08 May,2011 08:07 AM IST | | Rex Features
A new trend that's making tongue and nipple piercing looking like kid's play, involves sewing ribbons into a client's skin
A bizarre new craze called 'corset piercing' is sweeping the UK. The painful trend involves sticking hoops into the skin and then threading them with ribbon to give a 'corset' effect. The 'decoration', which can cost up to ufffd300 (Rs 21,960), can be applied to any area of the body where the skin is loose enough to pinch in order to thread a needle through. Popular areas include the back, ribs and, in some cases, even the throat. Anyone who wants the unusual decoration must endure an hour of pain to achieve the effect. However, it's only temporary since after a few weeks of wear the hooks simply grow out, leaving scars in their place.
Laura Hunt at her studio in Britain with an example of her work,
a corset piercing on a client's back. Corset piercing craze sees
a ribbon 'sewn' onto backs, ribs and throats. This bizarre new
craze is sweeping the UK. Pic/Rex Features
The craze is the latest in the 'body modification' phenomenon, which has seen people going to extraordinary levels in a bid to stand out from the crowd. Today it's possible to be branded, scarred and even have silicone implanted under the skin to create bumps and 'horns'. Kooky popstar Lady Gaga is just one celebrity who has jumped on the bandwagon. She sported bizarre flesh-coloured 'horns' on her face during a television interview in February this year.
According to piercing experts, the 'corset' modification is growing in popularity as more and more brave the pain. But consultant plastic surgeon Kevin Hancock, a council member of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons who works at Spire Murrayfield Hospital, Merseyside, warned of the problems it can cause. He added, "I can't believe it's something that people would be attracted to." Any piercing, superficial or otherwise, produces a scar and different people scar in different ways.
"For some, the scarring may be slight but for others it can produce problems where the tissue overgrows and you end up with a red lump which is permanent. "In some cases this can be absolutely horrendous. I have to say it seems absolutely barking to me. I was amazed when I saw pictures of this piercingu00a0-- it would be extremely painful and it's only temporary." "This is a row of rings which could also bleed and become infected.
There is a risk of the rings pulling the skin and also getting caught on something. I can't believe that people are going out with these things on displayu00a0-- they are open to any sort of infection. It's verging on masochistic. It's just bizarre," he said. Laura Hunt offers corset piercing at her Tattoo and Piercing Studio, called Dragstrip, in Southampton, Hants, and charges ufffd5 (Rs 365) per hoop. The 25 year-old from Southampton, who has had the piercing herself, insists it isn't dangerous. She explains, "Corset piercing is becoming more popular. Body modifications have recently become really popular as everyone wants to be different. It can be quite painful. It involves pinching the skin and pushing the needle through by hand.
A lot of people know about it and would like to have it done but for some it can be too painful. It's not dangerous because it's a surface piercing and doesn't go deep enough."u00a0It's an open wound so it has to be cleaned to prevent infection, like any other piercing, she explained. "We get a lot of different people asking to have it doneu00a0-- one was a 45 year-old mum who wanted it done for a tattoo convention. We've also had a couple of students doing art degrees and others who are in to fetishes and pain. Others have it done because they want to look nice for a particular occasion," said Hunt.
