If you're a fan of the TV show Yellowstone , you'll know the deal - you earn your place on the ranch by being branded. On the show, this means having a red-hot iron pressed into your flesh, leaving a permanent scar of loyalty to Yellowstone Dutton Ranch and its patriarch, John Dutton.
Author
- Adam Taylor
Professor of Anatomy, Lancaster University
In life imitating art, people are getting themselves branded, but instead of using heat, they are using freeze branding. The branding iron is cooled using dry ice, isopropyl alcohol or liquid nitrogen, and then pressed against the skin to leave a permanent mark.
In 1966, Dr R. Keith Farrell at Washington State University developed freeze branding (also known as CryoBranding) as a less painful way to mark animals for identification. Aside from being less painful, it also produces less scarring than hot branding.
Cattle skin is much thicker than human skin and can take more punishment. Scratches that would cause pain and bleeding in humans would barely mark the surface of cattle. Horse and cattle skin is anywhere between two and four times thicker than human skin .
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When a person is freeze branded, the super cold causes ice crystals to form inside skin cells. As the water inside the cells freezes, it expands and breaks the cells' walls. This kills the cells and stops them from making melanin, the pigment that gives your skin and hair colour.
Because of the relative thinness of human skin (2mm), it's more likely to get badly burned from extreme cold. It can take as little as 20 seconds for liquid nitrogen to cause second , third and even fourth degree burns .
These burns can lead to serious problems, such as infection, frostbite or even loss of fingers or limbs.
Second, third and fourth degree burns can go deep enough to damage muscles, tendons and even bones. As these deeper tissues heal, scarring can form and cause long-term problems called contractures - a medical condition in which muscles, tendons or other soft tissues permanently tighten or shorten, causing restricted movement.
This is a bigger risk if the branding is done near the arms or legs, and it might need physiotherapy or even surgery to fix.
Like any serious burn, freeze-branding also increases the risk of dehydration . That's because burns damage the skin's protective barrier, and your body loses fluid while trying to heal from the trauma.
As mentioned above, freeze branding destroys melanocytes, special skin cells that give your skin its colour.
When you are exposed to sunlight - or the UV rays from a tanning bed - these cells produce more melanin to protect your skin. They pass this melanin to nearby skin cells, where it forms a kind of shield around the cell's DNA to help prevent damage from UV rays. That's why your skin tans after time in the sun. It's your body's way of protecting itself.
If you permanently damage your melanocytes, this protective shield is lost. People with albinism, who don't produce melanin, have a much higher risk of skin cancer for this reason. We don't yet know all the long-term risks of losing melanocytes - but they could be serious.
You're not a cow
There are strict safety protocols for branding animals. There are zero for humans. And in the UK, it's illegal to brand people - whether with heat or cold.
So if you're looking for a statement piece, stick with tattoos or body art that has been tested and regulated and won't put you at risk of burns, nerve damage or some types of cancer.
Your skin is your largest organ with many important roles, including protecting your internal structures from germs and helping synthesise key vitamins . Don't treat it like livestock.
Adam Taylor does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
