My Findings on Body Art and Modification

Many people like to wear cat head bands or elf ear headbands for fun. But what if there was a more permanent way to have pointed ears. Of course there is movie make up techniques one could use to achieve the pointed ear look, but this can be annoying and time consuming to apply. There are fake ears you can put over your own ears, but these could alter your hearing and be very uncomfortable. Then we come to the best way to get pointed ears, having your own ears modified with an ear point procedure.

Ear pointing is a somewhat simple body modification. It basically is just removing tissue from the tip of the ear and connecting the two edges with sutures. Some people attempt the procedure on their own but it is best to seek a professional. A bad ear pointing could lead to ear collapse. And, as with any botched job, infections.

Pointed ears are nothing new. Dennis Avner, most commonly known as “Stalking Cat,” has had his ears modified to look like that of a cat for some time now.

Fans of Star Trek will recognize this look from the Vulcans and Romulans. But, for the Vulcan and Romulan actors I’m quite sure it was just clever make up.

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.