Sure, it’s a cool craze, but experts are giving it the cold shoulder.
Reveling in wildly dangerous, stupid stunts is, frighteningly, on brand for daredevil youngsters.
However, healthcare professionals are now warning gutsy Gen Zs that the “freeze branding” trend, tattooing human skin with icy-cold liquid nitrogen, “can land you in a lot of trouble.”
“Friendly reminder, you are not a horse,” Andrea Suarez, a board-certified dermatologist, noted in a viral vid, featuring footage of a man’s back being imprinted with the frosty iron.
Typically done to mark livestock, freeze branding — also known as cryo-branding — is a technique involving a cryogenic coolant, instead of heat, to destroy the pigment cells and hair follicles of an animal, leaving a lasting logo.
“Freeze branding human skin is a bad idea,” the doc, based in Houston, Texas, advised her nearly 600,000 TikTok fans of the kooky kick, which she says can “result in a full-thickness burn, that puts you at risk for a deep infection called cellulitis.”
It’s an acute bacterial infection causing inflammation of the deep dermis and surrounding subcutaneous tissue, per the National Library of Medicine.
Without proper treatment, cellulitis can lead to complications such as sepsis, a bacterial infection in the bloodstream, an infection of the inner lining of the heart and osteomyelitis, an inflammation of the bone.
Suarez says factors that can influence the severity of freeze branding-related consequences include the overall temperature of the iron, how long it’s in contact with the skin and the overall skin thickness of the area being impressed.
Freeze branding is just one of the latest, loony and potentially perilous practices that tweens, teens and 20-somethings have recently adopted.
The “Sharpie lip-liner” trend is, too, sending shockwaves through the medical community, prompting dermatologists to advise beauty influencers against applying standard Sharpie marker ink to the edges of their mouths in hopes of achieving a semi-permanent pout.
“The risk isn’t worth it,” cautioned Dr. Brooke Jeffy, in a statement. “I would just have concerns that some of these potential toxins [found in Sharpies] would get absorbed [in the bloodstream] to a level that might be concerning for overall health risks.”
Skincare specialists issued a similar word-to-the-wise about the “hemorrhoid cream eye” hack.
It’s an “unhinged” movement that sees wannabe belles using topical steroids — meant to remedy swollen veins in the rectum or anus — to reduce bagginess beneath their eyes. But insiders say the outré quick-fix can cause serious health issues, such as glaucoma.
And much like her cohorts, Suarez advocates for skin health over trendiness.
“While [a freeze-brand tattoo] may look cool at first,” she began, noting the white-hot impression the cold poke leaves on the skin.
“After six weeks of intensive wound care, this is what you might be left with,” continued Suarez, showcasing the red, icky final results of the tat.
“And that was only after having [the freeze branding iron] on there for a mere 10 seconds,” she added. “Don’t do this.”
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