We understand that everyone has to consider the cost of a piercing. But, what we want everyone to remember is that, just like anything else you buy, you are probably going to have to pay a bit more for higher quality and better service. And, when it comes to your body…you’re health and safety…do you really want anything but the best?

And it was with that belief in mind that we helped this very enthusiastic and surprisingly civil, gorilla find his way in the world with a nipple piercing. As with all things cutting-edge these days, there was video documentation. We hope to be able to provide that to all of you at some point.

triple forward helix done by Derek

UPDATE
We’ve been getting a lot of emails and questions about whether these are “dermals”, microdermals or some kind of surface piercing. No. These are just standard forward helix piercings done with standard piercing jewelry.

While we don’t wish to speak ill of anyone, if you consult a piercer about these piercings, and they tell you that they are some sort of dermal anchor piercing, or that the jewelry to do these as a regular piercing doesn’t exist or something similar, we would strongly encourage to find another piercer. While this particular configuration of piercings has recently become very popular, it isn’t “brand new” or overly advanced. If a piercer can’t figure out what is going on by simply looking at the picture, it probably says something about their experience and/or understanding of basic body piercing.

Bleach Temby (a.ka. Bleach Methane) is a pretty talented guy.  If you’re aware of who he is, you probably know that he is an accomplished tattoo artist and pretty good with a pen and pencil.  But did you know he plays a mean bass guitar?   Or that he’s pretty handy with a computer or that he knows his way around a camera? How about the fact that this guy has developed his own unique tattoo style?  And when it comes to eighties trivia- he can go toe to toe with the best of ‘em!

After fifteen years of tattooing, Bleach has become known for creating beautiful pin-up girls and striking photorealistic portraits.  His custom tattoo designs are as intricate and dynamic as they are solidly tattooed.  Looking at his extensive portfolio or speaking with any of his loyal clients, you would suspect that the fact Bleach has managed to stay focused on one thing for this long is just short of amazing!

“I get bored,” says the 37 year old artist.  “I’ll do something for a while, but it’ll get old.  Time to pick up something else.”  Notorious for his short attention span , Bleach jokes about suffering from a hybrid of Attention Deficit Disorder and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

“I get into learning something new and I can’t leave it alone until I figure it out.  But once I know how to do it, I get distracted by the next thing.  I have to make myself keep doing it or I’ll check out, move on to another (interest).”

Bleach embraces his "condition" with knuckle tattoos

As a musician, Bleach has played bass for over 20 years, performing with various rock bands and working on numerous personal projects.  His musical interests eventually expanded toward digital production so he could do his own mixing and editing.  From there he began using his computer to manipulate images.

“Years ago, back when I was at Steve’s Tattoo in Madison, WI, we used to cut out pictures of one another and literally cut and tape them together with pictures from magazines.  Then we’d adjust the image on the copier to make embarrassing pictures of each other.  Photoshop came along and made that much easier.”  Bleach began honing his computer-aided design skills by making business cards and fliers for the tattoo shop and local bands.  This led to picking up the occasional graphic design client.

Since those days of physical cut-and-pasting, Bleach has created logos and graphics for a variety of businesses including a couple of popular local Minneapolis bars and a national sock company.  Recently he has been having a good time creating graphic tees which he submits to various t-shirt derby websites.  Look for his old school tattoo-style homage to Star Trek available soon on TeeFury.com.

Star Trek-themed t-shirt design by Bleach

Interestingly, it was a design on a t-shirt that led Bleach to create an innovative tattoo-design style he uses from time to time.  While at Capital City Tattoos, also in Madison, he had a client who wanted a tattoo of an image of Jack Nicholson from the movie “The Shining”.  The image was a white screen print on a black shirt.  The only way to replicate the white image with its black background, exactly as the design appeared on the shirt, would be to tattoo the black background leaving the image as open, negative space..  Bleach didn’t want to handle the design that way because it gave the image the appearance of being framed inside of a black box.  He began considering other options and wondered what a negative of the image would look like.

After photographing the t-shirt image with a digital camera, he took a look at the image using the camera’s negative setting.  This reversed the black and white colors so the photo of Nicholson now appeared as a positive, dark image and the background became white.  Bleach tattooed the positive image onto his client who was so pleased with the work that he later wanted to do another portrait but this time as an actual negative!

The first negative tattoo Bleach did

For the second tattoo, Bleach increased the detail and shading to make it even more dynamic.  The technique worked out incredibly well and the tattoo looked great.  Since then, Bleach has created a number of these negative-style portraits for clients, each one unique and strikingly eye-catching.

“When I began doing the negative tattoos, I hadn’t seen anyone else doing tattoos like that.  It was exciting to be doing something new.  To be the first, as far as I was aware of, to do this type of tattoo and to be teaching myself how to do it.”

Nowadays Bleach has been using his digital camera for more than negative tattoos.  While he’s had an on-again/off-again affair with photography since high school, that love has reawakened over the past few years.  He has been working on a number of conceptual projects, candid portraits, and modeling shoots while working closely with his good friend Jeff Roberts of Eyeball Imaging in an effort to continue developing his technical abilities.

“The thing about Jeff is that his photos have a really amazing sense of detail.  The background, the environment… it’s treated like another character in the image along with the model.  His technique brings all the elements of the shot together in a really cool, cohesive way.”

As for digital design, Bleach has continued to develop that too, but his current focus is digital painting.  This relatively new medium uses a stylus, digital tablet, and software rather than physical paints.  Unlike computer generated art which relies on digital models to render images, digital painting involves applying painting techniques to compose imagery from a blank slate.

His recently finished, first painting is a large scale image of the two joy-riding parking garage attendants from “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” as seen through the windshield of the ’61 Ferrari.  But why a portrait of two minor characters from a 25 year old teen comedy?

“There’s this artist named Massimo Carnevale.  (He) does these great paintings of random scenes and characters from movies, TV, comics.  I love everything he does so I wanted to try one.”  And just like anyone who hit puberty in the eighties, Bleach was weaned on John Hughes films.  ” I wanted to do an iconic scene that made people think ‘Where do I know them from?”

digital painting by Bleach

“I grew up in the late seventies and eighties and I remember it better than yesterday.  Everything was awesome.  I was having fun with friends and my family, being a kid.  I remember everything from that time- music, movies, TV shows.”

Bleach enjoys drawing and tattooing most any pop-culture subject matter, from cartoons and comedians to horror and sci-fi icons.  But you start to wonder if this infatuation is bordering on psychosis once you have been exposed to his expansive collection of memorabilia.

Amongst the relics of Bleach’s 80′s time-capsule you can find some long forgotten Freddy Krueger items, including a cherished copy of “Freddy’s Greatest Hits,” a vinyl album featuring Freddy, as voiced by “Nightmare on Elm Street’s” own Robert Englund who sings and raps a variety of original songs and covers.

But the lion’s share of his treasure horde leans heavily toward science fiction with a focus on the big three:  Dr. Who, Star Trek, and Star Wars.  Having grown beyond the simple acquisition of more rare models, limited-edition action figures, or vintage posters, Bleach has taken to becoming a bit more DIY in his efforts.

His current geek-project will result in the centerpiece of his collection:  he is building a life-sized replica of the Han Solo in carbonite prop, or HIC (Han In Carbonite) to those in the know.  It features a casting from the original mold used to make the prop seen in “The Empire Strikes Back.”

“When it’s finished, it’ll have blinking lights and sound effects exactly like the one from the film.  It’ll be sweet.”

We wish Bleach good luck with his many endeavors but in particular we hope he can focus his surplus of restless creative energy long enough to finish his Han Solo/fan-boy alter – even if doing so means everyone around him will have to endure weeks of looking at photographs of “my awesome HIC !”

Matt has been a manager at Saint Sabrina’s for a few years now, where he uses his extensive vocabulary and gentle southern manner to help clients with many of their tattoo and piercing needs. Matt has a list of interests that rivals…well, something that is a really long list. At the top of that list is designing and making jewelry out of precious metals as well as things less precious, via his workshop, Gold Monkey Designs.

Matt is not actually a zombie. Probably.

Why Oh Why?

In order to understand how to deal with metal sensitivity or allergic reactions, it’s helpful to understand what is going on to begin with. A sensitivity or an allergy to certain types of metal/jewelry is really no different than a seasonal allergy or food allergy. It means that there is something (an allergen) in the metal that irritates your body. As with any other allergy or sensitivity, your body’s immune system kicks in to gear to try and deal with the allergen. If your body is unable to deal with allergen, then you have an allergic reaction.

The degree to which a piercing “freaks out” depends on how sensitive to the allergen you are, or in other words, how much it’s bothering your body. If it is only bothering your body a little, the symptoms can be very mild: slight itching,  a small amount of redness and/or the piercing will just feel a little “funny”. If your body is highly-sensitive to the allergen, the piercing may become very itchy, red, swollen, painful and it may throb. It may also secrete a mostly-clear, sticky liquid. In some cases the piercing hole will appear to get bigger as the skin tries to pull away from what is irritating it. It is this fairly severe allergic reaction that many people mistake for an “infection” when they have problems wearing jewelry in their earlobes, but also in other piercings.

As with most allergies, if your body is sensitive to something it gets worse as time goes on and the more you are exposed to the allergen. Because of this, many people find they are able to wear just about any type of jewelry when they are younger, but as they get older and spend more years exposing their body to whatever they are sensitive to, they began to have reactions more frequently and the reaction becomes more severe. Eventually, the reaction can occur with even the slightest amount of contact. Of course, there are some people who are very sensitive from birth and have problems as soon as they come in to contact with the allergen.

All Mixed Up

When it comes to metals used in body piercing (even standard earlobe piercings), almost every metal used is actually an alloy.  An alloy is made by mixing a bunch of different elements/metals in an attempt to create a new metal that has specific combination of  characteristics:  strength, flexibility, rust-resistance, weight, bio-compatibility  etc. Even gold, which many people consider to be  ”pure” is actually an alloy when it is used for jewelry. Gold, in it’s pure form (24 karat gold) is too soft most jewelry applications and definitely so for body jewelry. Niobium, and in a few limited applications, titanium, are the only truly “pure” metals used for piercing jewelry. Most of the titanium used in body jewelry is an alloy along with platinum.

So, instead of being allergic to “stainless steel”, it is actually one, or more, of the specific elements used to create the alloy that causes allergic reactions.

Who’s To Blame?

There is no way to know for certain what elements in a particular metal cause someone to have an allergic reaction without having some medical testing done. However, because many people have had these tests done, and through observation over the years, it is widely-accepted that it is the element nickel to which most people have an allergic reaction. Nickel is present, in varying amounts, in all kinds of stainless steel. Obviously knowing what the most common culprit is is makes it easier for us to find solutions.

“Uh, Why Use Stainless Steel Then?”

That seems like a pretty fair question. Stainless steel is used in body piercing jewelry because it is is readily available, relatively inexpensive, resists corrosion/rusting and is relatively easy to machine.

“But, but, but..it’s got nickel in it! ”

Nickel is one of the elements that gives stainless steel it’s “stainless” (i.e, rust resistant) property. The inside of the human body can be a very corrosive environment and therefore something that resists corrosion is very important. So while it can create problems, nickel has some pretty serious benefits as well.

Before declaring nickel the bringer of evil when it comes to body jewelry, there are a couple of things to keep in mind. First of all, not all stainless steel is the same; there are different “grades” of it. For example, your silverware and kitchen knives are probably made out of stainless steel, however they probably are not made out of the same grade of stainless steel that you want to put in your body.  Different grades of stainless steel are different alloys and therefore contain different mixtures of various elements. It is these differences, and how they react with each other and the body, that are important. So, the fact that stainless steel contains nickel doesn’t automatically make it bad for use in piercing jewelry.

There is a grade of stainless steel, called 316L, which can be used to create stainless steel that is considered “implant-grade”. Without boring you to tears with all the scientific details of what makes up “implant-grade” stainless steel, obviously it’s important that any stainless steel you put in your body (at least for an initial piercing, and ideally, always) should be implant-grade. It’s also important to emphasize that just because stainless steel is 316L that DOES NOT mean it is automatically implant-grade. There’s a good chance that most of the stainless steel jewelry you see at inexpensive mall stores and kiosks is not implant-grade quality stainless steel.

It’s also important not to be fooled by the label “surgical stainless steel”. There is no official designation for “surgical stainless steel”. If you wanted to start making body jewelry you couldn’t go to a steel supplier and find “surgical stainless steel”. That term was created by marketing departments of companies that wanted their products to seem more “safe” or more “medical”. Seeing jewelry (or anything else for that matter) labeled “surgical stainless steel” tells you absolutely nothing about the material it’s made of other than it’s SOME form of stainless steel.

Needless to say, all stainless steel jewelry we use for our initial piercings, and whenever otherwise possible, meets the specifications for being implant-grade. We have “mill certificates”, which are provided by the mills that produce the raw materials, verifying the material they supply to our jewelry sources meets the standards for being implant-grade.

Our Experience With Implant-Grade Stainless Steel

As we mentioned at the beginning of this blog, a lot of our customers have trouble wearing cheap jewelry from mall stores or elsewhere. Most people experience problems with this type of jewelry because of a higher nickel content found in low-quality jewelry. A reaction is also more likely to occur due to a poor polish/finish on the jewelry which makes it easier for the nickel in the stainless steel to interact with the body. Because most inexpensive jewelry is mass-produced overseas there are very few controls to help ensure the quality or content of the metal.

Most of the time, people who have trouble wearing “cheap” jewelry from the mall are able to wear our implant-grade stainless steel jewelry with absolutely no problems. The small percentage of nickel contained in implant-grade stainless steel, the way it bonds with the other elements in the alloy and the mirror-like polish/finish make it a great option for most people to wear…even those that have experienced problems wearing stainless steel jewelry in the past.

On our piercing release form we asks our clients if they have a known allergy to nickel or other metals. If someone indicates that they have a nickel allergy or that they are generally sensitive to metals, we will then ask them if they have reactions to the backings on watches, zippers or buttons on pants or reactions to bracelets or necklaces. If they indicate they can wear those things without any problem then we would consider them to probably be fine to wear implant-grade stainless steel. It is very uncommon for someone to react to implant-grade stainless steel if they are able to wear most other types of jewelry without a problem.

If a client knows for certain they have a nickel sensitivity or allergy, or they find that they do tend to react to the items previously mentioned, then we would suggest they choose jewelry made from an alternate material.

Reaction to nickel in belt buckle

These of course are just “rules of thumb” and there is know way for us to be 100% certain how anyone will react to a certain material until they try wearing it. However, we use stainless steel extensively and using these “rules of thumb”, we rarely have a client who has an allergic reaction to jewelry.

What To Do, What To Do?

If it seems as though stainless steel isn’t going to be a good option, fortunately there are a number of other metals we can use for piercing jewelry. We are going to confine the discussion to other metals, although there are certainly lots of other materials that can be worn in piercings. The metals we are going to talk about are gold, titanium, niobium and platinum. We are only going to give a brief overview of these materials as they apply to piercing. If you want to know more, there is a nearly limitless supply of information available on-line and you can always leave additional questions in the comment section.

Try Ti

Titanium is a metal that is used extensively in the medical field: bone and joint replacements, dental implants, facial and cranial repair, pacemaker cases and limb prosthesis. Needless to say, if it can be used so extensively for such critical applications inside the human body, it should be great for use in body jewelry. While titanium is a pure element, there are a number of different alloys used in medical applications, including the one most commonly used for body jewelry: 6Al4V ELI. As with stainless steel, there are specific requirements that must be met in order for the titanium to be specified “implant grade”.

The titanium alloy used for body jewelry contains no nickel. That fact, combined with the bio-compatibly of titanium, make it a great alternative for those with nickel sensitivities/allergies. In addition, it is very lightweight, very strong and it can be anodized in a variety of different colors.

various titanium ear spirals

Titanium does tend to cost more than stainless steel, but unless it is a very large piece of jewelry, it’s not a great deal more  expenisve. Even with the additional cost, titanium is significantly less expensive than gold or platinum.

Niob-a-what?

Niobium. Not a word you hear very often. Niobium, like titanium, is an element on the periodic table. Niobium is used in several medical applications, including pacemakers, demonstrating a very good bio-compatibility. This bio-compatibility makes it an option for use in body jewelry. Niobium can also be anodized to produce an array of different colors. While niobium cannot be anodized black, through a process of heating and rapid cooling it takes on a very dark/metallic gray color.

black niobium captive bead rings

Unlike titanium, the niobium used in body jewelry is not an alloy; it is pure niobium.

At one point, niobium was used much more commonly in body jewelry than titanium. However, the cost of niobium has increased quite a bit over the past 10 years making it less appealing. In addition, niobium is even heavier than stainless steel and is more difficult to machine than both steel and titanium, making it less-ideal in many piercing applications than titanium.

Sold on Gold

When it comes to metal that is safe to wear in the body, gold is one of the most bio-compatible, chemically-intert metals on the planet. It is a great option for those folks that have metal sensitivities. Before we get in to the specifics of why gold works so well, let’s establish a couple of ground rules. When we are talking about gold for use in body jewelry, we are referring to 14kt or 18kt solid gold. Gold that is less than 14kt does not contain enough gold to be safe for most people and higher than 18kt is too soft for most body jewelry applications. Any gold jewelry less than 24 karat is going to be an alloy…a mix of gold and other metals. If you want a quick explanation of the “karat system”, check out this article.

We insist on solid gold jewelry because the metal that plated gold is applied to is usually very low quality

The reason yellow gold works so well for so many people is the combination of gold’s great bio-compatibility and that there should be no nickel in a yellow gold mixture. Many people with metal sensitivities are convinced that they can only wear yellow gold jewelry for this very reason.  It is quite likely most of these folks would also be able to wear titanium, niobium or platinum without any issues.

You may have noticed that we have only mentioned yellow gold up to this point. There is a reason for that:

Yellow gold is the most common type of gold, with white gold being the next most common color. Many gold makers achieve the “white” coloring in white gold by adding nickel to yellow gold. So, for those who are sensitive to nickel, white gold may not be a great option. However, don’t give up on white gold! It is becoming more common to use palladium in place of nickel to achieve the coloring of white gold. Palladium is part of the platinum family and is very bio-compatible. The majority of our white gold jewelry is made with palladium instead of nickel.

Another color of gold that is becoming very popular is rose or red gold. This is a beautiful “coppery” colored gold. Rose gold is made by adding…you guessed it!…more copper to the yellow gold mixture. Assuming the yellow gold mixture doesn’t contain any nickel, this should be a safe color of gold for those sensitive to nickel. While not common, there are some people who do not react well to the extra copper in rose gold. To date, we have had no clients experience a problem wearing rose gold, but it is a possibility.

Platinum Hits

Considered one of the most precious metals, platinum’s great corrosion resistance and bio-compatibility make it ideal for use in fine jewelry and body jewelry. Platinum has a very silver/white appearance and it is sometimes mistaken for silver.  Separately you may not notice much of a difference, but when compared side-by-side, platinum has a much “whiter” appearance then white gold. Also, with wear, platinum tends to “scratch” less…instead it tends to get more of a patina or matte finish to it. This is something that is more of a consideration for rings and bracelets than for pieces of body jewelry.

The platinum used in body jewelry, and most other fine jewelry, tends to be an alloy. Using pure platinum is possible, but it tends to be very hard, which makes it difficult to work with. There are a few options for the alloy that can be used, but the platinum we buy is typically 95% platinum and then 5% of either iridium or ruthenium, both from the platinum family.

Platinum is both beautiful and rare…more rare than gold. As a result, it also brings a higher price. Because of it’s higher cost and it’s additional weight (it’s heavier than gold), platinum tends to be used in smaller pieces of jewelry (i.e., small rings, nostril jewelry, dangles etc.) but just about any type of jewelry that can be made in gold can be made out of platinum.

We typically stock platinum nostril screws with genuine diamonds and some smaller-sized captive bead rings.

So Where’s the Silver Lining?

We have many clients who ask us about the use of silver in their piercings. While silver is used for lots of types of jewelry, it actually makes a poor choice for body jewelry. As you are probably aware, silver tarnishes easily…it begins to lose it’s shininess even if it’s simply sitting in a cabinet or drawer. This tarnishing happens if the silver is exposed to nothing more than air, so it shouldn’t be hard to imagine how much easier, and more severely, this tarnishing (called oxidizing) could happen inside the human body.

In addition to the irritation it can cause, when silver tarnishes/oxidizes inside the body, it is very common for it to leave a grayish-black “stain” in the skin. This is sometimes referred to as a “silver tattoo”. Obviously this isn’t the type of tattoo most people are interested in. Even sterling silver (92.5% silver, 7.5% copper) can oxidize inside the human body.

In addition to the issue of oxidation and reaction, silver is a very soft metal and therefore doesn’t tend to hold it’s shape well enough for many body piercing applications.

Sterling silver can be used for some body jewelry, but this tends to be limited to very specific designs typically intended for earlobe piercings and it should only be used in well-healed piercings.

Time for a Little Q & A

When we decided to write this blog, we posted to our Facebook page to see if anyone had specific questions related to metal sensitivities . We received a few inquiries, so here are the answers to those questions:

“Is there any material that should be avoided during stretching?”

This question is a little different than what we’ve been focusing on, but it’s still a great question. The short answer is yes, there are materials that should be avoided. The slightly longer answer is: materials such as horn, bone, antler, wood, fossilized mammoth, plastic and silicone should all be avoided when stretching.

The stress placed on tissue from a stretch, even an easy stretch,  can cause it to become swollen, inflamed and/or simply stressed. This can result in production of fluids, including blood in the case of an over zealous stretch. The materials mentioned above are at least somewhat porous with many of them being quite porous. This can allow any fluids being secreted to “soak” in to the jewelry. This organic matter will then sit in the jewelry and begin to rot. Needless to say, having rotting organic matter inside your freshly-stretched piercing is no good.

When it comes to stretching, stick with non-porous materials such as stainless steel, titanium, niobium, gold, platinum, glass or stone.

“I have jewelry sensitivities and am allergic to any kind of jewlery material but 14k gold, and surgical steel, bone and plasitc. plus have facial piercings. What is the best choice for facial jewelry with those kind of limitations, without burning a giant hole in my pocket”

Hopefully after reading this, you will have a better understanding of why you may be having the reactions you have experienced in the past. If you are able to wear implant-grade stainless steel, that will tend to be the least expensive option. The important thing to to make sure it is of a good enough quality. Titanium should also work just fine for you and isn’t typically that much more expensive than stainless steel.

“How come the sensitivities sometimes seem worse?”

As we mentioned in the article, sensitivities often get worse over time as we are exposed to more of the thing(s) that we are sensitive or allergic to. If you are experiencing problems where some pieces of jewelry seem to bother you more than others, chances are it’s a result of the material make-up of what you are wearing. Certain pieces of jewelry may contain more of the thing(s) that your body doesn’t like, making the reaction worse.

Also, any time your body is already weak (i.e., sick, stressed, other allergies flaring up) it is likely that any type of sensitivity to metals will seem more severe.

Cake

This turned out to be a bit more of an undertaken than initially anticipated. But, if you finished the whole thing, you should reward yourself with cake. Or, something else delicious if you prefer. But, we all know cake is the best.

If you have any other questions related to this topic, feel free to post them in the comments section.

Hopefully you’ll find this informative as well.

Return of the What?

Microdermals (also know as dermal anchors and single-point surface piercings) have been around for about 5 years. So in the realm of all things body piercing, they are still pretty new. However, in that short period of time they have become quite popular, so chances are good you’ve seen one even if you didn’t realize you had. If you’ve ever seen a piercing that is a single ball or gem inserted in a flat area of someone’s skin, then you have seen a microdermal.

Hip/stomach microdermal piercings

Cleavage microdermal piercing

Traditional surface piercings (done with surface bars) will always have two balls/gems/ends that are connected by a bar that runs underneath the skin.

surface bar with ball ends

Because microdermals don’t have to be connected by a long bar running under the skin, there are certain areas where they may have a better success rate than traditional surface piercings. In addition, because microdermal piercings can be done as singles they open up the possibilities from a design/pattern point of view.

How Does That Thing Stay In?

If you’re asking yourself that very question, don’t worry…you aren’t alone.

It is often helpful to think of microdermal jewelry as a foot and leg combo. Instead of making you try to make sense of a wordy description…a picture…a thousand words and all that.

titanium microdermal anchor

The brown part is one solid piece of titanium. We only use titanium microdermals as titanium provides the greatest amount of biocompatibility, making the piercing as body-friendly as possible and nearly eliminating the risk of allergic reaction, even in people who are highly-sensitive to metals.

Think of the post that sticks up (called the uplift) as your leg and the plate it is attached to as your foot. The end with no hole is called the heel and the end with the large hole is called the toe. There are a variety of different hole styles and combinations available from different companies. How much of a difference the various styles make is still up for debate, but we have had really good success with this style.  In addition to the fact that we like the design of the anchor, the company who makes the jewelry, Anatometal, Inc., makes the highest-quality body jewelry in the world, hands down. We think our clients deserve the best quality available.

The gem, or whatever you choose to wear, simply unscrews from the small post.

Okay, So How Does That Thing Go In?

Again, a very common question. The answer is probably a little more simple than you might expect. Basically, a hole is made in the skin with a piercing needle. This happens very quickly and doesn’t typically hurt anymore than a standard piercing. Then, the toe end of the anchor is used for leverage and the plate is essentially “popped” into the hole. Once  inserted, the plate sits under the skin and the top of the uplift sits flush with the skin or perhaps sticks out very slightly.

microdermal set in the skin

Most of the time this happens quickly and you feel only pressure. In some instances the jewelry might need to be removed momentarily and then re-inserted so that it sits flush with the skin. While everyone is different, most people compare getting a microdermal to getting any other piercing.

So, Why Did You Stop Doing Microdermals?

We performed microdermal piercings for about 3 years and we stopped doing them approximately two years ago. We quit doing them because the city of Minneapolis has had regulations for many years against performing “implants”. While microdermals weren’t even around at the time they made implants illegal, the city decided to classify microdermals as implants because the piercing has only a single entrance/exit point.  In addition to Minneapolis, Hennepin County enacted the same ban on microdermals.  So, the powers-that-be didn’t decide that microdermals were unsafe to do or anything like that…they simply got banned because of a definition/syntax issue.

While a number of studios in the city/county continued to do them illegally,  we opted (as always) to put ethics and professionalism first, and we immediately ceased doing them. We believe it is important to represent the body piercing profession as just that…a profession that deserves to be respected and taken seriously. Piercers/studios who choose to do procedures that are illegal because they think the procedure is “cool” or because they disagree with the regulation or because they won’t make as much money if they stop doing it, are acting selfishly, irresponsibly and unprofessionally. They run the risk of doing damage to our entire profession for their own personal gain.

Okay, we’ll get off the soapbox now.

Then Why Did You Start Doing Them Again?

We had been working with the Minneapolis Health Department for some time to find a solution that would allow us to start doing microdermals again. Through no fault of theirs, we weren’t making much progress. Fortunately, and rather coincidentally, it was the State of Minnesota that “came to the rescue”. Starting January 1, 2011, the State of Minnesota began licensing piercers and tattoo artists–we had been licensed for nearly 10 years previously by the city of Minneapolis. This change resulted in the city re-writing their regulations. In doing so, they brought their regulations in-line with the State’s regulations. Since the Sate didn’t have a ban on microdermals, the city followed suit and, as of today (Jan 11, 2011), we can now do microdermals again.

Nice!

What Do I Need to Know About Microdermals?

Earlier we touched on some of the advantage of microdermals: they work better in certain areas than traditional surface piercings and they open up the possibility for interesting design concepts/aesthetics. And let’s face it…they just look good!

As with any piercing, it’s important to know what you are getting in to before you dive right in. Unfortunately, there seems to be some bad information out there about microdermal piercings. One of the biggest misconception is that they are “problem free”. Many people seem to be under the impression that you put them and “Ta Dah!”, they will simply heal perfectly, never give you a bit of trouble and you’ll be able to keep it for as long as you want. It would be nice if that were always the truth with microdermals, but it’s simply not. Microdermals are prone to many of the same issues as traditional piercings.

While microdermals can offer some advantages over traditional surface piercings, the reality is that they are still surface piercings. As such, they can still migrate or be rejected just like a standard surface piercing. They are less likely to reject than a standard surface piercing in certain areas such as the hips, wrists/arms, backs and clavicles (collarbones), but rejection is always a possibility with microdermals, just as it is with any piercing. If you’re not familiar with “rejection”, it simply means that your body pushes the jewelry towards the surface of the skin until, if you don’t take it out, it will eventually get pushed all the way out of your skin.

Infection is a possibility, just like with any other piercing.  As with standard piercings, true infections are pretty uncommon and they most commonly occur as a result of the piercing getting touched with dirty hands. It’s important that you don’t touch your microdermal piercing unless you wash your hands first. It’s also very important that you touch your piercing as little as possible, even if your hands are cleaning. Touching the piercing, no matter how gently, results in irritation which will prolong the healing and will increase the likelihood of rejection.

If the piercing rejects, or has to be removed for some reason, there will be some scarring. The scarring from a microdermal doesn’t tend to be much (if any) worse than the scarring you would get from a standard piercing. There is no way to know ahead of time exactly how much scarring there will be, as it will depend upon how well-healed the piercing is when it”s removed and how much scar tissue each person’s body tends to create. However, it is important to realize that there will be some scarring.

3 microdermals on the back with opal ends

Another important factor to think about when considering a microdermal is that they may need to be removed for a variety of medical procedures such x-rays, CT scans, MRI’s and surgery. A microdermal will show up in the images those tests produce, potentially interfering with diagnosis. If you have to undergo these sorts of procedures with some regularity, a microdermal may not make a lot of sense. Unfortunately, there are no “retainers” that can be put in place of the piercing for medical testing, like there are for more traditional piercings.

While most people probably don’t have to plan for regular medical testing, that doesn’t mean a microdermal can’t be an issue. In the case of an accident or emergency medical testing or surgery, a microdermal could potentially interfere with getting medical treatment quickly. While the same can be said of any piercing, the jewelry used in standard body piercing is much easier to remove if necessary. In addition, the relative newness of microdermals means that many EMT’s, nurses and doctors aren’t as likely to be familiar with what they are or how to remove them.

In our experience, it seems that most people are able to keep their microdermal piercings nice and happy for about 2 years. After that, they often begin to flare up off-and-on and start to become problematic. Having said that, we know people who have had their micordermal peircings for almost 5 years, which is about when microdermals made their first appearance in the piercing world. In some cses, microdermals become irritated and unhappy sooner than 2 years. Much of it depends upon the care they receive, how much abuse/irritation they get while they are healing, the location of the piercing  and the lifestyle of the wearer.

microdermal with geunine diamond end

Speaking of Removal

So, once you have a microdermal, what happens if you want, or need, to remove it? As we mentioned, microdermals cannot be removed as easily as most other piercings. There is a common misconception they have to be removed surgically, which is definitely not true. Microdermals can be removed with relative ease by an experienced piercer. The exact process used for removal will vary depending upon the health of the microdermal, each person’s skin and the tools available to the piercer. Most often microdermals can be removed using a little tissue manipulation and some gentle pressure. In other cases, a piercing needle may need to be utilized to help with the removal. Even if this is the case, the removal is typically not any worse than having the piercing done in the first place.

If you need to have a microdermal removed, we do encourage you to consult with an experienced piercer if time permits. While doctors are certainly capable of removing them, in our experience they often over-complicate the removal which can result in unnecessary trauma and scarring. Obviously if the piercing needs to be removed due to a medical emergency it’s best to let a doctor remove the jewelry. We are always available to consult with doctors and other medfcal professionals about any piercing, so please don’t hesitate to have your doctor or nurse contact us if the have questions.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

People often want to know how soon they can change the top/end of their microdermal. As with many things piercing-related, piercers have different opinions on how long to wait. In general, we think that patience produces better results. Because of the nature of microdermals, it is easy to irritate them when changing the ends. Obviously, the newer the piercing is, the easier it can be irritated.

We typically suggest waiting 2-3 months before changing the end, depending of course, on how well the piercing is doing. Some may be ready to change before then and some may need to wait even longer. We get folks in the studio telling us they were told by their piercer to change the jewelry after 2 or 3 weeks. We think this is a very bad idea. If jewelry is chosen appropriately to begin with, there should be no need to change the jewelry that soon. Doing so is just asking for a bunch of problems that can easily be avoided by waiting a little longer. In fact, if an appropriately-sized, good-quality piece of jewelry is used to begin with, the end doesn’t ever have to be changed….except of course for a different look.  Everybody loves new jewelry!

Either In or Out

Unlike standard piercings, once a healed microdermal is removed, it cannot simply be re-inserted with good results. While some piercers will remove a microdermal that is starting to reject and immediately put it back in (called, re-seating), we have found that this rarely works well in the long-term. Most of the time it simply results in the microdermal starting to reject again after a short period of time. So, if a microdermal is removed, the best option is to let the area heal and then have the piercing re-done. Keep in mind, that due to the scar tissue that forms as part of any healing piercing, putting the microdermal back in the exact same spot may not be the best choice. The scar tissue can often keep the foot of the microdermal from sitting in the skin like it needs to.

So There You Have It

We’ve covered a lot of information here, and if you’ve made it all the way to the end we applaud you for sticking with it.  Nice work!

Some people will read the information about the “cons” of micordermals and may think that we don’t like them. That isn’t the case at all. We think microdermals can be a great option on certain parts of the body.  We like the aesthetic options they provide and there is some really amazing jewelry available for them. We have done a lot of them and most of the time people are very happy with their microdermal for a long, long time.

We feel it’s important that our clients have as much information as possible when considering getting any piercing, especially microdermals. They are different than standard piercing and have some unique characteristics that need to be understood before rushing in to them. We believe that if our clients have a good understanding of what to expect before hand, they will have piercings that heal faster, look great and which they can enjoy for years to come.

As always, our piercers are available for consultations and to answer your questions about anything piercing-related. There is never a charge for consultations or check-ups.

UPDATE: November 2011
We’ve gotten a lot of comments from people expressing that they are “scared” or “concerned” about their microdermal piercing(s) after reading our blog. So, we wanted to take a moment to try and clarify some of what we said in the original blog.

It wasn’t our intention to make anyone overly worried that their microdermal might reject. As we mentioned, there are many people who have had their microdermal piercings for more than 5 years. They can be a very viable long-term piercing for a lot of people. However, because they are a piercing, and especially because they are a form of surface piercing, problematic healing and/or rejection is always a possibility. Other than taking good care of the piercing and being as careful as you can with it and keeping your hands off of it, there isn’t much else you can to do prevent rejection. If the piercing gets overly traumatized or your body simply decides it doesn’t like it, rejection can happen.

But, there is no reason to spend a lot of time worrying about it, because there isn’t anything you can do to prevent it. Instead, just relax, go have some fun and enjoy having the piercing for however long you end up having it; whether it’s 6 months or 10 years.

F.A.Q.
We thought we’d answer a few questions/concerns that we’ve been hearing frequently, so hopefully you can have the information faster and not have to wait on us to reply.

If I’ve had success healing other piercings does that mean that my microdermal piercing will heal fine?
While successfully healing other piercings is definitely a good sign your body is able to heal itself, it’s also no guarantee that you’ll be successful with a microdermal piercing. As we’ve mentioned, microdermal piercings are a form of surface piercing, and as such, are more prone to rejection than more traditional piercings. The best things you can to do reduce the likelihood of rejection are KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF OF IT, take appropriate care of it, be careful to not abuse it, get plenty of rest, eat a healthy diet and KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF OF IT!.

What should I do if I just snagged my microdermal piercing or bumped it really hard
If you bumped it or snagged it on something that was dirty or unclean, it’s a good idea to VERY GENTLY wash the area with a very mild soap; preferably not an antic-bacterial soap. Be sure to rinse the area really well and dry it. Then, gently apply an ice/cold pack to the area to help reduce swelling and irritation. Be sure to put something clean (sterilize gauze is great, a clean paper towel will do in a pinch) between the cold pack and your piercing. Also, try to use the ice pack in such a way that it doesn’t put a of pressure on the piercing.

I’ve had my microdermal for a while now and it doesn’t sit as flush to the skin as it used to. Should I be worried?
The answer to this question is: maybe. Now, many microdermal piercings appear to sit very flush to the skin when they are first done because their is swelling in the area which causes the tissue to puff up a bit, making it look like the jewelry is sitting flush with the skin. Ideally, that is how a microdermal should fit. But, if isn’t sitting flush when it’s put in, once some of the swelling goes away, you may see a small bit of the post or it may appear a bit raised.

In some cases, microdermal piercings do move towards the surface of the skin over time. In many cases, they move a bit and then stop and are completely fine for the rest of the life of the piercing. In other cases, they continue to move toward the surface of the skin until they reach a point where they should be removed. As we’ve said before, you have a very limited amount of control over whether the piercing migrates/rejects. So, if this is happening with your piercing, it’s really a “wait and see” situation. But, if there is no redness, soreness or other signs of irritation to go along with a slightly raised microdermal piercing, chances are good there isn’t anything to be concerned about.

How long do I have to wait until I change the top on my microdermal?
Different piercers will have different opinions on this, but we think that you should wait an absolute minimum of 2 months before changing the top, and it’s very likely that you will need to wait longer.

The challenge with changing microdermals is that you have to be able to hold/stabilize the base that is in the skin. This can be difficult to do, even with the right equipment. As a result, it’s very easy to irritate a microdermal piercing that isn’t well-healed. That irritation can cause swelling and increases the chance of taking a happy piercing and making it unhappy. The older the piercing is, the less easily it will be irritated when changing the end. That’s why it’s better to wait longer before changing the top.

Hopefully these help answers a few common questions. As always, feel free to post your specific question in the comments and we’ll do our best to answer it as quickly as we can.

While usually done in the area of the antihelical fold, snug piercings can also be done on the anithelix

In the picture below you can see a double snug piercing, even less common than a single snug piercing. This piercing was done at the Saint Sabrina’s and ultimately, ended up not working out for the young lady wearing it.

Double snug piercing with curved barbells

The main “problem” with snug piercings is the prolonged healing time. They typically take 6 months, sometimes longer, to heal even when well cared for. They usually stay swollen and sore during much of the healing time also. Snug piercings are so challenging to heal for a number of reasons:

1. A snug piercing goes through cartilage which is simply a harder type of tissue to heal.
2. The fold the piecing goes through tends to be fairly thick. This means the piecing goes through a lot of tissue which takes longer to heal.
3. The shape of the fold the piercing goes through is rounded/curved. This results in a bit of constant pressure on the piercing from the jewelry, which prolongs the healing.
4. The piercing is on the outer part of the ear, meaning it is more likely to get bumped, snagged and knocked around in the course of daily life.

All of these factors combine to make snug piercings very tough for many people to heal. A large percentage of people who get snug piercings end up abandoning them due to the prolonged and uncomfortable healing.

Because snug piercings are so great-looking, I really wanted to find a way to make them a more viable option for my clients.

While I can’t claim to have invented it, I (and the other piercers at Saint Sabrina’s) have become very big fans of an alternative to the snug. Maybe there is already some whacky, animal-related name for it like Panda Nibbles, Rhino Cuddles or Tadpole Hugs, but we prefer to just call it the Faux Snug.

A faux snug made up of a helix piercing and a conch piercing

A Faux Snug is a helix piercing and a conch piercing placed in such a way that they look just like a snug piercing. While healing two cartilage piercings at the same time isn’t always easy, it tends to be significantly easier than trying to heal a snug piercing. With the faux snug, healing time is typically around 2-4 months and the healing period tends to be much more comfortable than a standard snug.

The one potential “downside” to the a faux snug is that it’s two piercings and two pieces of jewelry, so the cost is a bit more than a standard snug piercing. However, all the piercers at Saint Sabrina’s are such big believers in the faux snug, we have chosen to waive the second piercing fee. You will still have to purchase a second piece of jewelry, but we truly believe the time, effort and pain you will miss out on will more than make up for a little extra money spent on the jewelry.

So if you’re looking for a unique new piercing, definitely keep the faux snug in mind.

Disclaimer: We totally stole the title for this entry from our friend Shawn over at Scar Wars. We hope he will see our blatant theft as the flattery for which we intend it.  Shawn’s blog is about the art of scarification (cutting designs in to the skin) and does contain some graphic images.  While incredibly tastefully done, click the link at your own risk.

Over on our Facebook page, we recently asked for topics that folks would like us to write about. We received a few requests for information about piercing, or re-piercing rather, through scar tissue from previous piercings.  This is a great topic, because many people end up having piercings re-done after they remove them for any number of reasons.  

The good news is, redoing a piercing through scar tissue is a very viable option most of the time. We always need to see the area that will be re-pierced before we can tell you whether re-piercing is a good idea in your specific case, but most of the time, a little bit of scar tissue doesn’t tend to affect healing.

Now, before you decide to run out and redo your navel piercing that you took out a week ago, there are some things to keep in mind when it comes to piercing through scar tissue.

Time is your friend

In order for a re-piercing to be successful, the area being pierced should be stable. This means that there shouldn’t be any redness, discomfort or discharge. Any visible scarring in the area should be either white, the same color as the surrounding skin or perhaps slightly darker than the surrounding skin. In order to reduce the chances of problems with the re-piercing, it is best not to pierce through pink or red scars.

How long you will need to wait before having a piercing redone depends a bit on how long you had the piercing. In general though it is best to wait at least 2 months. In some cases where a piercing is very new (1 day up to 1 month), a couple of weeks may be long enough to wait. Your piercer can help you determine this.

Less is best

One of the reasons it is best to wait a while before having a piercing redone is that the less scar tissue there is in the area, the better. While it can be difficult for your body to absorb scar tissue, over time, scarring will tend to get less. Because scar tissue is not as soft/flexible as normal tissue, too much of it in the area can affect how jewelry fits in the piercing. If there is too much pulling, sticking or pressure from scar tissue, healing the piercing can become difficult.

Mmmm. Massage.

If you have a piercing with a fair amount of scar tissue, one thing that may help reduce the amount of scarring is massage. Now, you probably don’t need to head to your local spa to get this done (although we do encourage you to treat yourself to a massage)…you should be able to handle it on your own. A few times per day, for 5-10 minutes, simply massage the scar tissue. You don’t need to use so much force you hurt yourself, but don’t be afraid to apply some pressure. Some people like to use a little vitamin E oil on their fingers as they do the massage. The massaging can help break up the scar tissue somewhat, making it easier for your body to absorb it.

Better piercing through modern chemistry

If you have a lot of scar tissue in an area, and time and massage just don’t seem to be doing the trick, you may want to consider seeking a more “advanced” solution. There are a number of products available over-the-counter these days that are specifically designed to reduce scarring. While we can’t tell you which one will work best for you, we do know several people who have had good luck with Mederma.  As always, it’s a good idea to consult your doctor before trying out a new product intended to make changes to your skin.

One of these things is not like the other

It’s very possible to have the same piercing done, in the same location, at two different times in your life and have different healing experiences. As we’ve mentioned, having a little bit of scar tissue isn’t likely to affect the overall healing and success of a piercing. So, if you find that your re-piercing took a little longer to heal or gave you more problems while it was healing, chances are it wasn’t the scar tissue and it was simply different factors in your life the second time around.

Will it…

…hurt more if you get it repieced? We get this question a lot. The answer, is: it might…or it might hurt less…or it might feel exactly the same. Just like your healing experience can be different at different times, how the piercing feels to get done will likely be different as well. This can be true even if the piercing is done by the exact some piercer. Some days piercings just hurt more than they do others…but they also hurt less some days.

Hopefully this sheds a little light on to the topic of piercings and scar tissue. If you have any other questions, feel free to leave them in the comments section.

by Derek Lowe

This past weekend I went to Santa Cruz, CA to spend some time with my friends at Anatometal, Inc. If you’ve ever been pierced at Saint Sabrina’s, there is about a 98% chance you were pierced with Anatometal jewelry. When it comes to steel and titanium jewelry, they simply make the best jewelry available.

Even though my trip was a social occasion, I spent a bit of time at their facility. While there, I wandered in to the bathroom and (re) discovered this stunning photograph I had forgotten about:

Large, stretched nostrils

If you’ve never seen stretched nostrils before, or you’ve never seen them stretched to this extent, it can be a bit of a shock to the system. Add to that the age of the person in the photograph, and you have a sight that very few people in our culture can easily wrap their heads around.

Regardless of whether you find this aesthetic attractive or not, there is no denying the striking and powerful nature of the image.

Whatever the cultural or societal motivation behind the stretching, I think the commitment and perseverance required to accomplish such a thing is to be admired. I wanted to share it with our customers as well as others who have never had the opportunity to see it before.

In an ideal world, everyone would be happy with every tattoo they received for the entirety of their lives. Unfortunately, poorly-executed tattoos, ill-conceived design ideas, changes of heart and many other factors can result in unhappy tattoo owners. Hopefully you never find yourself in the position of being unhappy with a tattoo. However, if you have a tattoo you wish looked better or looked all-together different, you may be asking yourself, “What are my options?”.

Sometimes a poorly executed tattoo can be made to look better. This is usually done using methods that may somewhat alter the look of the piece. Depending on the tattoo, these changes can be a better option than a complete cover-up. Lines can sometimes be sharpened by making them wider, shading can occasionally be made more even, and colors can sometimes be made brighter or darkened to hide errors. It is very relative to the existing design as to whether or not any of these methods are options for improving your tattoo.

Many artists choose not to work on a poorly rendered tattoo done by another artist because it can be so difficult to make it look better. Depending upon the extent of the work that needs to be done, the cost for fixing a tattoo can be almost as expensive as getting the original, if not more!

The next option is getting a cover-up. A cover-up involves tattooing over the existing image with an appropriate design chosen, or created specifically, to hide the old tattoo. A good cover-up should still look like a good tattoo, just a different one from what you had before. Keep in mind, this process isn’t like painting over some graffiti on a wall. Not every tattoo can be effectively covered-up and not every design will effectively cover an old tattoo. Ultimately you will need to work hand-in-hand with an artist who is experienced with cover-ups and willing to put forth his or her best effort. A bad cover-up is often worse than the original design!

What tends to work well as a cover-up design? This will depend on what’s being covered-up. A seasoned tattoo artist can inspect your old tattoo and discuss the options with you based on the design and its location. Generally, a cover-up needs to be roughly twice the size of the original design to effectively hide the old image. This fact tends to shock people more than any other aspect of the cover-up process. A cover-up tattoo done too small often simply looks exactly like a weak attempt to hide a bad tattoo. This tends to only draw attention to the negative aspects of both images.

A cover-up also needs to have pattern and/or texture within the imagery to obscure and hide the existing lines of the old tattoo. Using a large area of flat color (even darker colors) will often result in the original tattoo showing through. Organic subject matter such as flower petals, fish scales, and animal fur tend to work well. If the old design contains color, the new design will have to incorporate that color somehow, or a very dark color will have to be used to darken over it. Again, these are aspects of the cover-up design process to discuss with the artist doing the work.

The last option for dealing with a tattoo that you are unhappy with is laser tattoo removal. This is a process by which a doctor uses specifically determined pulses of laser light to break up the particles of pigment that compose a tattoo. The smaller particles of pigment are then dealt with by the body’s immune system. How successful this treatment can be depends on the colors in the tattoo (black is the most easily removed), how deep the pigment was injected, and the color and thickness of the patient’s skin. Larger tattoos can take multiple sessions and you generally have to wait 2-3 weeks between sessions. These treatments tend to be painful and have the potential for a range of side effects. Also laser tattoo removal can cost from around $500 up to thousands of dollars per session, often far exceeding the cost of the tattoo! That being said, NEVER get a tattoo with the thought “I can always have it lasered off” as there is NO guarantee that the laser treatments will be successful.

If you are a young person with gang related tattoos who is no longer involved with a gang there are several doctors, organizations, and civic groups nationwide who provide free and low-cost tattoo removal services in an effort to help you start over. Many of these programs can be found on the internet or by contacting local law enforcement or local youth support groups.

As a manager at Saint Sabrina’s, Matt has helped many clients refine their tattoo ideas and concepts into designs that are tattooable. While not a tattoo artist himself, Matt’s knowledge and experience about tattooing is extensive making him a valuable resource to clients and the artists alike.

When not busy taming the turbulent hordes of chaotic tattoo ideas, Matt enjoys great food, good beer and playing banjo. In addition, he helms Gold Monkey Metals, where he creates jewelry, relics, and objects of infatuation from metals and debris, precious and otherwise.