Other Types of Body Art

Tightlacing

Tightlacing (also called corset training and waist training) is the practice of wearing a tightly-laced corset to achieve extreme modifications to the figure and posture and experience the sensations of a very tight corset. Those who practice tightlacing are called tightlacers. Some tightlacers call the corsets they wear training corsets.

The most frequent aim of tightlacing is a slim waist. Depending on the silhouette desired, the shape of the ribcage may be altered as well. Wearing a corset can also change the bustline, by raising the breasts upwards and shaping them, flattening the stomach, and improving posture. However, these effects are only temporary and will be lost on removing the corset. Indeed, excessive corset wearing has been claimed to weaken certain muscles, making it more difficult to maintain posture without a corset.

Although some tightlacers aim to get their waists as small as possible, others prefer to reduce their waists to a certain point and go no further as they consider that proportion and aesthetics are more important than achieving the smallest possible measurement. For example, male-bodied cross-dressers, as well as some transwomen often seek to get a realistic feminine figure rather than a wasp waist.

Scarification/Branding

Scarification is a permanent body modification that uses scar tissue produced by the body to form designs, pictures, or words in the skin. Scars are most often formed by cutting or branding the skin. Scarification is sometimes called cicatrization (from the French equivalent).

Scarification is not a precise art; there are many variables, such as skin type, depth of the cut, and how the wound is treated while healing, that make the outcome somewhat unpredictable. The body creates the scar, not the artist; it is important to keep in mind that a method that works well on one person may not work so well on another. Also, the scars tend to spread a bit as they heal, so scarifications are usually relatively simple designs -- small details can easily get swallowed up in the healing process.

Scalpelling

Scalpelling is a body art procedure similar to body piercing for the creation of decorative perforations through the skin and other body tissue. Whereas piercing is typically performed with a hollow piercing needle or an ear piercing instrument, scalpelling is performed with a scalpel and can immediately produce holes with a larger diameter than can be achieved by piercing. This is a more rapid means of accommodating larger gauge jewellery than stretching, a technique whereby piercings are gradually enlarged by placing iteratively bigger jewellery or spacers in them.

Though the wounds associated with scalpelling are large, the extremely sharp nature of the scalpel leads to a wound which is more likely to heal cleanly and without complications. Further, the use of scalpeling rather than stretching or gauging allows for greater control over which parts of the flesh will be used and can act to correct piercings that are unbalanced or poorly located.

One potentially negative effect of scalpelling is that the holes created by the process are less likely to close naturally over time than those from stretched piercings. Though it is still possible in some cases, especially at smaller sizes, it is far more likely that an unwanted hole would have to be closed surgically.

Scalpelling is a fairly new body modification technique, and is still quite rare. It is most commonly used on earlobes, though it can theoretically be used to grow any corporal modification.

Scalpelling should not be confused with a form of scarification, whereby images are inscribed in a person's skin using a scalpel.