My daughter came home from a pool party with henna tattoos on her hands. The pool didn't wash the caked-on tattoos off, but did keep them moist. When she washed them off in our sink there were places where she brushed the paste-y henna against the porcelain and it stained. Most of it washed right off, but there are a few places where it just looks like part of the porcelain now! I've tried nail polish remover, bleach, various cleaning products. Nothing works. I don't want to scrub too much and take the finish off. Anyone else have this issue and have anything work? I know the henna fades on the skin after 10-14 days, but not feeling like these sink stains will go away without some help.
I use henna to dye my hair and it has to be bleached out of the tub immediately or it will stain. While it dies fade off the skin with time that is not the case when on fabric, in hair, or on other porous surfaces. Bleach is what I use to clean it up, but I always do it right away since the longer henna sits the more it sets in.
I haven't henna'd in years, but used to do my hair and I think comet was probably what I used to clean up.
Have you tried a magic eraser? I know they don't work for some things, but it's gotten permanent marker off things for me, etc. so I always give it a whirl - sometimes I'm lucky. Hope you can get it out!
I use Comet on my porcelain sink - it does the best job of anything and will get out stains. I have noticed that bleach will remove porcelain stains, but you have to "soak" the spot for awhile. Things that don't work (for me) are Magic Erasers, soap/water, 409, Pine Sol, or other spray cleaners. You could try Bar Keepers Friend - I've heard good things but not tried it myself. Good luck!
Sometimes things advertised as henna aren't really henna.
I can not imagine how any sort of henna paste on the skin would ever stay on while swimming in a pool.
For real henna tattoos, often cling wrap is carefully placed over it to hold in on the skin - for several hours - and then rinsed off to leave the stain that forms the pattern.
I use body art quality henna to do my hair - it'll certainly stain towels but it's never stained any tiles in my shower.
So I'm really not sure what this stuff your daughter used is - and knowing what it is would help a lot in figuring out how to clean it.
Maybe you can call the friend or her parents and ask if you can read the packaging that the henna came from?
If your porcelain sink is older it may have become porous over time - which means a stain can set in more than you'd think it could.
Close up the sink stopper and soak the sink in hot water with bleach in it.
I don't know if scrubbing with BarKeepers Friend will help but it might be worth a try.
Good luck!
I henna my hair, and bleach always works.
The first thing I though of was Magic Eraser. I also like the suggestion of Comet (assuming this is safe for you sink).
