Scars make better stories than tatoos

[Pax]

Another fun scar story...

When I was seven I was walking to school and decided to cut through a construction site as a short-cut, my brother said "you'll get in trouble, you better not". So off I waltzed into the construction site...and out I waltzed moments later with a plank stuck to the bottom of my foot with a nail protruding all the way through my foot and sticking out the top. My response, "well crap", my brothers response (heavy sigh) "I'll go get mom". It was a repeating pattern in my childhood.

[Aint Doody]

Yikes, Queen! That makes me hurt.

[MomOnBike]

Queen, we obviously grew up in different families. Our response in that sort of situation generally was: GASP!! "Don't Tell Mother!!"

Guilty parties in the above to include my father.

... and your story reminded me of the time my sister & I were jumping back and forth between our twin beds. After a while, to make the activity more chalenging, we turned out the lights. I, uh, jumped a wee tiny bit too far and landed on Sister's record player, right on the sharp, pointy, metal part that held the play arm. I haven't checked the bottom of my foot recently to see if that scar is still there, though.

Big crashes and shrieks bring Mothers running, whether or not you want them...

[Kitsune06]

Yeeeahhh reminds me of a metalworking project I was dinking on involving a tin can. You can pry the suckers a little ways but don't be surprised when they spring shut again and catch your knuckle . My first experience 'seeing inside myself'. What joy.
I run upstairs, wash it, wrap it, unwrap it, think "Oh boy, that's not gonna stay shut" wrap it again, and go about my business.
We get together for dinner, I have a hand under the table. Mom is suspicious. naturally She asks. I talk around it. Eventually she gets it out of me. we make a looooong family trip down to the ER so I can get stitched up.

[divingbiker]

Hmmm...I didn't think I had any interesting scar stories until I started to think about it. I have a divot in the outside of my left foot from getting a big hunk of glass in it when I broke a glass bottle of soap bubbles as a kid (back before everything came in plastic bottles.) I had to have a mustard plaster or something like that on my foot every night until the glass was somehow magically drawn out. It was probably a half inch square piece of glass in a very small foot, if I remember right.

Then when I was about four I decided that I would stop the blades of a fan with my hand. Again, this was back in the olden days when there were large gaps between the wires on the fan cover. I stuck my hand in the fan, it didn't stop, and I bled quite a lot. We put a rag over my hand and walked the block across the railroad tracks to the hospital. Don't remember any details but we went out to dinner afterwards (we called it supper, and it was a very rare and special treat) and I've got some faint scars on my fingers.

My knees are always pink because they are one big mass of scar tissue from falling down on my bike on gravel roads repeatedly. I have a couple of new scars on my knees from more recent bike crashes.

When I was in college, I worked in a hardware store and was opening boxes with a utility knife. I somehow managed to slice open the meaty part of my hand between my thumb and index finger, all the way to the bone. They weren't too happy with me ruining their string of x days without a workplace accident, but I ended up with a few stitches and a nice scar.

And then of course I have a bellyful of scars from the laparoscopic hysterectomy that went bad and ended up being the old fashioned kind, with a big bikini line scar, catheter scars etc. Lovely.

Wow, this turned out to be long.

[CyclChyk]

I like my tats MUCH better than my scars altho my scars makes much better stories......

Not to mention my 8mo old hematoma that won't go away...........

[Kitsune06]

have you tried a daily gentle massage with vitamin E oil? vit. e oil and massage will fix *so* much, you end up realizing in body mod.

Each (tats and scars) has their place... then you get to the places where the line is blurred.

Branding and scarification are still a long way from being mainstream, though. Just an interesting thought. Still- there's an effect there you can't get with ink- the smooth silvery lines of scarification (by cutting or branding) are unobtainable any other way.

All depends on how you want to paint your canvas.

[KnottedYet]

Branding and scarification are still a long way from being mainstream, though. Just an interesting thought. Still- there's an effect there you can't get with ink- the smooth silvery lines of scarification (by cutting or branding) are unobtainable any other way.

Unless you're one of the lucky folks who make thick ropy keloid scars instead!

Once I was wearing a tank-top (which I hardly EVER do). This guy sitting next to me (waiting for our haircuts) got all excited when he saw my cancer scar, he thought it was a scarification and very cool!

[Pax]

Unless you're one of the lucky folks who make thick ropy keloid scars instead!

Once I was wearing a tank-top (which I hardly EVER do). This guy sitting next to me (waiting for our haircuts) got all excited when he saw my cancer scar, he thought it was a scarification and very cool!

All my scars go hypertrophic (similar to keloid), I never knew I was cool!

[CyclChyk]

I think I am too much of a pansy for scarification ............... I'll stick with the needle and ink for the time being. Altho I must confess when I was little I would pick any and all scabs just so they WOULD scar cuz I thought scars were sooooooooooo cool. Needless to say, I have a LOT of scars.....

[Wahine]

That scarification link made my stomach turn. I'm not putting it down. I just got a little grossed out by the mental image of the process of skin removal or branding. Ick.

I had a client once from central africa that had traditional scarification done to his entire face. it was in an amazing whorling pattern. It was far more beautiful than any other body art I have ever seen.

[Kitsune06]

I have a couple of brands of my own, but I must admit, they're not quite to the quality I would want them. I want to have a real artist do that for me at some point- once I figure out what I want. I think scars have definite appeal to them over ink. It's a pattern in the layout of your skin and body... what is more unique than that? take a wound and let your body do with it what it will- beautiful. and if it's still tight, take some vitamin e and do some gentle massaging of the area. helps a lot. my brands are 5 or 6 years old now... the 'best' of my scars is closer to 10-12. we shall see.

[missymaya]

I've read some articles on scarification but it really never interested me and I've always associated branding to 2 things: cows and fraternities. I know there's more to it than that, but I just can't get over that. I'll just stick to the needles and ink, thank you

[emily_in_nc]

No interest in tatoos, intentional scars, or piercings other than one hole in each ear (I'm a complete pain wimp!), but I have a very nice 6" scar on my right ilium from my pelvic fracture and subsequent surgery in 2005. When I first saw the frightening incision, angry and red, with stitches, I never believed it would turn into this tiny, white, nearly invisible hairline scar over time. My surgeon did good! I could even wear a bikini if I didn't have middle age spread around my hips!

Emily

[silver]

I just saw this thread. You guys have some impressive ones. I'm probably middle of the pack

Starting from the top:

top lip - vertical scar - fell on step at age two and got stitches and then feel the next day and ripped the stitches out

Left shoulder blade - silver dollar sized white spot - road rash from Bike wreck in 10/06

both breasts underneath - one inch scars from implants in 05

right side next to breast 1.5 inch scar from chest tube placement - bike wreck 10/06

both elbows red road rash scars - bike wreck 10/06

both wrists - red road rash scars - bike wreck 10/06

right hip large dark patch about 6 inches by 4 inches from hematoma with a 2 inch scar from the open wound (seems like the hip bone cut the skin open from the inside) bike wreck 10/06

half inch scar on my right thigh - needed 3 stitches - accidently cut by knife by a friend. She had it in her hand and I was sitting next to her. she moved her hand down to move the chair back so she could stand and cut me. It was the strangest thing to look inside before it started to bleed.

both knees - red road rash - bike wreck 10/06

right knee - chain ring scar - no motion fall over

left calf - three cogs of the chainring form triathlon - 8/06 - I was running the run part and a friend said what happened to your leg? I didn't want to slow down so I asked the next person that I passed if my leg was bleeding and which one. Blood was dripping down my leg to my sock, still not sure what I did.

bottom on right foot, 2 inch surgical scar from removal of bone chip (probably due to running)

Mr. did I miss anything?