From surgically forked tongues to artificially pointed ears, it seems there is almost nothing people won’t do to their bodies in order to achieve a unique look.
And now a new trend is seeing people deliberately scar themselves as an alternative to traditional tattooing.
The process is called scarification and involves removing layers of skin in order to encourage scar tissue to form in the shape of a chosen design.
Scarification is an alternative to tattooing which sees layers of skin removed to leave behind a pattern in the shape of a customer’s chosen design
While tattoo parlors have offered the technique for years, it is gaining popularity as people look for an alternative to traditional tattoos
While the process itself has been offered professionally for decades, it has been catching on in recent years.
Keith Kennedy runs Tribal Expression in Calgary, Canada, and has been carrying out scarification professionally for a decade.
The 43-year-old said: ‘I remember being interested in body art from a young age.
‘I started piercing professionally around 1993. Then I looked into courses on scarification. I started Tribal Expression around 14 years ago and then began doing scarification around 10 years ago.
A fresh scarification mark which will eventually heal into a faint mark on the skin
‘Scarification is a completely different skill to tattooing. It is a completely different skill set.
‘We normally see people who get them as part of some right of passage, or if they have conquered something or been through something.
‘Others get something when they get married – scarification is more permanent than tattoos even.
‘But we also get people who want to mimic surgical scars. Believe it or not it is actually harder than doing a beautiful flower to achieve that look.
‘The depth is deeper than an actual tattoo. We do it with a scalpel and use other tools to get different looks.
‘Most people describe the pain as a little uncomfortable – like a paper cut.’
Traditional tattoos differ from scars because are made from ink trapped in the second layer of our skin, the dermis, and stay there because the ink particles are too large to be disposed of by the immune system.
Scars are the result of wounds packed with collagen, which our bodies use to heal, but appears different to skin it replaces because its structure is different.
Scarification involves removing the top layer of skin, before allowing a natural scar to form during the healing process.
Traditional tattoos involve trapping ink between layers of the skin using a needle, while scarification involves removing the skin to cause a scar
A scarification fan shows off snowflake designs on her side, which are partway through the healing process
Eddie Tenszen had his second scar last year. He said scarification offers an alternative to tattoos and makes you stand out from the crowd.
The 22-year-old from Calgary said: ‘I got into piercing a long time ago.
‘I wanted to stand it from the crowd. Scarification offered an alternative to tattoos.
‘I wanted to define myself and be a bit different. It’s not something you see everyday.
‘I did one piece myself when I was younger and the I had one on my forearm done professionally in May last year.
‘I actually don’t think the pain is as bad as getting a tattoo. It does sting badly but tattoos are a worse in my opinion.
‘You have to look after it – you clean it every day and kept it wrapped. After three weeks to a month it starts to scab over and heal.
‘Then it really starts to itch. It is so hard not scratch it.
‘At first it is really red in appearance. Then it starts to fade to white. You can actually hardly see it now.
‘For me it is purely artistic. But I know some people like to turn actual scars into a design.’