Holier Than Thou

About

Branding is a form of scarification that is achieved through the application of heat, electricity or chemicals to the skin which causes a serious burn, as the burn heals scarring occurs and it is the scarring that gives the desired effect. The look of a healed branding varies from person to person and one cannot guarantee raised keloid tissue afterwards, this is dependant on many factors and sometimes they inset rather than raise.

Branding is normally sub-divided into several categories such as:

• Strike Branding

  This is where segments of metal are heated and applied briefly to the body in a required patter, also known as traditional branding it is this method that is most prevalent throughout history.

• Cautery Branding

  A more modern method than that of the Strike Branding method, this is often done using a mains cautery unit or cautery pen. The tip of the unit/pen heats up to extremely high temperatures and is applied to the skin. The patterns achievable can be somewhat more intricate using this technique compared to that of the strike branding method.

• Electro-cautery branding

  Similar to Cautery branding technique but instead of heat it is an electrical current that causes the burning, much quicker than the cautery technique and with argueably more consistent and even results.

• Chemical Branding

  A method of burning the skin via application of Chemicals. Various compounds and chemicals can be used although as a method of artistic expression it tends not to be used due to the extreme scarring that can occur.

Branding is not pain free but hurts a lot less than you'd think. The amount of pain differs with each method and other factors do come in to play. The cautery pen/mains unit is usually least painful and often the electro cautery method is less painful than the strike method which can at best be described as intense, but short lived.

Healed branding

Healing branding

Healed branding

A brand can take a long time to heal (generally around 6 months) and can look quite uneven for a while. Your brand will go through different phases of healing, which can vary in length a great deal from brand to brand, depending on the amount of irritation it receives and your skin type.

At holier than thou we offer Strike branding, cautery branding and electrocautery branding but we do not offer chemical branding. Look in the image gallery to find images of the many brandings we have performed.