When body piercing comes to mind, traditional piercings such as the ears, eyebrow, nose, lips, and navel usually come to mind. Sometimes, these areas are pierced multiple times, or some may have other piercings in a variety of areas.
A new kind of piercing is quickly becoming popular with piercing enthusiasts. Known by several names, dermal and microdermal anchors, also commonly known as single point piercings, allow people to get pierced on flat surfaces all over the body.
What Are Single Point Piercings?
According to piercing expert Elayne Angel, author of The Piercing Bible, single point piercings are piercings that have a single piece of jewelry for each opening that is made in the skin. Traditional piercings have an entrance and exit point, where one end of the jewelry is inserted into the piercing and the end is threaded through the other skin perforation.
Single point piercings, also known as dermal or microdermal anchors, can be placed anywhere on the body, unlike traditional piercings that need to be placed where an entrance and an exit can be placed.
How Do Dermal or Microdermal Anchors Work?
Jewelry for single point piercings often consist of a small plate, about one-fourth inch in size, that is placed under the first couple layers of skin. A small nub attaches to the plate to help keep the jewelry in place, and sometimes the plate may have holes in it to allow skin tissue to grow around the jewelry in order to secure it. A threaded post protrudes from the skin, and threaded jewels, charms, or other shapes can be screwed onto the post to change the appearance of the jewelry.
When getting a single point piercing, a piercing artist will make an L-shaped incision in the skin and a pouch is made to house the plate and anchoring pieces of the jewelry, usually with the piercing needle or a dermal punch. The plate and anchoring pieces are then placed into the pouch and the adornment is screwed onto the post.
Healing time for these piercings is usually one to three months, and the chances of scarring are reduced due to the small size of the wound. However, there is a risk of catching accidents, especially when anchors are placed in areas that come in frequent contact with items such as clothing, jewelry, or foreign objects that may cause the jewelry to be traumatically removed from the skin.
Surface Piercings vs. Single Point Piercings
Despite similarities, there are differences between surface piercings and single point piercings. Surface piercings can be done on flat bodily surfaces in certain areas, because an entrance and exit point of the piercing is still needed.
However, there is always a good chance that surface piercings will be rejected or not last very long, says Piercing Experience of Atlanta, Georgia. Body piercing aftercare with surface piercings is extremely important because excess irritation from clothing and day-to-day activities can lead to the piercing being rejected. Jewelry from surface piercings, though, is less painful to remove.
Single point piercings just have a single skin perforation and a lower chance of rejection. Additionally, single point piercings generally last longer and move easier with the body. Removing the anchoring pieces of dermal or microdermal anchors, however, can be painful for those with low pain tolerances. To remove dermal or microdermal anchors, The Piercing Bible says that the jewelry is tightly gripped, the skin tissue around the jewelry is held and supported, and then the jewelry has to "forcibly removed" from the pocket of tissue.
Single point piercings, also known as dermal or microdermal anchors, are a type of body piercing that is growing in popularity due to the ability to pierce any surface on the human body. However, it is important that those considering a dermal or microdermal piercing consult an experienced and licensed piercer before going ahead with the procedure.
Sources
- Angel, Elayne. "Surface Piercing vs. Dermal Anchors" The Piercing Bible. Piercingbible.com, published 21 January 2009, accessed 22 February 2011.
- "Do surface piercing or dermal anchors work?" Piercing Experience. Piercingexp.com, accessed 22 February 2011.
Ashley Anderson - Ashley is an Ohio-based writer and editor with specializations in higher education, writing, and social activism.
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