If you’re looking to find out what the differences are between black henna and jagua gel, you’ve come to the right place. Jagua is not necessarily a new product, however, most people still don’t know much about jagua and some even shy away from it for fear that it may be related to black henna. Let me put your mind at ease by saying that it is not. Jagua and black henna are two completely different products that are only related in the fact that they are both used for creating temporary tattoos, but that’s where the similarities end.
First let me start by saying that there’s no such a thing as “black henna”. You may have heard this already but it doesn’t hurt to say it one more time, and with good reason, black henna is extremely harmful to the skin and toxic to the body. Jagua gel on the contrary, is 100% natural and safe.
Back in the day when the henna industry was still in its infancy in the U.S., everyone from Gwen Stefani to Madonna were sporting henna tattoos, and why not? Henna tattoos are cool.
A henna tattoo is the closest thing to a real tattoo, they last for several days and you can pretty much draw anything on your skin (depending on your artistic skills), but there is one little problem – popular permanent tattoos are for the most part black, not brown like natural henna tattoos.
It wasn’t long before someone figured out that they could capitalize on the henna trend and thus “black henna” was created.
The main ingredient in black henna is a hair dying chemical called para-phenylenediamine or PPD for short. PPD is an extremely harmful substance that can cause severely burn the skin due to allergic reactions to the chemical. A PPD reaction can leave permanent scarring on the skin and lead to permanent allergies to all hair dying products. There have been report of people being rushed to the emergency room after having received a black henna tattoo.
PPD Black henna is usually sold in a powder form and can easily be mixed with water to create runny paste that is then applied with a tiny brush or a toothpick. It can also be mixed with natural henna paste and then applied on the skin using a cone or henna applicator, but even when mixed with natural henna, the dangers of the substance are still very real with this combination.
Jagua Gel is a natural ink made with the extract of the jagua fruit, an edible fruit that grows in rain forests of Central and South America. The jagua fruit is traditionally harvested to be used the preparation for beverages, jams, liqueurs and to eat by itself. It is also believed to have many medicinal properties. You can find out more about jagua on this article.
As opposed to black henna, jagua gel is 100% natural and safe. Not only is the main ingredient in the gel 100% pure jagua juice but the other ingredients are also natural and most of them can be found in many food items.
The average lifespan of a jagua tattoo is 10-14 days, although it can last as long as 3 weeks or as little as one week depending on where it is applied on the body.
The color of a jagua tattoo can vary from a deep black to a milder black with blue undertones, just like the color of a permanent tattoo.
Our Jagua gel is made with 100% natural ingredients, however, allergic reactions to natural products are not uncommon. Some people are allergic to strawberries, carrots, peanuts, soy and other natural products, the same goes for jagua. People can have an allergy to the jagua fruit, but this is extremely uncommon, and even in the event of a reaction it is never like a reaction from black henna. An allergic reaction from jagua is usually a mild redness that typically goes away after a few hours or a couple of days.
How To Tell If It’s Jagua Gel or Black Henna]]>The tribes of the fearsome Amazon jungle would use the fruit for many things. It is high in nutritional value, with many essential vitamins like vitamin B, calcium, phosphorous, and iron in the fruit, although its high amount of tannins and tough flesh make it more suitable for preserves or drinks. It’s prepared in Puerto Rico in a fashion similar to lemonade, with chunks of the fruit floating in water with sugar added. The indigenous peoples of the rainforest would also use it as medicine, as it was believed to have anti-biotic properties. All of these uses were secondary, though, and the most common reason it was harvested was for its dyeing properties.
The natives of the Amazon would squeeze the juice from the fruit, which initially comes out as a clear fluid. After the juice begins reacting with the air, oxidation causes the juice to turn a deep blue-black. In the rainforest it was and still is used to dye everything from hammocks to clothing. And it’s 100 percent safe to use on human skin, so it was commonly used for body art.
If applied to skin, the juice stains a deep blue-black color very similar to ink tattoos done with a needle. This method, however, is painless and only lasts up to two weeks, disappearing as new skin cells replace the old. Nowadays, because it looks so similar to a real tattoo, it’s used by tattoo parlors to give people a sort of “test run” to see if they like how the tattoo looks. The juice also acts as a natural insect repellant, as well as giving some protection from the sun.
Our Jagua temporary tattoo kits are 100% natural and safe, easy to use, and let you choose your own design. Bond with loved ones by tattooing each other, or just have a good time and some laughs with friends. And when you do, you’ll be participating in a tradition that’s been around for thousands of years.
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