Glow scarification

Glow scarification is the process of implanting glow powder into the skin in a manner to create a permanent glowing mark on someones skin. Despite the overarching term, not all forms of glow scars actually produce much scar tissue at all. Glow scarification does not cover larger implanted glowing devices, such as xGlow, firefly, or xLED.

Different techniques

Cutting

The most common form of glow scarification involves cutting deep into skin, and filling the wound with glow powder. It can be used to form lines, straight and curved, and is very versatile. Cuts can be made in a variety of ways, but the most common are straight vertical cuts, or W cuts, which are created with a vertical cut, and two cuts inside the cut, to form a larger base, without skin removal.

Skin removal

Skin removal, sometimes called flesh removal, involves excising the dermis from a section of skin, and replacing the volume with glow powder. It can be used to produce a filled in area or otherwise thicker lines. Skin removal takes a long time to heal, and requires special care for optimal results. While skin removal normally uses scalpels, dermal punches/biopsy punches are also often used when the goal is producing small dots.

Stick and poke

Glow powder cannot be tattooed with a tattoo gun. However, manual stick and poke is a suitable method. Glycerin or green soap are often used to hold the powder, as it cannot be poked in dry. A steep angle is often used, and proper depth must be ensured as it can be difficult to get retention of glow powder, significantly more than with ink stick and poke.

Less common methods

Injection is a relatively uncommon practice, but can be done to produce dots or straight lines. It is notable in that it reaches a similarly solid block of glow as skin removal or cutting, but without any scarring.

Sandblasting is an experimental method involving propelling glow powder into the skin at high velocity, typically using a sandblaster. It is not recommended for anyone other than experienced body modders, as maintaining sterility can be difficult or impossible due to the nature of how it works.

Failure modes

Glow scars are not a risk free endeavor. They can fail, or have serious health consequences, when done improperly, or for no reason at all. Being aware of these risks is very important before getting glow scarification done.

Infection

Infection is a very serious concern, especially with skin removal glow scars. Because you are intentional introducing millions of foreign bodies to your skin, infection can be exceedingly likely if glow powder is not properly sterilized. For this reason, it is recommended that pre-sterilized glow powders are used, from brands such as Abysswalker and Dangerous Things. Even with properly sterilized powder infection risk is far above nonzero, glow scar wounds take longer to heal than typical scarification, and require extensive care for weeks after cut to keep them clean and infection free. During the scarification, sterile equipment and aseptic technique should be maintained as much as possible.

Rejection

Rejection is the immune system's response to foreign bodies, by pushing them out of the body and causing inflammation. While it is relatively uncommon with glow scars, it can still happen.

Lack of retention

Glow powder, even when not being rejected by the immune system, can still fail to properly stay inside the body. Often caused by cuts being too shallow, or not receiving proper aftercare, lack of retention can result in dim or entirely nonexistent glow.

Encapsulation failure

Main article: Encapsulation failure

Encapsulation failure is when the bio safe silica or phosphate passivization surrounding glow powder fails, resulting in the glow powder dissolving inside your body. This can occur when excessive mechanical stress and friction is applied to glow powder, such as when you attempt to use a automatic tattoo gun. However, more commonly encapsulation failure is due to manufacturing defects in the glow powder, which can cause the entire glow scar to dissolve into you.

Aftercare

Main article: Glow scarification aftercare

The aftercare for glow scars varies depending on method of scarification, and individual healing history, aswell as just personal opinion.

For stick and poke

Stick and poke aftercare is generally as simple as tegaderm and monitoring the glow scar for issues. As it is a very similar process to normal tattoos, the same methods can generally be employed.

For cuttings and skin removal

Cuttings and skin removal require similar aftercare, although skin removal generally needs more careful attention and monitoring. Hydrocolloid bandages are often recommended for the start of healing, roughly a week before switching to tegaderm once the wound is sealed, however hydrocolloids can have issues pulling out glow powder, harming powder retention. For this reason, bandages which are non adhesive may be used, often in conjunction with tegaderm, and changed frequently for moisture. These include xeroform and alginate dressings.

Maceration is a common issue faced by skin removal glow scars in particular. Maceration appears as dead white tissue around the edge of the wound, and can occur when too much moisture is present. When a wound is macerated, it may heal much slower, and have worse retention or overall qualities when healed.