone). It is traditionally used in Islamic and Hindu cultures as a hair coloring and as a dye for decorating the nails or making temporary skin tattoos. Actually, henna has a very low allergic potential. In most cases, allergic reactions not caused by henna, but by the chemical coloring additives that are added to henna mixtures. These additives include agents such as daiminotoluenes and diaminobenzenes. In this article, we report a case of allergic contact dermatitis from pure henna that is also used for the relief of rheumatic pain.