Branding

[Possum!]

So ive been thinking abou getting a tattoo.

But whilst for the past year I have been looking about tattoo sights just for the hell, I came across branding 6 months ago and i love the way it looks!

I just think it looks a lot less "imposing" (for want of a better word) than ink does.

So ive been considering it

And i was wondering...

1) how do they do it

2) is it safe

3) does anywhere in glasgow / stirling / edinburgh areas do it?

4) healing times?

Cheers

[Witch]

okie im gonna look really blonde but i have NO idea what this is

so enlighten me...please

[yummy mummy]

branding = burned flesh

[bikuki]

i'm not sure anywhere in this area will do it, and it'll be expensive

there are quite a few ways of doing it, depending on the design (fine detail can be done with a cautiary (sp?) pen, larger, straighter designs with heated metal etc)
there's a high risk of infection, as it's a more open and fragile wound than a piercing or tattoo

the brand has to be kept irritated so that the scar forms visibly (not as much irritation as a cutting, mind you) so it can be painful for quite a while

not sure about healing times....it's a pretty severe burn, remember.....and it's kept open for a long time so scarification occurs, so it's open to infection
i'm not tryong to put you off, just making sure you're informed

[bikuki]

*addition*

if you want a less imposing design, you could go for a white ink tattoo....not that obvious, and much easier to heal

[Mos Def]

Unless you're black.

[Witch]

that sounds painful, least a tattoo ya can cover up

alchy

[Violet Grimm]

i haven't heard of anywhere in the west/east areas that will do it - or advertise that they do. there was a thread a while back about somewhere that did 'under the counter' branding.. can't remember where tho'. <searches>

in my opinion, you are less likely to achieve a precise design with branding irons or pen. flesh is quite an unpredictable thing in this respect and you might end up with something that you absolutely hate. I can see the point from a 'mystical' perspective, but not so much from a 'fashionbable' one.

hmmmmmmm.

[bikuki]

white tattoos hardly show up through black skin, actually....

the white ink is bearly visible through the pigment in the layer of skin it's under

for a white ink tattoo to be most visible, you need very pale skin (weirdly)

[Mos Def]

Boy, is my face red.

[Shannow]

ive seen it being done a couple of different ways, from pieces of metal shaped in the design you want heated and pressed into the skin, and being done line by line with a device that to all the world appears to be a soldering iron with a fine point on the end of it.
(correct me if im wrong) as far as i recall hearing as well, the implement beig used is not really too important, as the temperature it is at is hot enough to kill any bacteria, but the surrounding skin should be antibacterialised/dettox/nuked to feck before beginning to stop infection spreading to the area and then treated much like any other burn injury, though as bikuki stated ive heard of folk poking at the scabs/cutting into the tissue to make more prominent scar tissue to emphasize the design.

[bikuki]

?

i was just sayin.....

[Zenith]

i've seen people with brandings although not sure where they got it done, and they said it was really really painful to get.
i agree with Bikuki, get a tattoo done with white ink, its a lot less abbrasive, plus they glow under uv lights, my friend john has a white ink tattoo on his arm and its really lovely

[Krayola]

you can get u.v. tattoos. if your a good healer they are completely invisable but only show up under ultra violet. not to be confused with the glow in the dark ink that gives you skin cancer cause some fool put radioactive stuff into the ink to make it glow, this stuff is 100% safe. its better for lines than filled areas. ive got flames on my neck. ill try to get a photo.

as far as i know branding is illegal in the uk. if u get caught getting it done you get commited and the 'artist' get time in the big house. aparently. i wouldnt get it done by anybody from here. no-one would have enough eperiance to do it really well, and ive see some really dodgy home jobs one guy got septisemia (spelling) and has scarring so bad he has to wear a bandage to cover his arm, yuk. looked like a huge pit of scar on his forearm.

if you really want it done make friends with a studio who imports artists from the states or europe. they usually invite the artist over get them to do a couple of days branding and then ship them off before the peelers get em, i know a place in dublin that does this but not glasgow, sorry, but be prepared to pay about twice the rate than state-side. make sure you see a portfolio of work before you let some cowboy stick a heated coathanger onto your skin.

and yes apparently you gotta irritate it while its healing. picking it, rubbing baking soda into the wound etc, so it shows up well.

[Krayola]

the first one looks soreand the second just looks really crap, from all the ones ive seen there dosent seen to be much control over the final outcome all look a bit rough round the edges.

pics from bmeworld.com