What are the different kinds of scarification?
The basic categories are branding (scarification through burns, either from heat, or from lasers or electrocautery devices), cuttings (fine scarification using a thin blade, sometimes coloured using tattoo ink, sometimes including the removal of patches of skin), and various other less common means including the use of chemicals and other non-traditional means. Why would someone want to do this to themselves? Many people that do these forms of body modification are doing it to mark a rite of passage in their lives. Even though many people hold that scarification is no more painful than tattooing, it is somehow more “intense” to most people. It has very symbolic meaning to them and often their peers or partners. Up until quite recently, in modern western body art, most of this was done in an S&M environment. However, now that the vast majority of people interested in body modification have had little to no contact with the S&M community, that has changed, and many people are getting the
