Scarification: About
Scars are created in different ways. During branding, the application of heat burns the skin, which heals into a scar. Abrasive scarring uses tools that take off layers of skin. Cutting the skin with a sharp blade will also create a scar. While it is tempting to do this to yourself, especially since it can be difficult to find an experienced professional, it is not advisable. If you would like to learn how to create scars properly, seek training. Some methods of scarring are more precise than others. Abrasion will most often not produce a pronounced scar, while the design created with branding is likely to spread into something wider than the original. Cutting produces the most defined, accurate design, since it is created with the precision of a blade and not the surface of a branding iron.
However, your skin dictates the success of your scarring. Some skin scars more easily than others. If your skin contains more melanin, you are more likely to produce pronounced, raised scars. Understanding your body will help you embark on a successful scarring experience.
Branding
Brandings often spread when they heal, so it is very important to take this detail into account before defining the size of the branding piece. Also important is the fact that each person's skin heals differently: on some individuals, a brand will produce a raised scar with a sensitive, soft texture, while on others, the effect may be more of a flat, sharp, light-colored design. Scaring
An alternative scarring method is ink rubbing, which consists in rubbing ink in the cut, making the eventual scar whatever color ink is rubbed in. Most of the ink usually comes off and the result is often disappointing. Because of this, some cutters like to use red ink to emphasize the cutting and distinguish it from a regular tattoo. In general, it is important to remember that the final look of the scar will depend as much on the skin as on the method used. |
This scar producing process is linked to rites of passage and has symbolic meaning for many who choose to get it done. Others choose to create scars for the aesthetic value of it. For some people, scarring is part of an S&M lifestyle choice.
Branding is a means of marking or scarring the skin permanently by burning it with hot metal. Historically, this was a means of identifying slave, and, of course, cattle ownership. Even though some people find the slavery connection offensive, a growing number of African American men and women are reclaiming this method of body scarification by choosing brands that identify them as members of a certain gang, brotherhood or college fraternity.
Branding can be performed with a cautering pen or by the strike method, which is the way it is applied to cattle, using a red hot piece of metal. Usually, the brand design will be stenciled or drawn on the skin. Using surgical steel segments, the pieces of metal are heated and pre-formed through shot strikes to make up the desired design.
Scarification is similar to tattooing in that the skin is permanently marked by cutting it, but without the use of pigments. Basically, the deeper the cut, the better the chance that the skin will scar. Scars may look darker or lighter than the individual's original skin tone and may even raise, a reaction medically referred to as keloid scarring. Each artist has his/her own scarring method, but in all cases the cuts must penetrate the dermis in order to produce a fine, permanent scar.
One way of scarring the skin is with a scalpel, or any other type of sharp blade -- a method not recommended for curved scars. Another popular method of producing scars is using a tattoo machine without pigment in such a way that it causes a scar to form. A more intense type of scarification is skin removal, which consists of cutting out a design and then tearing off the entire piece of skin. This method of scarification through skin removal usually results in a recessed scar.
