Skin Deep
It appears that in the quest to be individual tattoos have now become passé and people are opting for branding instead. Ouch! Once this was used as a form of punishment in the middle ages and cattle branding is in decline as the more accurate ear tagging takes over to control cattle movements.
Yet individuals are choosing to have their skin branded, leaving permanent scaring and in some cases the wounds are turning sceptic. The recipient is hoping for the raised keloid tissue to leave permanent marks on their skin but this doesn’t always occur, sometimes they inset instead.
Branding is achieved via the application of heat, chemicals or electricity which burns the skin. There are four main methods of achieving the desired effect:
- Strike Branding – where segments of metal are heated and applied to the body in organised patterns. The traditional way.
- Cautery Branding – this method uses a cautery pen and as such can produce more intricate designs and effects. The pen heats up to an extremely high temperature. I can only imagine that this is akin to the soldering iron.
- Electro-cautery Branding – electrical current is used to heat up the pen which is more consistent in temperature and quicker than the other methods.
- Chemical Branding – this uses a combination of chemicals to etch the patterns in to the skin. This method isn’t used very often because it can cause extreme scaring.
I was moved to investigate today when I heard on the news, that scars are abraded by rubbing them with a toothbrush, keeping the scars open. This aggravates them making them more raised while simultaneously making them prone to infection.
When I checked branding out on the Internet there wasn’t much out there to read or many studios advertising the service. But I did find ByBlair who provide further information, galleries and branding consultations.
It makes me wonder just how individuals cope with the pain associated with this form of body modification, I have read that some go in to a meditative state and almost become desensitised to the pain when their adrenalin kicks in. I wonder, do they simply not feel the pain or do they experience an endorphin rush that counteracts it.
I’m feeling a little squeamish at the moment about the whole thing. What do you think? Is this form of body decoration as acceptable as tattooing or do you view it differently?
Image www.imperialbodyart.com
Tags: Branding, strike branding, cautery branding, electro-cautery branding, chemical branding, body art, body modification, tattoo, tattooing, keloid, keloid scar,
I view it differently than tattooing, but I know a lot of people see them as the same thing.
It makes my stomach turn, honestly. The one in the picture looks decent, but the ones I have seen have all been …well…horrendous burn marks. Just haven’t seen one that didn’t make my skin crawl 🙁 ow.
Good Wednesday afternoon to you, Suze…
Just e-mailed you my new avatar. Hope got the code right !
Branding makes me feel squeamish as well.
I’m not into pain, and to me that is still a form of torture, even if it has been asked for…
I think there must be some pretty deep emotional issues that make someone want to do this to themselves… A call for attention, an to be noticed, to be considered ‘edgy’, an act of rebellion, I don’t know…
It seems more dark than tattooing… But then again, there are people who have large amounts of thier bodies tattoooed and that is painful and bloody too, but being BURNED ???
Never. No thank you. Not me.
Someone else’s cup of tea maybe.
It takes a special kind of person to want:
to wear the mark (whatever the design), or experience the procedure.
To be different doesn’t cut it for me in this fashion… Different strokes for different folks.
Ok. No mincing words- it’s been a long day. I think they’re nuts!
However, I think that for those that are committed to the idea and desire have learned to tolerate pain and have found a way.
We’ve all seen people with tattoo’s. Some of the tattoo locations are more sensitive then others. Tattoo’s can hurt, but a lot of people go back for more than one, and just love it.
I think the pain factor would differ (compared to tattooing, which is prolonged, not so intense). Branding would involve a searing type of pain, much like a burn. A tattoo, in comparison, would be a sweet ride. It would take a while for the adrenalin to kick in to minimize the pain (with a small tattoo, it would be at least half an hour, the adrenalin rush is felt afterward, not during and if it’s felt during, it would have to involve a long session/large tattoo), and the other thing is (same with tattooing), people undergoing this type of modification would have to not drink alcohol or take certain drugs beforehand, as it can exacerbate bleeding.
I think tattooing is streamlined, and the likelihood of infection is minimal, whereas branding and piercing are so-so, and there are people who are genetically predisposed to really ugly keloid scarring that can distort a design. In short, I wouldn’t find the texture (of branding) desirable in a prospective partner.
Well, I continue in my quest to collect more and more tattoos. I hope to have finished my right arm and my whole back by the end of 2008. I already have my left arm full, both sides done, and most of my chest, as well as a couple of other smaller pieces.
But branding? No way, baby. That ain’t for me!
Owie. I don’t thin I would do that. It’s just way too painful.
I have a few “home job” tats. Never got the real deals (yet) But the pain from branding would probably be 100X worse then a tat!
Can I send you my avatar to put on here too?