The Loris Bite

tBody modification has been around since the beginning of civilization and maybe even before that. Many tribes used different forms of body modifications as signs of rank and adulthood. This carried on from tribes to entire cultures and empires. Body modification is still strong today and has spread to many different cultures. Tattoos and piercings are probably the most popular form, but they're not nearly the half of it, and if they were the half of it, they'd be the softer side. These are some of the more intense body modifications that are still done today. There's no real way to judge which is most intense and which is least intense since its really only my opinion, but I'm going to try and work my way up, starting with what I think is the least intense.

1) DENTAL IMPLANTS

Implants of jewels in teeth have been around since the Mayan culture was still kicking. These images show teeth filing and the drilling of jewels into teeth have been around long before the dental tools we have today. They would make the cavities with a rod that they would spin between their hands and use powdered quartz and water as an abrasive.

2) SCARRING

This are men from Burkina Faso, where facial scarring is a sign of manhood. These men are from the Bobo tribe, where the children get these scars usually around age 10 to show that they have entered into adulthood.

3) LIP DISCS

I know this one seems crazy, but I had gauged ears for a little while so I don't think that stretching out your piercings is that ridiculous, but the extent to which these people do makes it intense. This is a woman from the Mursi tribe in Ethiopia. These lip plates are a sign of beauty over there.

4) SUBDERMAL IMPLANTS

I couldn't imagine having anything under my skin that wasn't a part of me. I'm sure that it would affect the way that your body feels and it would take some getting used to. What happens if you fall and cut your skin open where the implants are? These are more modern, and have become quite popular.

 5) EXTRAOCULAR IMPLANTS

I could never imagine having this done. I really like the implant, but I couldn't imagine having it done. The outer layer of the eye must be cut open in the shape of the implant, the implant is inserted, and then the eye heals over the implant. This is also a more modern body modification.

 6) TONGUE SPLITTING

Tongue splitting has been around for awhile and has more recently been made famous by the Lizardman of LA. I really like it and I wish I dated a girl that had it done, but I'm not really in that crowd. The reason I thought this was more intense than the facial scarring and the subdermal implants is because of the sheer pain that this procedure must cause. The healing process must be a bitch too. 

7) NECK STRETCHING

 This is a photo taken in a forest between Burma and Thailand of a woman and her child with cultural stretching rings around their neck. If the woman were to take those rings off, her neck would not be strong enough to support her head and she would probably break her neck and die.

8) CRANIAL BINDING

Cranial binding has been around for a long time and has been a part of the culture in Africa and South America, mostly Peru. The Mayans did this to "speak more clearly to the Gods."

9) TREPANATION

Now, I know that this is not an aesthetic body modification, but it certainly is the most intense one. Trepanation has been practiced for centuries. Basically, somebody drills a hole through your skull. This is supposed to increase your brain's capacity for blood and stimulate the upper regions of the brain that don't get too much action. It is an illegal practice in the states, but I guess if you can do it on your own without getting caught you'll be good.