My Findings on Body Art and Modification

These days it seems being eco friendly or “green” is more popular than ever. From car to home improvement there are ways to go green in almost every part of life. Organic jewelry is nothing new, jewelry first started as organic in ancient times and tribes. But now has caught on outside the tribal world.

For those with piercings, especially gauged ears, looking for a greener alternative than using steel there are lots of unique, creative options. Organic plugs are widely available and made out of a variety of different materials, such as bamboo, wood, amber, bone, tusk, horn and stone, but most often wood, bone or stone. Organic body jewelry is also available in hangers, labrets, septums, spirals, and probably more.

Like with any way of going green there are pros and cons involved. Organic jewelry allows your skin to breathe unlike metal jewelry. Also, it is good for the fistula, the tube of skin inside the body that connects the two holes of the piercing. It allows the fistula grow thicker making it stronger and stay cleaner and not get gunked up. Also, the jewelry tends to be more original than regular metal or plastic jewelry. And, of course it is organic and natural.

Then there are the cons of organic jewelry. First, it is much more fragile and prone to breaking. It can easily crack, warp, and weaken especially if in high heat. It can trap bacteria which can sometimes, but not often, lead to infections.  The jewelry is also very sensitive to chemicals, disinfecting may be rough.

Then there is the ethical debate of the jewelry. Some of the materials come from endangered animals, such as tusks and horns. Should these be taken for jewelry purposes?

After seeing some of these jewelry pieces I was quite impressed. I guess that if not worn to often to avoid breaking they would be fun to wear. Also, in my search of the organic jewelry I did not find a lot of pieces made from animal parts. In the one I found they had a promise on the site that none of the animals where killed for purpose of making jewelry. On all the sites I saw the prices did not seem to be to much different than prices of normal body jewelry.

bamboo plugs

All images from

http://www.organicjewelry.com/index.html

Body Modification, while still looked at with a raised eyebrow by some, continues to increase in popularity just as tattoos and body piercings have done. Everyone can relate to it, especially Star Trek fan. The Vulcan and Romulan ears, and other odd shapes on peoples bodies which is quite simlilar to the body mod world’s subdermal implant.

then just clever makeup now a permanent physical possibility

horns inserted by steve haworth

Subdermal Implants are a piece of body jewelry placed under the skin to create a raised design. Implant material is usually made of silicone or Teflon and can be inserted by a body modification artist or in some cases by surgery. The implant can be in many different shapes, some popular designs are stars, rods, hearts, swirls, horns, and beads.

Silicone Implant

The insertion process is really quite simple compared to what I thought it would be. An incision is made with a scalpel then a dermal separator (resembling a spatula) is used to raise up the skin forming a pocket for the implant to be inserted. The implant is carefully put in place and the incision is closed with sutures or suture tape.  The implant does not need to be inserted right at the point of incision; it can be placed away from the incision. Eyebrow implant incisions are made at the top of the forehead than the implant is slid to the eyebrow area.

A band aid wrapped around the implant will help prevent against migration of the implant in the early days of healing. The sutures may come out after 10 to 12 days. The healing takes about 3 months, by this time the implant should have the desired affect. After healing is completely finished the implant may be take out and replaced with a larger one.

The idea of these types of implants first came about in 1994 from a man named Steve Haworth in Phoenix, Arizona. A woman wanted a bracelet so he came up with the idea of placing a series of beads under the skin on her wrist and she decided to give it a try making her the first subdermal implant.