the wonderful world of dermal anchors

A dermal anchor is a technique that is essentially a single-point pocketing. A small piece of jewellery designed to be inserted into the body and is held or "anchored" in place by the surface tissue "dermal" around it. There are different techniques used to insert dermal anchors, needles (see figure 1 on the chart below) or dermal punches (see figure 2 on the chart below). Generally if a piercer uses a needle it is larger gauge then the jewellery, 12g - 10g. At the arthouse we use dermal punches which are gauge to gauge 14g.

 once the piercing is done a pocket is made for the toe and heel of the anchor and the anchor is popped in to place. While the tops of the anchors are interchangeable we do not recommend changing them. In my past experience it can be the demise of the piecing as it is nearly impossible to hold the anchor top and the post tight enough to change it. In my opinion dermal anchors are a much better choice for surface piercings, the longevity of them is much better then a traditional surface piercing as well the initial healing time on an anchor is fairly short, about 4 - 6 weeks.

piercings by laura barrett the arthouse inc

piercings by laura barrett the arthouse inc

piercing by laura barrrett the arthouse inc

piercings by laura barrett the arthouse inc

piercings by laura barrett the arthouse inc

piercings by laura barrett the arthouse inc

piercings by sondra musa / laura barrett the arthouse inc