Temporary tattoos go on painlessly, usually come off easily and come in colorful designs that are popular with children. As long as they use FDA-approved ingredients, temporary tattoos are generally safe for toddlers. Unapproved pigments, however, can provoke allergic reactions in anyone, let alone in a young child with a still-developing immune system. Know what to look for when determining whether a temporary tattoo is safe for a toddler.
Types
Temporary tattoos come in three main varieties. Decals are the most common and the most easily applied, and they start to rub off within hours. Airbrush-style tattoos are applied by a tattoo artist and can last up to two weeks. And henna tattoos are painted on the skin and last up to a month. Decals can be scrubbed off or wiped away with rubbing alcohol. Alcohol also dissolves airbrush tattoos. Henna tattoos actually dye the skin, so they fade over time as the skin exfoliates--that is, as dead skin cells are sloughed off.
Decals
The most common type of temporary tattoo comes as a decal. The tattoo is an image printed on water-permeable paper. You press the paper, ink side down, against the skin and dab the back of the paper with a moist towel or cotton ball, which transfers the image to the skin. The colorful cartoon-character tattoos aimed at toddlers are decals. The Food and Drug Administration requires that decal-type tattoos use only pigments that have been approved for use in cosmetics, meaning they are non-toxic and non-allergenic.
However, not all decal tattoos conform to FDA regulations. The agency has issued import alerts for certain tattoos made in China and Taiwan that include non-approved ingredients, don't declare their ingredients or don't display an "FDA Approved" ingredients label on the packaging. When choosing temporary tattoos for your toddler, the FDA advises that you look for such a label; at the very least, don't buy temporary tattoos that give no indication of what's in their ingredients.
Airbrush
In airbrush tattooing, the tattoo artist lays a stencil on the skin and then sprays a fine, alcohol-based ink to form the design. The pigments in airbrush tattoo ink also must be approved for cosmetic use. The types of airbrush paints used for creating art or decorating clothing should never be used for tattooing, as they can be toxic and allergenic. Ask the tattoo artist what kind of ink she uses and whether it meets FDA approval.
Henna
Henna is a plant-derived substance that's painted on the skin, staining it a reddish-orange to brown hue. The semi-permanent nature of henna, the fact that it doesn't come in bright colors and the time-consuming application may make it a poor choice for children, especially toddlers. But if you do choose to get your toddler a henna tattoo, make sure it's pure henna. According to the Dermatology Online Journal, allergic reactions to henna are extremely rare--though not unheard-of--and the product is generally considered safe for skin application. However, serious problems can result from the use of henna with certain additives. The FDA and several reports in medical journals point to "black henna" as particularly dangerous.
Black Henna
"Black henna" gets its color from paraphenylenediamine, or PPD, a textile dye approved by the FDA for human use only in hair coloring. In Canada, use of PPD on the skin is banned entirely. Black-henna tattoos can cause severe skin reactions, in some cases long after the application. An article submitted to the Baylor University Medical Center Proceedings cites a case of a 6-year-old boy who received a black-henna "Batman" tattoo. Ten days later, the boy's skin erupted in a painful red lesion that was still there a week later. The Baylor article says the boy's cousin, who also received a black henna tattoo, later suffered hypopigmentation--that is, the skin on the tattooed area lost its color even after the black henna had faded. The Dermatology Online Journal reports several similar cases. Black-henna tattooing poses a risk of allergic reaction for anyone. Never allow it for a toddler.
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