Woman has her skin cut with a scalpel and PEELED off to create irreversible cat's paws 'tattoos' in gory scarification trend (Graphic)

A butcher has let cameras film the moment she had her skin cut and peeled off in the name of beauty.

Jo Fontaine, 33, from Dunstable, who is already a fan of piercings and tattoos, opted for scarification as she wanted something 'different' to help her stand out from the crowd.

'Basically they will be drawing a pattern on to my leg and cutting it out with a scalpel,' she said summing up the treatment on Channel 4 show Bodyshockers.

Explaining why she signed up for the gory treatment, Jo, who already has 13 tattoos and 27 piercings, said: 'I like to be ahead of the crowd and on the cutting edge. Everyone has tattoos and piercings, this is different and people are still shocked by it.' 

Scarification is far from a new idea  - it has been practised in tribal communities around the world for centuries - but has recently become a growing trend in the UK and USA. 

One British practitioner told Katie Piper, who presents Bodyshockers, that demand for their services has doubled in the last year.

The designs are similar to tattoos but instead of being inked on, the skin is cut out to create the desired pattern.

While tattoos can be lasered off or covered up with a new design if they lose their appeal, scarification is irreversible.  

The process is said to be extremely painful as deep cuts are carved with a sharp scalpel and the skin is then peeled off. 

Good hygiene during and after the treatment is essential to avoid infection of the open wound.

Acid attack survivor Katie admitted that the process 'sounds pretty painful and invasive, you are cutting chunks of the skin out' as she quizzed Jo on her decision to have scarification.

Jo's colleagues were also stunned that she would voluntarily put herself through this. 

'That is gross, how can you do that to yourself, taking lumps out of your body like that?' one asked her. 

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But Jo said she wasn't put off by the gory nature of the treatment and was keen to have a pattern of cat paws cut out on her leg.

Before going under the knife, she said: 'I am told it feels like scratching. It will be bloody but that doesn't bother me as I am a butcher.'

She allowed Katie and the Bodyshocker cameras to film her as she had the treatment - which made for grisly viewing.

Katie said the practitioner made deeper cuts than she expected when he carved out the pattern and then removed the skin tissue.

The presenter said: 'That was the most extreme modification I have ever witnessed. It was gory seeing the skin peeled off but it was more professional that I expected and I can see how it will become a more common and acceptable way to modify the body.' 

Jo gritted her teeth and admitted it 'stings when the skin comes away' but was later delighted with the permanent new addition to her body and said she may have more scarification in the future.

'It is exactly what I wanted, it could easily be another addiction to go along with the tattoos and piercings,' she said.

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