‘Zapping’ trend gives the thrill of having a tattoo or piercing… but without the pain

The welded bracelet trend gives you the ‘thrill’ of a tattoo or piercing ‘without pain’.

While ‘permanent jewellery’ has been around since 2021, produced by London-based Astrid and Miyu, other brands have since followed suit and fans are once again excited about it.

‘Zap’ is another name for applying permanent jewelry. And the method of getting a bracelet or anklet welded permanently on your wrist or ankle has been likened to having a tattoo.

The trend has started again after a TikTok user @Lucyisdewy posted a video of herself getting a gold necklace.

The TikToker opted for a thin gold bracelet with her initials on it and a cute little love heart. She documented the process on the social media site and showed her followers how easy it is to get one done

The process involves specialists zapping two ends of the bracelet, while using a small flame to fuse the pieces together

The final product. TikTok user @Lucyisdewy posted a video of her being presented with a gold chain while captioning the post: ‘Now in love with permanent (sic) pieces’

The post has garnered more than 730,000 likes as viewers have said they’ll get one for themselves because they think it’s “so cute and dainty.”

Accompanying her video, she wrote: ‘Now in love with permanent (sic) pieces’.

To ensure that the piece is firmly attached, specialists use a stylus with a needle on the end.

This uses electricity to fuse a small ring or clasp together so that the silver or gold cannot be opened or removed.

The TikToker showed the process from start to finish, showing a thin gold bracelet with the initials L and K and a love heart in the middle.

The specialists then clamp the ends of the bracelet together while dabbing a little bit of metal to solder the parts together.

They then place a small cover over the area being zapped — to protect the skin — while using a small flame to fuse the pieces together.

Then they polish the area that is attached together to make it nice and smooth.

All in all, experts say the process is over in seconds. And the whole appointment shouldn’t take more than 15 minutes in total.

Sarah Sides, the CEO and founder of Love Weld says she believes its popularity is due to the fact that it offers a similar experience to having a tattoo or piercing, but without the pain

The specialist then polishes the bracelet after soldering to ensure it is soft. Then they clean it again to remove excess dirt

In an interview with Fox newssays Sarah Sides, the CEO and founder of Love Weld that the permanent jewelry trend is growing rapidly.

She added that the items are completely safe and comfortable to wear, as she explained, “In making the permanent jewelry line, [we landed on something that] should be durable but comfortable and light.

“The idea is that it’s like a second skin.”

And Ms. Sides believes its popularity is due to the fact that it offers a similar experience to having a tattoo or piercing, but without the pain.

She added, “It gives you the thrill of a tattoo or piercing without the pain.”

“I see a lot of people seeing this as a fun, less scary alternative to a piercing or tattoo, but still the same shared experience.”

And TikTok users are in love with the trend too, as one person commented, “Love this bracelet, so cute and dainty.”

arah Sides, the CEO and founder of Love Weld says the permanent jewelry trend is growing rapidly. She added that the items are completely safe and comfortable to wear

And another social media user was eager to get one ASAP. They wrote, “We should get matching when we’re older.”

And a second urged their friend to buy a matching one, writing, “Let’s do this.”

A third said they feel these bracelets bring more commitment than an ink, saying, “Why does this feel more permanent to me than a tattoo.”

However, some TikTok users have seen that there is a downside to wearing it permanently on your body.

When mentioning one of the possible issues, a user said, “Airport security?”

And another said, “All fun in games until there’s no jewelers event.”

One person also wondered, “What if you have to take X-rays.”

While a third jokingly wrote, “What if your hand gets bigger.”