But plenty of people who are part of mainstream culture sport brands as well. For example, some fraternities use it as part of their membership process. That's why sports stars Michael Jordan and Emmitt Smith are part of the branded set.

Branding is becoming a popular form of body art.

"Body art is very important," said Dr. Timothy Clydesdale, chairman of the department of sociology/anthropology at The College of New Jersey. "Look at the cosmetics industry, male and female."

The reason why branding, and some other forms of body art, are culturally not accepted in this country has to do with our ethnocentrism, Clydesdale explained.

"Branding is unacceptable to the mainstream because it is used by the fringes and identified with them," he said.

And although it may seem as if branding is on the fringe of body art, it is offered at some east coast tattooing and body piercing shops.

Where It's At

"Branding began seven to eight years ago on the west coast, and has been around about four years on the east coast," said Ron Rotatori, owner of Primal Urge in New Hope, Pa. In his shop, they had typically performed one branding a month when they first started heating up the irons about three years ago. Now, the total has reached about six per week. That doesn't mean branding is becoming a new fad or trend or reaching for the relative acceptance tattoos and piercings have managed to achieve -- depending on with whom you're speaking, that is. On the contrary, Rotatori, who has several tattoos and ear piercings, acknowledges it takes a "different" kind of person to get a branding.

"Most people who come in are curious," he said. "We give them information sheets and try to educate them."

People interested in branding need to know exactly what they're in for. Unlike piercings and tattoos, brands are not completely removable. They can be only slightly reduced via plastic surgery.

Megg, with Infinite Body Piercing in Philadelphia, also makes it a practice to tell potential branding customers all about the process before going forward.

"I prepare them for it," she said. "And I ask them if they're looking for results or the process itself."

Megg offers two types of branding: strike and cautery scalpel. Strike is done with hot irons whereas cautery scalpel is done with a type of heat pen to "draw" the design onto the skin. According to her, there is only one person in the country doing branding using an actual cautery laser.

"I only do branding by appointment because I can't take time out from piercing," she said, "So I do it on days off and after hours."

The way it's done at Infinite involves two appointments. First, for strike branding, the customer brings in the chosen design and Megg makes the necessary irons. The second appointment is for the actual branding.

At Primal Urge, there are several available stock irons made from thin surgical steel from which customers can choose. A huge flash piece on cowhide shows the many different symbols that can be created, such as the signs of the zodiac. Rotatori is happy to show pictures of his many completed brands, the largest of which was 35 strikes and took a half hour to complete.

How It's Done

Jason Metivier, manager of Primal Urge, heats up a branding iron at 1,100 degrees.

Branding is a third degree burn on the skin. The area of skin to be branded is first sterilized. The iron is heated to 1,100 degrees and touches the skin for less than a second. The design can be done no more than two inches at a time because the heat on the metal must remain even. The resulting scar will spread to 3 times the width of the original burn, therefore the iron should be thin. The nerves are instantaneously destroyed so there should be no pain involved.

Cautery scalpel is different in that the design is drawn onto the skin using a device similar to a heat pen. A heat transfer Xeroxä, as in tattooing, is designed and leaves ink on the skin. Then the heat pen goes over it. Megg said this process leaves more of a fine line and is not as deep. Letters and more intricate designs can be done using this method, whereas with strike, the intricacy of the design is limited because of the width of the irons and the resulting spread of the scar.

The healing process is what can become uncomfortable. In three to five days, the scar will begin to itch as it heals.

"Leave it alone," Rotatori said. "Keep it clean and in six to eight weeks it will heal into a flat scar."

According to Megg, it can take up to a year to completely finalize the entire healing process.

If the scab is disturbed, then the scar will become raised and rough. People heal in different colors too. Some may appear more red while others are quite faint.

When it comes to choosing strike or cautery scalpel branding, Megg said strike may be more mentally intimidating. "It strikes a primal chord," she said. "Some clients who get heat pen may not be ready for strike."

"Strike yields more dramatic results," Megg said. "It's more intense body work."

Into The Spiritual Realm

Megg trained in San Francisco with Fakir Musafar, the self-proclaimed Father of the Modern Primitive Movement, and the co-founder of the first body piercing shop in the United States, Gauntlet. The term Modern Primitive refers to people getting back in touch with their bodies and becoming more grounded in a natural existence. Megg emphasizes the spiritual side of branding, having three complete brands herself and working on a fourth. Her brands do not define who she is, however.

Indeed, Megg is a well-groomed, trendy young woman who is very professional about her work. Megg is into the process of branding that, for her, involves proper breathing and perhaps chanting.

"It's a religious ecstasy like I've never felt before," she said. "The first one was so intense I felt I had to train to share it with others. The spiritual aspect is definitely at the forefront. It's an incredible rush of endorphins, a pleasure chemical, and if you choose to enjoy it and go with it, it can take you to a difference place inside yourself and get in touch with places you didn't know were there."

"There's usually a big endorphin rush," Rotatori said.

And although this may seem like a relatively easy way to get an endorphin rush, Megg said branding is not to be taken as a joke.

"It can't be trendy or done lightly," she said. "It can't be done for surface reasons."