DISCLAIMER: This may be a trigger for some as it does involve cutting of the skin. I have included pictures so if you're sensitive to seeing raw skin, blood, scars, anything like that I advise you to scroll past the pictures if you wish to comment your opinion or see replies. There are 3 pictures total.

While this may not be a controversy, I see many different, strong opinions on this subject ranging from it being disgusting to self expression. It's been a while since I've seen anyone (not necessarily on here) talk about scarification and I've been wondering if thoughts have changed in the past few years.

My personal opinion on it has changed in one aspect, but I'll get to that in a moment. I still believe that it is a form of mutilation and not art. I look at it as being very unsafe, more so than piercings or tattoos simply because a person is removing their first defense to germs and bacteria. I've also seen many people get very lazy with simple piercings or tattoos so I have no doubts that a person's open wound would be neglected. I also see this as a way for self harm to be more accepted or seen as less serious than what it actually is. I feel like people would think as long as its a design, who cares. What has changed is that I used to firmly believe that this should be illegal. Now I believe that people should have every right to express themselves, even if I don't see eye to eye with it. I do believe that it should be mandatory that someone who is doing this should be certified in it and be able to see the signs of a person who is struggling with self harm. I think this type of thing should have more strict guidelines and have qualifications for who can receive this service.

Now in the past, I have been accused of being a horrible person who's against body art and whatever. I'd just like to say that that is absolutely ridiculous and not the case. I have had many piercings, I have two tattoos, and I firmly believe that self expression is a great thing. I just see this procedure as dangerous and I've heard many people become unhappy with how the scar turns out. I simply don't see the pros outweighing the cons with this one.