Saline Heads/Bagel Heads
Saline injections are old news
Saline injections, although appearing to be a new fad, has been going on for some time. Saline injections in the genitals, breast... have been a part of underground erotic parties for many years. Jerome Abramovitch, a Montreal photographer, after witnessing a saline inflation fetish became fascinated with this form of body modification / art. He saw it as another direction to take performance art and photography. Abramovitch drew from this fetish and took the technique in another direction (the forehead). In 1999 he brought this concept of body modification to a ModCon convention, bagel head and all.
It was at this 1999 convention that Ryoichi "Keroppy" Maeda first met Abramovich. Keroppy is a photographer / journalist who has been documenting the underground body modification scene in Japan for more than 15 years. For years Keroppy and Abramovich continued to stay in contact and one day in 2003 he himself experienced his very own bagel head. Abramovich, who perfected this technique, later gave Keroppy permission to take this fad to Japan. In 2007 Keroppy and his team started forehead infusions in Tokyo. From that point on he has been hosting bagel head parties around the city.
I don't doubt that there are still those who ask themselves what would make someone do this to them-self. I honestly don't know but what I have read from others who practice this art / trend / fad / modification they appear to be drawn by the extreme.
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Fad, Trend ?
There are those who don't see the bagel heads as a fad or trend but I choose to leave that finale decision up to you.
Wikipedia describes a fad as " any form of behavior that develops among a large population and is collectively followed with enthusiasm for some period...." This seems to be what is going on with the bagel heads of Japan.
Wisegeek.com definition of a trend is: " A trend, on the other hand, has the potential of becoming a long-term influence on the future of a market. The two may resemble each other at first, but there is almost always a definite beginning and a definite end to a fad. "
The process
Similar to a hospital procedure, a saline bag, tube and needle are the tools of the trade. A needle is injected into the forehead, preferably by a technician and a saline drip begins. It takes about 300-400cc of saline to obtain the desired blob in the forehead. The process takes about two hours to complete. Upon completion the indentation process begins, the technician takes his or her thumb and places it in the middle of the blob, this is where the bagel shape comes from. Those who have undergone the process can can push and mold their mounds to make them appear more interesting if they choose.
The saline that has formed a mound on their forehead is not permanent, it is gradually absorbed by the body. This absorption takes anywhere from 16 to 24 hours. The good thing is that if you are not satisfied with the results it is only a matter of hours until the inflation goes down. Kerropy believes that if the process is done correctly, it poses no danger. He has also stated that at his parties many of the guys there have scrotal infusions as well. That's right guys the extremist do go that far, but can you imagine the dangers of an infection being trapped there.
Are there dangers with saline injections ?
The use of tap water can be very dangerous for a body inflator ( bagel head ) due to the high risk of infection. Making sure that the technician knows what they are doing is also important, a needle in a vein as opposed to being under the skin is dangerous. That danger being a build up of pressure, which could result in exploding blood vessels. It has been noted by regular users that their skin has permanently expanded. In my personal opinion this expansion should be obvious because they are continuing to expand the skin and stretching it out of shape. The same way that a pregnant woman has a little pouch after giving birth, the bagel head should expect a deflated pouch after giving birth to one too many bagels.
Omar Ibrahimi, a dermatologist at the Connecticut Skin Institute said that there is a three fold risk for bagel headers.
1. Although the body can safely absorb saline solution under the skin, the injections should be done in moderation. "Saline solution that is too concentrated can overload the body’s capacity to process salt."
2. There are a lot of risks of bacterial or fungal infections on the bases of sterility.
3. Permanent laxity due to stretching the skin beyond its normal elasticity.
Anyone choosing to go in this direction should weigh out the pros and cons. Self expression can and does have a price.
