A few words about Dermal piercings from our professional body piercer

 

 

 

 

 

 

Micro Dermals, Dermal Anchors, Single Point Piercings, Skin Divers™ they all mean the same thing in essence. The implantation of a specially designed jewellery base under the skin to hold a facetted gem. The principle is fairly simple but it's the application and technique that makes the difference between a piercing that will work and one that may fail.

For the purpose of explanation I will use the term "dermal" in reference to the jewellery item, this is not a reference to a "specific jewellery design".

The concept is as noted before fairly simple, implant a base under the skin that will allow a threaded "jewelled" top to be screwed into the base. The design is basically a foot not unlike a human foot having a toe section and a heel section, the threaded stem is basically the leg extending from the "sub Q" layer of the skin to the top dermal layer or surface of the skin.

The benefits to this design is to allow placement of a single jewel in any location of the body that will support such a piercing. Not every location on the human body will accept a dermal that will not be subject to rejection. This is where your professional piercer comes in. The location of the desired dermal needs to be discussed and the range of motion needs to be accounted for as well as out side irritation from clothing.

Keep in mind we are talking about northern BC here and not southern California, big difference in geographical locations and with that climate and clothing. Dermals that would do just great in California would suffer in B.C. due to our climate and the amount of skin that needs protection from the weather….. You follow me so far…good.

As I mentioned before, the "range of motion" this is the amount of flex and twist of the skin in the location where you want the dermal placed. Be it the face or the abdomen, torso it all twists and flexes and stretches so this need to be accounted for because it makes a big difference on how the dermal is placed. It's not a case of make a hole and stick it in there, at least not how I go about doing it, the foot needs to follow the flex line of the tissue in order to be able to heal and stay in place and heal.

So as you are discovering, there is a bit more to this then a simple "make a hole and stick it in there" concept. Lots of shops with less than knowledgeable staff will do "just that". Remember once they have your money, most of these places could care less about you or your dermal piercing. So don't buy into the line that they have experience and knowledge, have them prove it to you, before you get the piercing done. You are on our site because you want to know more about this piercing and we are giving you straight goods, not a lot of fluff and big story.

The consultation is the first important step to getting closer to the piercing you want. Yes you need to interview the person doing the piercing for you. Here's what you need to know.

Not every location on the body will support a dermal anchor piercing contrary to what some less experienced piercers will tell you. Remember they don't care if the piercing works out or not once they are paid they could care less about you or your piercing (trust me when I tell you, I know that last part to be very true locally).

So if you are considering a dermal anchor piercing you need to interview your preferred studio and more over the piercer in great detail. Ask them how many piercings have they done in general (don't worry about the dermal anchor piercing yet until you get some more info about your piercer).

Ask to see the important things first:

1. Current Business License (every studio must have one)
2. Current Health Inspection Report (every studio must have one)
3. Current Spore Test for there Autoclave (every studio is required to test the autoclave)
4. Ask to see the Autoclave (if they give you a story about not having or needing one leave)
5. Ask to see where the service is to be provided. (is it clean and well maintained)
6. Ask to see proof of First Aid training (if something goes wrong do they know what to do)
7. Ask to see a portfolio of work done ( some shops have hundreds of pictures)
8. Ask about continued support for post piercing issues ( good shops look after clients )
9. Ask about aftercare information (this must be in writing, not just verbal)
10. Ask about pre piercing release forms ( this is an outline of informed consent detailing risks and complications that you need to be aware of and must get a copy of once you sign it)

So if you got any hassles about asking all the questions above or they start becoming agitated with your questions, that should be you cue to leave and find another shop and piercer.

A word about release forms, waivers, release and hold harmless agreements.

Just because you signed a release form, doesn’t mean the studio or service provider is in the clear should what they provide cause you bodily harm. It means that under the informed consent law in Canada you have been made aware that what you are asking to have done comes with some level of risk*, you are agreeing that you are aware of the risks (*which should be detailed on the form you sign) and should you have any issues with the service provided the provider should be available to assist you.

They must also exercise every avenue to ensure the service is provided in a safe and professional manner. Should they fail to do so that would be grounds for negligence of which the waiver or release doesn't protect them from. The waiver doesn't protect them from being responsible for making a mistake or from willingly harming you due to lack of knowledge, training or experience. You are required by law to receive a copy of any document you sign, this includes the release, waiver or whatever they may call it. If you sign it you need to be given a copy of it, period. No waiver to sign? RED FLAG time to leave.

The difference between Skin Divers™ and Dermal Anchors.

Skin Divers™ is a trade marked design jewellery piece which doesn't have a traditional foot design but more of a cone shaped base that sits inside the tissue where a foot would be. An interesting design from the Wildcat Collection out of England.

The first generation base doesn't have holes in, it for tissue to develop and hold the diver in place. The tops are not changeable and what you get is what you have until you choose to retire the piercing. This design is great however the application by less than experienced piercers leads to the unwarranted name for the divers as the pop out jewellery, this is due to inexperience and lack of knowledge on the part of the piercer.

The second generation base has holes in it, to allow for the tissue bonds to retain the jewellery base in place, much better for those who wish to retain the diver for a longer period.

The problem with the "divers" is not the diver it's self, but rather the person putting the diver into your skin in the first place. They tend again, to do the hit and run approach, do it, get your bucks and you're on your own. No checking the range of motion, the flex of the skin, or whether the location is acceptable to retaining the diver.

What the piercer knows is the difference between a piercing that will last for many years and a simple waste of money. Remember body piercing shouldn't be a sideline in the shop you go to, it should be exclusive. So do your research. I forgot you're on our site and that's what you're doing… I digress, sorry.

The process and the technique.

The are six ways to do anything, but only a couple that will work without issues. During your consultation, I will explain in detail the method I use to place the dermal anchor, this is the process that has proven to be the best. The needle pierce method leaves too much room for the body to simply reject the dermal foot, the punch method is by far the best means to allow the foot the opportunity to heal in place without inter piercing forces leading to migration. It's all about angles and the layers of tissue we need to get through to have the foot properly seated.

Here's what is expected of you before your booked appointment for the piercing. Be sure you have had a good meal before (at least 1~2 hours before your appointment). We are talking about real food not a bag of chips and a smoothie. The dermal piercing is not a quick process and with any time the body is under stress, you burn calories and sugars very quickly. This can make you a bit woozy and you need to be able to hang in there for the whole process, once we start we can't really quit until it's done. The average dermal piercing can take up to 15 minutes from start to finish. Hey you have it easy, you just need to lay still and relaxed as possible. We are dealing with the skin and the skin responds to all sorts of things, stress, fatigue, good mood, bad mood it all reflects in how easy the skin is to work with.

Uptight or stressed will cause the skin to contract and become harder to work, thus harder to get the jewellery into. So having the happy tummy and the sun streaming from your face to get your new piercing will benefit you and me. I like smiling faces on happy clients. I work quickly and will make every effort to get the process done as quickly and safely as possible while also ensuring your doing well in the process.

Please don't take any form of medication before your piercing appointment unless it is prescribed by your doctor and then I need to know what it's for so I can account for it's actions in the body. If you are scared or concerned about discomfort talk to me about this during the consult. Aspirin, Tylenol, Anti-inflamitories can cause the body to react in different ways, if I don't know you are on something, this could put you and me in harms way. Not cool, so be up front with me. The process is fairly simple and if everything is good fairly quick as well.

Aftercare and your new dermal piercing.

Aftercare is like, with all our other standard piercings, very simple. Bathing daily and rinsing the piercing in the shower with running water is about all that is really needed. You can go swimming in pools and the like, just ensure that once you are done you flush the piercing with clean running water in the shower.

Care needs to be taken in the initial healing stages of the piercing (the first few weeks post piercing being the most critical). The use of Band-Aids on the jewelled ends before bed to prevent snagging the jewellery during the night is very important. We want to keep outside irritants from getting into the new piercing, this would be shampoo, conditioner, body washes, facial scrubs. Leaving the Band-Aids in place during bathing is not a bad idea and removing them being the last thing you do before exiting the shower. This way you can rinse the piercing and flush it with warm water to clean away any discharge the piercing may have generated during the night. Walla fresh shining jewellery, clean and healthy and set to meet the day.

You will be provided with written aftercare instructions and a guide to explain how to care for the new dermal piercing, things to avoid and things to watch out for. All intended to extend the life span of your new dermal piercing.

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