My interest in body modification began when I was fifteen. I began to study rituals of tattoos, piercing, stretching, and extreme body enhancements and the history that went along with them. I had my ears pierced at an early age with a gun like most kids but it wasn't until after I turned seventeen, and moved out of my parent's house that I started getting piercings. I acquired nineteen piercings with no tattoos. I never found the right tattoo for myself but someday I will most likely end up with one that I've drawn up myself.
At A Glance Author Sarah Contact Tippi18@yahoo.com When A week ago I recently became very intrigued by brandings. I had several piercings but I needed something more. After reading a few of the experiences and looking at pictures, I decided I would do it on my own, with the help of my boyfriend who is a fantastic artist. I am hoping the results of my branding will be good, and I can hardly wait until it is fully healed. I find myself constantly rubbing my back to feel how it is raised.
I live right smack dab in the Midwest and I couldn't find anyone around who would do a cautery brand. In fact, there is no around who does strike brands or even cuttings. So I ordered the cautery pen from BME and anxiously waited its arrival. I also ordered some Emla cream but decided against using it so I could have the full affect. In the meantime I did a lot of research on brandings via the internet and talking with people who had them done. I joined some communities for people practicing scarification and through that met many people who were more than willing to give me their input. I learned a lot about different aftercare procedures. These communities really made me feel like I "fit in" which is a feeling I rarely ever have.
I knew I wanted a star. The star had meaning. I wasn't sure where I would put it. I ended up having it put in the middle of my lower back because I have a very professional job and things like that can't be exposed. This was the final stage in my rite-of-passage. The star represented an achievement. Similar to when you are in grade school and the teacher puts a gold star beside your name after a job well done. After all the school, college, and job experience, I finally landed my dream job in the computer field for a municipality; a place where the economy could never hit hard. I gave up two years worth of any vacation time, tons of punk shows, and a lot of my social life in general to get this job.
I don't know anyone with a branding so I was not surprised by the reaction I got when I announced that I was going to be branded. Most of my close friends frowned on the idea but supported me in my decision. My coworkers couldn't fathom the idea. In general most people said scars were ugly and brands were dumb. Go figure. All the negative feedback was actually beneficial to me because it solidified the fact that I was doing this for myself and no one else. It was my art with meaning behind it. It had become the center of my universe and it was all I could think about for weeks.
The brand, itself didn't take very long, probably about fifteen minutes at the most. I was just getting into it when it was all over. The pain was a hot sensational pain and I loved every second of it. Steve went over the star 3 times to make sure it was deep enough. In between each time he would stop and wash off the star with just water. My back would twitch. The third time going over it was the most intense and painful.
Surprisingly, it hurt a lot less than I thought. The cautery pen with it's tip flaming red and the smell of burnt hair and flesh was more intimidating than the actual pain the pen itself created.
It turned out wonderful. The only problem is every time I move I feel the scabs breaking apart. But actually, then I'm reminded and it makes me feel powerful again. For aftercare I have read many methods and I am following the method of LITFA. (Leave it the fuck alone). All I have done is rubbed it with anti bacterial soap and picked off scabs.
Everyone asks me why I did it and why put myself through the pain, but to me it's not putting myself through pain. It's seeing what my limits are and making a physical mark on my body with symbolic significance. There's always been a symbolic reason behind each of my modifications. After my brand, the beauty of modification became clearer to me.