microdermal

I recently had an exchange of correspondence with a piercer who asked some interesting questions:

I have been piercing for 10 years now in a shop where my husband is the awesome tattoo artist. I just want to be yet another one to thank you for all of your tireless dedication to this industry. I just had a quick question about surface piercings done with polytetrafluoroethylene. At first when these surface piercings became the thing to do around here, I would perform them with the traditional bars for hips, clavicals, Madisons-you name it. I stuck them all with bars. Now this new material seems so much better for healing and does not leave the same scars that the bars do. I just wanted to get your opinion on it. Which is better, the polytetrafluoroethylene or the traditional surface bars?

I received a question from someone seeking unusual ornamentation:

Are surface anchor piercings permanent, and can you get them on your feet (top)?

Thanx, Sara

My reply:

Hi Sara,

No, unfortunately, even when everything is done right, surface anchors simply appear to be less of a permanent body modification than traditional body piercings.

Further, they require ongoing care throughout their life span, including regular irrigation to make sure no matter builds up in the channel or under the ornament. And even with this care, sometimes they will tilt and/or surface and reject.

On the feet, they are especially unlikely to be successful, even for a short period of time. There is little padding on top of the bone, and the area is subject to excessive trauma. Also, in that region you are at greater risk for infection than other parts of the body because of the proximity of the feet to the dirty ground.

In the event that a surface anchor were to actually heal and stay for longer than I would expect, there's some chance that a small amount of tissue could grow through the holes that are present in the base of most anchors (for the very purpose of helping the anchor remain in place). If that were to happen, it could still be removed by a piercer using ordinary piercing instruments.

 I received this message from a reader:

 I want to start off by saying I've become completely fascinated by your book! The illustrations are so detailed and any questions I had about piercing and aftercare is all explained in your book :) Even though I wouldn't get some of the piercings from the book, I still love reading about them.

I was wondering if you could answer my question... I just got a microdermal (not sure if that's the correct term) piercing on the back part of my neck a few days ago. It doesn't hurt whatsoever, except for some sensitivity, which I'm ok with. I've applied purified sea salt to the area 3 times a day. The only time I actually touch it is wiggling it a little right after I spray my neck with the sea salt. My main concern is the jewelry piece. When you look at the piece like it's in front of you, it looks flat against my neck. However, when you look at it from the side, the bottom part of the piece is slightly at an angle, like it's popping out a little. The piercer said to try turning it, which I did. If it was still like that she said to come back and she'd turn it for me. I went 3 days after I'd gotten the piercing. She turned it quite a few times and she said it was fine. However, it still looks the same. I don't know if it's my body rejecting the piece, or if it's just swelling from the piercing.

My worry is the angle that it's at. I just want to be sure with the angle that it's at, it won't affect the healing process, or interfere with me being able to change the jewelery in a few months time. If you need a picture of the piercing to have a better idea, just let me know. I trust the piercer with what she said, but only so much. It helps if I hear from another professional person's point of view. Thank you so much for any and all help you can provide with my situation!!!!

I received this message from a woman who was concerned about her piercings:

Hi!! i had a micro dermal on my cheast for about 6 months adn just recently it started to reject so i tried everything to reverse it. I couldnt and it got worse it was really painfull and it looked horriable do i had the piercer that did it remove it. also before i rejected i got both of my nipples pierced. Do you like that had anything to do with it? it was like a week after i had my nipples done that it started to reject. And also the piercer offered to redo another dermal above the previous one. do you think the next one will reject also? thank you!!!! M.

My Reply:

Hi M.,

Thanks for your message. There is a chance that the extra "stress" to your body from the nipple piercings caused your surface anchor ("microdermal") to become unsettled and reject.

That said, unfortunately surface anchors tend to be temporary modifications at best. So even if you redid it, and it healed well, it would not be expected to last for more than a few years. This form of body adornment simply isn't as permanent as ordinary body piercings.

Sincerely,
Elayne Elayne Angel, Author The Piercing Bible--The Definitive Guide to Safe Body Piercing
Medical Liaison, Association of Professional Piercers
http://piercingbible.com/ http://www.facebook.com/elayneangel
http://twitter.com/elayneangel
http://www.linkedin.com/in/authorelayneangel

I received this message from someone with surface anchrs who was concerned about them:

Hi Elayne, I have four microdermal anchors, two in my fingers, and two in my wrists. I have had them for a few months, when I first got them done they were fine, but recently they have had infections (due to my job and all my animals) and I have been taking antibiotics for them. I have just noticed that on my wrist dermals small mounds have been forming, is this a sign of rejection, or just scar tissue? Thanks alot, L.

My reply:

Hi L.,

Without seeing them, I can't necessarily offer an opinion on exactly what is wrong, but I can say that such adornments are bound to be temporary. Surface anchors seldom last for the long-term--especially in such high-trauma areas. Also, such locations are more prone to infection than other spots. I hope that your piercer counseled you about these important facts before agreeing to do the piercings on you.

Did you consult your piercer? Did you visit your doctor for the antibiotics? What did your doctor say? Are you doing saline soaks and making sure there is no build-up of matter under the threaded jewelry end? Here's the aftercare instructions I advocate:

http://www.safepiercing.org/piercing/body-aftercare/

Sincerely,
Elayne

Elayne Angel, Author
The Piercing Bible--The Definitive Guide to Safe Body Piercing
Medical Liaison, Association of Professional Piercers

elayneangel@piercingbible.com
http://piercingbible.com/
http://www.facebook.com/elayneangel
http://twitter.com/elayneangel
http://www.linkedin.com/in/authorelayneangel

I got this message from a Facebook friend:

Back in November I got a micro dermal in my middle finger. I know now that is was a horrible place to get one. I have knocked it on things numerous amounts of times and caught it on clothing also. It would swell up, but after a day it would go back down. Well now it has been having puss coming out of it and the skin where the longer part of the bar is, is red and raised, like a fresh scar, and when a little pressure is on it, it looks like you can slightly see the metal. It's rejecting isn't it? If so, do I just let it reject on it's own or get it cut out? It isn't causing any pain, and the puss doesn't have an odor. Thank you so much! Jennifer

Hi Jennifer, Body art on the hands is notoriously hard to deal with. Unfortunately, it does sound as though it is rejecting. It is best to return to your piercer for an in-person evaluation and probably some assistance in removing it. There should be no necessity to "cut it out" though. Please see your piercer. By the way, the preferred terminology for this type of piercing (from the Association of Professional Piercers) is a "surface anchor." We want to distinguish it from implants and other more serious forms of body modification, because we view them as simply another type of piercing. When we use the terms "microdermal," "dermal anchor," or "microdermal implant," that can cause legislators to think we're doing something more serious than we are. Good luck, Elayne

I had a fantastic time in San Diego with the members of the APP Board of Directors. We came from all over: Mexico City, the Yucatan, Atlanta, and Philadelphia to name a few places! Working on the book had been a very solitary endeavor, so it was great to be among my peers and spend some time catching up with everything. While I was there, I did a few piercings. That was also marvelous, as my recent life has involved only writing about it and not DOING it. And, I also got a new ornament of my own. Not that anybody has noticed, since it simply replaces a crystal I used to glue onto my face. I had APP Vice President, Didier Suarez, of Enigma Professional Body Piercing do a surface anchor below my existing bindi piercing. It was SO easy and painless, and it seems to be healing extremely well. The board was great about letting me work on my book, but plenty of tasks and duties have been waiting for my attention in the meantime. So, I've been busy writing and editing articles for The Point, and writing and editing the APP brochures. I also had a lovely visit with my family including my mom, dad, sister, brother-in-law, nephew, and two nieces. And an uncle of sorts, too. He is actually my dad's partner when they did a hand-balancing acrobatic act decades ago in Atlantic City! While I was out there, I managed to fit in some visits with friends from high school, too. It was a non-stop trip and I enjoyed every hectic minute of it. Though, I'm glad to be back home with my husband and our house full of pets.

I struck up this conversation with a gal who made a comment on a post I made about surface piercings. She wrote:

… I'm getting a five point star surface piercing/s on my right hip in a few days :] gotta talk it over with my piercer but should be cool to go :] ...

I asked her:

Has your piercer been clear with you that the surface piercings are unlikely to stay long-term and that you will most probably end up with scarring instead of jewelry there?

Her reply:

Yeah I've been told that before. I knew it wasn't going to be long term/permanent anyways. Does a surface piercing count as one that goes under the skin, with two balls on each end? because I was thinking of doing that instead of where you can only see one ball. Does that make sense? Sorry if I'm confusing you but id like to get more background info before I get it done. thank you

I provided her with some additional information and I hope it will make her decide to take more time figuring out the best course of action: