What Kinds Are There?

Body modification is piercings in the ears, nose, eyebrow, lip, tongue, belly button, etc. It can also mean scarification, a process where the skin is scarred, in a specific design. In branding, the skin is burned, and heals with a specific design.There are implants, such as beads and rods to create designs under the skin, metal spikes in the head, filing of teeth, facial and full-bodied tattoos, split tongues, and stretching of earlobes.

Implants

Implants are items, such as beads, or implant material such as teflon that is cut to size and shape. These are surgically placed under the skin, to create a raised design.

Avoid Infection

Don´t allow any of your new piercings to get infected. Many piercings are now in compromising places, and if you get an infection, you will have a difficult time fighting it. Follow your aftercare instructions, and if there are signs of infection, go see a doctor. It´s not worth losing any body part.

Branding

Branding is a process where a design is literally transferred to the skin by heating a metal mold and applying it to the skin, thus creating a burn, which, when healing is complete, leaves a pattern or design in the skin.

Starting Body Modification

Pick what you want the most for your first piercing. A safe, accepted direction to start with is piercing ears. If you are thinking about a tattoo, a bigger tattoo requires more time and pain, so you might want to consider a small tattoo the first time around. Branding and scarification are more drastic body modifications, and certain piercings are pretty severe, if you are using a large gauge. The more extreme the piercing, the more careful you need to be about aftercare and cleanliness.

Ear Plugs

Round ear plugs, sometimes made of rubber, plastic, jewels, are used for stretching out the holes in earlobes. It starts with a large gauge piercing, then a gradual process of stretching the earlobe, using bigger plugs every two months or so. Once the size is where the individual wants, jewelry is used.

Healing

The average piercing heals after 6 weeks. A slight infection, piercing in a moist area, quality of aftercare etc. can change that.