16-Year-Old's Henna Tattoo Went Terribly Wrong And Became A Severe Burn

A British teen was reportedly scarred by a henna tattoo she received on vacation.

According to Daily Mail, 16-year-old Mary Bates of Hertfordshire, England was in Turkey when she decided to get a temporary tattoo of a dreamcatcher above her left ankle.

A week later, the aspiring model had the design retouched, but the tattoo began to swell and even seemed to be oozing off her.

She went to a doctor when she got home and was told she would need treatment required for burns. Bates reportedly said,

Bits of my skin were coming off it was just disgusting as it looked like open flesh. The burns doctors said it was the worst black henna injury they had ever seen. I wanted to show off my tan but I couldn't wear dresses as I had this big burn I wanted to cover up. I felt a bit unglamourous.

She underwent a series of tests, and doctors determined the tattoo's ink involved a chemical called paraphenylenediamine (PPD), typically found in hair dye.

The skin on Bates' leg will remain scarred for the rest of her life.

Bates must also protect her skin when going out into the sun for the next two years, and she won't be able to use most hair dyes because any PPD may give her an anaphylactic shock.

Bates is reportedly supposed to participate in a fashion show this month, but she is now extremely self-conscious about her burn. She explained,

It is not very attractive and I won't be able to have my hair done which they usually do in modeling. Who is going to pick me over a model with a normal leg? If I thought I was going to get a scar, I did not think it was from something like this.

Daily Mail reports Bates abandoned her modeling dreams in exchange for a career in the makeup artistry; her injury sparked her interest in how fake wounds are created. She said,

I like doing theatrical makeup and eventually learning how to do all the scars for the movies. Hopefully, I will be able to cover up my scar if I get good enough at it.

Bates will set out to accomplish her new goal next month when she begins studying theatrical hair and makeup, as well as photography, in college.

Citations: Prom queens horror after holiday henna tattoo leaves her with chemical burns and scarred for life (Daily Mail)