Five-year-old Boy Left With Intricate Dragon-shaped Scar After Henna Tattoo Goes Wrong

By C. S. Magor / 192 comments

A five-year-old boy from Queensland, Australia was left with a large, intricately detailed, dragon-shaped scar after a henna tattoo he received in Bali left him with a chemical burn. His parents fear that he may be scarred for life.

Cannon Cribb received the henna tattoo while he was holidaying with his parents in Bali, Indonesia. The “henna” actually contained para-phenylenediamine, but no reaction was noticed until the henna wore off, leaving a large welt in the shape of the oriental dragon that he had been tattooed with.

According to the boy’s mother, Leiona Cribb:

I really hope it doesn’t scar. We’re hopeful but it’s the whole length of his arm; a huge dragon.

The scar is being treated as a chemical burn, requiring dressing several times a day and application of a topical steroid.

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About the author: C. S. Magor

C.S. Magor is the editor-in-chief and a reporter at large for We Interrupt and Uberreview. He currently resides in the Japanese countryside approximately two hours from Tokyo - where he has spent the better part of a decade testing his hypothesis that Japan is neither as quirky nor as interesting as others would have you believe.

Website: http://www.weinterrupt.com

Editor's Picks

dramadery

Are you kidding? That kid is going to have a story to tell for the rest of his life and something to show off. Not the most unfortunate accident I’ve read about.
HarryBalszak

“His parents fear that he may be scarred for life.”

Of course he will… because they named him ‘Cannon.’
- http://twitter.com/palfrei Peter Palfrei
  
  and his surname is Cribb. Cannon Cribb destroyer of babies and bad-ass kid.
HarryBalszak

“His parents fear that he may be scarred for life.”

Of course he will… because they named him ‘Cannon.’
jason

Unfortunate as it is, at least he’s not going to grow up with a pikachu on his arm.
jason

Unfortunate as it is, at least he’s not going to grow up with a pikachu on his arm.
danie

I think the parent should have thought twice about getting their son a henna tattoo… especially since the people couldn’t spell.. “no paincos no nedlles 100% fan”
that really should of told them to stay away…

I know it was in Bali, Indonesia… but still, maybe they could have found a better place for that…

and having a dragon tattoo on your arm isn’t such a bad thing… if you look at it the right way. Be the cup half full kind of person and you’ve got yourself an amazing story to tell.
danie

I think the parent should have thought twice about getting their son a henna tattoo… especially since the people couldn’t spell.. “no paincos no nedlles 100% fan”
that really should of told them to stay away…

I know it was in Bali, Indonesia… but still, maybe they could have found a better place for that…

and having a dragon tattoo on your arm isn’t such a bad thing… if you look at it the right way. Be the cup half full kind of person and you’ve got yourself an amazing story to tell.
Alexa

seriously? it would make for a great story for him to tell HIS kids. hopefully he and his parents learned to look a little deeper and not do things so ladeeda about stuff.
I would take his dragon shaped scare, just cause then I would have something to distinguish me from the masses that doesn’t include swearing. its a sweet thing he has, and if he doesn’t like it when he is older, surgery is great. instead of a dragon shaped scar he can have a shapeless blob scar. yay. I’ll take the dragon anyday.
Alexa

seriously? it would make for a great story for him to tell HIS kids. hopefully he and his parents learned to look a little deeper and not do things so ladeeda about stuff.
I would take his dragon shaped scare, just cause then I would have something to distinguish me from the masses that doesn’t include swearing. its a sweet thing he has, and if he doesn’t like it when he is older, surgery is great. instead of a dragon shaped scar he can have a shapeless blob scar. yay. I’ll take the dragon anyday.
zen

dude, that kid is now a badass!!!
zen

dude, that kid is now a badass!!!
Mizzy

Do people forget that henna can cause SEVERE allergic reactions in people? Why would you even test this on a kid first? That’s just stupid of the parents.
- http://twitter.com/fathorseharry Harry Cunningham
  
  Well who else would you test it on? If it’s the boy who wants the tattoo then it’s no bloody good testing it on anyone else first!
Mizzy

Do people forget that henna can cause SEVERE allergic reactions in people? Why would you even test this on a kid first? That’s just stupid of the parents.
Pat Lynch

What the hell is a kid doing with a tattoo like that anyway? OK so it’s just temp, but so what, are his parents getting him ready for when he turns 16 and can join a gang? Kid should sue his stupid parents for watching too much TV and being trash.
- Andrew
  
  Pat,
  It’s sad that you must jump to conclusions based on image. There are several “good egg” stereotypes that I could counter with. For instance how many clergy have molested children? I have nearly 30+ hours of tattoo work, yes I said hours, because they cover my entire arm, half of my other arm, most of my chest, leg and shoulder. My profession, no a gang banger, I’m a medic with an ambulance. Every day I wear a professional uniform and do my best to save lives. There are countless EMT’s, Police Officers, Firefighters, Doctors, Nurses and Soldiers that are heavily tattooed. I hope that some day you can be open minded.
- Christine
  
  Right, so would you consider people like me to be trash because I got a dragon tattoo for my 18th birthday, even though I’m finishing up my senior year of college with a 3.8 GPA and hold a steady job?
- Jamie
  
  Sorry to say Pat, but it’s people like you who stereotype and start rumors about people with tattoos! I myself have 6 individual tattoos and plan on getting more. I’m not in a gang or anything. I also have a lot of relatives and friends with tattoos. Most of which served the United States in the military. None of us have ever been in a gang. In fact if you have done any research on tattoos you’d know that they’ve been done for thousands and thousands of years and in some Indian tribes tattoos are the symbol of coming of age to be a man or woman. And maybe that child is really into dragons which is why he chose to get a dragon design for his henna tattoo. My daughter is 4 years old and I got her a henna tattoo of a wolf which took up half her back (she was wearing a bikini) because like me she really loves wolves.If it had given her a scar like the little boys dragon henna did I’d probably take care of it the same way they are, but also have to think of it in another way as well. If the child grows up and decides he wants a real dragon tattoo and he still has the scar at least he’ll already have the template on his arm for it.
  Just because someone has tattoos don’t make them a bad person or make them in a gang or even trash. You are just being very simple minded and need to be more open minded.
- Kdotbrillhart2010
  
  tattoos are not bad. kids everywhere put temp tats on all the time, infact, they give them out at the DOCTORS OFFICE!! tattoos are permanent reminders of your life, your choices, your love, your hope, your feelings. this kid does look bad ass, this is not the worst thing that could have happened to him. why does everybody turn to suing people the second a problem comes up? for your information pat lynch, some gangs start recruiting kids in the early grade school years, sometimes even earlier. learn your fucking facts before you start bitchin!
Pat Lynch

What the hell is a kid doing with a tattoo like that anyway? OK so it’s just temp, but so what, are his parents getting him ready for when he turns 16 and can join a gang? Kid should sue his stupid parents for watching too much TV and being trash.
Justin

Oh stop whining ppl. 99% of the time henna is harmless. As for why the kid had it done…why the hell not? Looking at the pictures he looks really happy with it. Personally I take offense to small minded people like Pat Lynch here who think anyone with tattoos is “trash” So you’re saying that if you have a tattoo or tatoos that you must be in a gang or a trailer? Go thump a bible somewhere else you sad little yuppie drone.
- Anonymous
  
  Real henna is harmless 100% of the time: notice the kid’s tat is black ? Henna doesn’t come in black: in fact, it only comes in the one color.
- Jenn
  
  Dude, go blame the whining on something other than the Bible. I have a tat and am proud of it because it shows my faith…a cross. Someone who thinks people with tats “are trash” sure as heck isn’t Christian. “Judge not…”
Justin

Oh stop whining ppl. 99% of the time henna is harmless. As for why the kid had it done…why the hell not? Looking at the pictures he looks really happy with it. Personally I take offense to small minded people like Pat Lynch here who think anyone with tattoos is “trash” So you’re saying that if you have a tattoo or tatoos that you must be in a gang or a trailer? Go thump a bible somewhere else you sad little yuppie drone.
Becky

I totally agree with justin..thats stereo typing..i have 3 tattoo’s..but guess wat? i was never in a gang and never will be..give it up
- http://twitter.com/fathorseharry Harry Cunningham
  
  Stereo typing? Is that when you use two hands instead of one?
Becky

I totally agree with justin..thats stereo typing..i have 3 tattoo’s..but guess wat? i was never in a gang and never will be..give it up
Garbarjar

that’s f@#king awesome. his parents are huge squares.
Stefan-Michael

Look at the bright side, if it does become permanent, This kid will look totally bad-ass enough that he probably won’t ever be bullied.. Not the case if he opted for a Barney the Purple Dinosuar, SpongeBob or a Backyardigan Tattoo!!!
Rowandarklee

Are you kidding me? When that kid gets older, that scar will be responsible for 70% of any tail he manages to get. Imagine the pick up line- “Yeah, see this scar right here, mmm, hmm, I got that when I was five, when I was in Bali, and some crazy chick bleached a dragon on my arm. My place or yours?”
Brucey42085

i feel bad that the kid might have suffered some discomfort since theyre using the term “chemical burns” but how pumped does that kid have to be to loophole his way into a sweet dragon tattoo. hell be the only kid in the county with one…
Masd

happened to me, scar wears off. Why the f*ck is this news? many people who get these kind of tats get scars afterwards, but they’re superficial, it goes away.
monty

oh no, I got a permanent, natural looking dragon symbol on my arm, whatever shall I do?
Griffin

I think the same thing happened to me when I was younger….the scar or whatever faded within 2 years.
Steve

Best Scar Ever!
Lovaz

With one look at the picture of when the henna had just been done, I know what the problem was. They used black henna. Black henna is banned in the US because of what they use in it.
- Miffles
  
  When did it get banned? I got a black henna “tattoo” done while on vacation when I was 16 (2006) and I thought I’d seen several places offering the same types of tattoos since then.
Matthewmilad

At least it wasn’t on his face
ProudOzzie

The parents come from Queensland – enough said
- Dirk
  
  Actually that’s not enough said. Can you please say some more? I’m not from Australia. Mate.
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Roxanne_i_am

I had a scar like that from a henna tattoo and it disappeared after a few years.
I doubt he will have that scar forever, my scar lasted about 4 years.
Vikingalchemist

I had this happen to me from henna and being out in the sun. It went away after a season.
Bianca

Seriously? That kid is gonna be the coolest kid in grade school! Do you know how many parents are gonna come home to find their grade schoolers sporting Dragon tattoos?
Jordan Green Peppers

It’s pretty cool, but if I were him I’d be pissed later in life. Imagine getting a tattoo you thought was cool when you were elementary school… now imagine having that same tattoo when you’re 30. I’d personally be a little pissed, not at anyone in particular… just at life in general. I’d also be hoping that it didn’t change for the worse as I go through puberty, growth spurts, and muscle development. That would pretty much suck.
For now he’s a beast… when he’s 30… maybe not as thrilled.
http://slrman.wordpress.com James Smith

I suspect the kid thinks this is really cool and hopes it lasts forever. That’s unlikely because he has a lot to grow yet and the ability of a young person’s body to repair things is amazing.
M42203

Henna is not able to scar anyone at all. The chemical PPD is what scared the poor boys skin. You should never let anyone put henna on you if they can not tell you exactly what is in their henna, if it is black or any other color than a brown to greenish color,or if the artist says you will get a stain in a short amount of time. Henna takes about six hours to get a stain. It really upsets me that people out there are adding chemicals to a natural and beautiful way to decorate the skin, scarring people and in some cases causing bladder cancer, and ruining the idea of henna for people who don’t understand it.
Bladderfish

Parents should be taken out and drag across a cactus ridden desert !!
Hannahbaber

I’ve got a scar like this. The same thing happened to me in Cyprus! Mine’s a dolphin on my lower back. Turns out I’m highly allergic to hair dye too. Oh well!
Jason

Judgment, judgment, judgment….Everyone everywhere believes they are more enlightened then the next person. You want to judge a man/women for having a tattoo then we judge you for not tasting all that life has to offer. We are all just trying to find our way through the same crazy world and trying to find happieness along the way. You want to believe that having a tattoo means you will end up in a gang or a trailer…then believe that. It makes people angry when you judge them like that but what the heck. The trueth is the moment we put ink under our skin weopen ourselves up to the judgement of people like you. But I do that with the car I drive and the clothes I wear and even the music I listen to. Ignorance is bliss and you are a happy dude aren’t you. It really doesn’t bother me at all. I love my art. I love getting tattoos, love having them, and am extreamly attracted to women that have them. I will probably never be a preacher at the local church but other than that there are very few careers now that are not filled by people in my generation. Far more open minded people that can except that a persons worth goes far deeper than the images on there skin. It is almost a racial argument, wouldn’t you agree. Believeing another person will be a lesser person than you because of the colors in there skin. Food for thought I guess.

One more tid bit of information. I am 34 years old. I have been getting tattoos for the past 17 years and do not regret any of them. I have had the same carreer for the past 13 years and have been making six figures for the last five of those years. Never been in a gang and I do not live in a trailer.
Gabriela

This is kid such a legit BAMF. Not only his is name Cannon Cribb, and he’s a cutie, but he has this intense dragon scar on his arm? Wait till he hit High School, provided puberty is good to him, he’ll be the most legendary kid at that school.
Rino

Boy With The Dragon Tattoo… sounds fitting for the next movie series right?
Rino

Boy With The Dragon Tattoo… sounds fitting for the next movie series right?

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