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# Councilman fails to bring back controversial henna
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/councilman-fails-to-bring-back-controversial-henna/
- Published: 2003-04-26T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T02:06:00.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Government & Politics, Promenade, #archive-import

*By Daily Press staff*

The city will remain free from henna, despite a request from a city councilman last week asking that the art form be brought back.

A request by Councilman Mike Feinstein on Tuesday to reclassify henna artists as street performers failed to garner the support of the rest of the Council.

Feinstein dropped his motion when it became it apparent he didn’t have the votes to push his recommendation through.

The Santa Monica City Council voted 4- 3 in October 2001 to ban henna artists from the Third Street Promenade and the pier, saying that some of artists posed a public safety risk. The ban took effect in 2002.

Henna art, which is a non-permanent tattoo, is not considered a performance by the City of Santa Monica.

Some council members think tattooing is a form of cosmetology, and if henna is on the mall, hair braiding could be next.

Some artists use dangerous toxic chemicals that have given the 5,000-year-old art form a bad rap in Santa Monica.

Skin rashes and other complications are caused by “black henna,” or phenylenediamine, a hair dye. The black henna is cheaper than traditional Henna dye, which is red and is used for skin decorations and body art.

The three councilmen that voted to keep henna in the city agree that it’s an art form and should be included under the city’s street performer ordinance — just like a clown who does face painting. Councilmen Kevin McKeown, Richard Bloom and Feinstein lost that vote.

However, Bloom and McKeown didn’t support Feinstein’s motion on Tuesday because the vote would have had the same result as before because no one has changed their position.

Supporters of henna point to a series of changes in their favor since last year’s decision.

The Arts Commission has ruled henna is an art form, the Bayside Corp., which manages downtown, voted to support henna if some health concerns are met, and henna artists have agreed not to use the dangerous “black henna” ink.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 26, 2003.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/042603.pdf?ref=smdp.com)