“Oh my sweet, buttery bagels.” We’ve gone viral.

If you’ve been following this blog, you’ll know that my TV company, La Carmina & The Pirates, did the legwork for the National Geographic Taboo episode on Japanese bagel heads. The segment aired last week, and caused an unexpected media frenzy. Major news networks ran bagel-head stories — including ABC, Fox, E! News, Daily Mail, NY Magazine, The Sun, and CNN (a funny Ridicu-list piece by Anderson Cooper!).

Unfortunately, quite a few media reports were sensationalist, or plain old wrong. Nat Geo did a great job with the episode, but many tabloids have been reporting falsehoods about bagel-heads in Japan.

In this post, I hope to set a few things straight.

- Bagel-heads are not a Japanese trend! You’ll never see teens sporting this look in Harajuku; in fact, most Japanese have no idea bagelheads exists. Beginning around 2007-8, about 10 of these forehead saline inflations (ベーグルヘッド or 生理食塩水) are performed each year by Tokyo’s Keroppy Maeda, on special occasions such as underground fetish parties.

Only the most hard-core body modification participants (those with subdermal implants, multiple tattoos and piercings) take part in this. To call it a “crazy new Japan trend” is as accurate as calling dirty underwear vending machines a trend, when only a handful ever existed.

- A bagel head is not permanent, nor is it surgery! Maeda’s certified piercer, Asami, inserts a sterile saline drip under the forehead skin. In about an hour, a round swelling forms, which you push in to make the bagel shape. It hurts a little (headache) during the drip, but not after. In 6-24 hours, the person pees everything out and the skin returns to normal.

- When performed properly, getting a bagelhead is not dangerous! I’ve seen Keroppy and his team perform this four times now, and they take all professional precautions. The saline fluid is hospital-grade sterile, and the equipment is 100% clean and handled carefully. Everyone uses gloves and even face-masks, and Asami is a well-regarded, certified piercer. He never leaves the participants, checking every few minutes to make sure the drip is working properly.

- Don’t write off bagel-heads as “weird, crazy, wtf” before doing some thoughtful research. Tokyo’s known as a center of subcultures and personal expression, and a bagel head is only one wonderful product of the underground. Japan has a strong, supportive extreme body modification community (as you know from my alt nightlife posts). I’d best describe bagel-heads as a live art installation, or even a bonding session.

I hope this clears the air. Our Pirate crew worked hard on the episode and had a great experience with National Geographic. Hopefully, the hoop-la dies down and results in positive interest in Japan’s alt and fetish scene!

Thank you to The Japan Times for interviewing me about the bagel-head media distortion. You can read my thoughts above and here.

Are you looking for a bagelhead website, or want to do a show about it? My TV company La Carmina & The Pirates arranged and cast 4 bagel-head episodes to date (for Fuel/ Discovery, Pro Sieben German, Canal + France, and Nat Geo Taboo). Please contact us {gothiccarmina att gmail} if you’d like more info or to work together. (Watch our bagel head TV clips.)

Speaking of spooky wonders: have you noticed all the dark fashion currently in stores? ASOS has a particularly enticing collection of Gothic dresses, cross rings, spiky shoes and more. Above are three of my favorites: Wildfox crosses jumper, Thirty Four Disciples sheer maxi skirt, and Prey of London applique dress. The fall looks are elegant, with flowing sheer materials and Baroque patterns. I say yes to the dress.

Have you gotten any new Goth clothes for fall? What’s your reaction to the bagel-head stories in the news media? Please take a moment to share this post, to get the truth out.