Get a Branding
As tattooing and piercing become mainstream, more extreme body modification is gaining acceptance. While branding is one type of relatively extreme modification that used to have negative associations, it's now become an accepted way to add beautiful and meaningful designs to your body. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Understand that the look of a branding is highly individual because all bodies heal from burns differently. Your branding might not look the way you imagine it once it's healed, so you need to be open to its final appearance.
2. Familiarize yourself with the three forms of branding: strike, electrocautery and moxabustion. Strike branding uses small, heated pieces of stainless steel that burn the skin, leaving a decorative scar behind. Electrocautery uses a surgeon's thermo cautery unit to draw a design on the skin. Moxabustion uses lit incense, which burns down into the skin and leaves a scar.
3. Call local shops that specialize in piercings and ask if they do brandings. Though it's difficult to find a branding artist, piercing shops are the most likely to have branders on staff or to be able to refer you to someone who specializes in this form of body modification.
4. Discuss your branding with the artist. Explain both the design and the effect that you want so your artist can choose the best method to use. Alternatively, if the experience of the branding is more important than the design or effect, request the type of brand you prefer.
5. Relax during the procedure. Deep and steady breathing helps you control pain. However, professional brands are often less painful to receive than tattoos because the extreme heat quickly deadens nerves.
6. Follow the artist's directions for healing from the brand to make sure the final appearance is as good as possible.
Tags: body modification, design effect, final appearance