In last week's piercing blog post, we talked about what dermal piercings are and how they're done. This week we're taking a more in-depth look at dermal jewelry. Read on to learn about the types of dermal anchors available, what dermal top styles you can pair with your dermal jewelry, and how to change a dermal top.
Dermal Anchors
There are two primary styles of dermal anchors available: You can have either a footed dermal anchor like the ones shown above or a rounded-base dermal anchor like the ones shown below inserted as the base of your dermal piercing. Both footed dermal anchors and round-base dermal anchors come with and without holes in them. The benefit of getting a dermal anchor base with holes in it is that your tissue will grow up through the holes and around the outer rim of the base as your dermal piercing heals, so that the base will be more securely anchored beneath your skin.
Some piercers prefer to insert the small, rounded-base dermal anchors in tauter areas, like on the neck and face. Other piercers believe the footed dermal anchors are more secure and that they're small enough to use even in less fleshy areas of the body. If you have a strong preference, speak to your piercer about it. Otherwise, go with your piercer's recommendation, based on where you want your dermal piercing placed.
As an alternative to the two-piece, round-base dermal anchor and top sets, you can have an all-in-one dermal anchor inserted. This type of dermal jewelry is typically called either a skin anchor or a "skin diver"; the latter is a more casual/slang term. A skin diver has a decorative top permanently attached to it, which means you won't be able to change the top if you have a skin anchor inserted. However, you'll also never have to worry about losing your dermal top since it's permanently attached to the base!
Dermal Tops
There are a wide variety of dermal tops available that you can wear with a traditional dermal anchor base. You can choose from solid-metal balls, cones, discs, and shapes like dolphins, hearts and stars; gem-studded balls, prong-set jewels, and flatter jeweled discs that are less likely to get caught and snagged by clothing; custom-made dermal tops in a variety of shapes and styles, like 14k white gold flowers studded with your choice of gemstones; and a variety of other dermal top designs. All of our dermal top shopping categories are listed below with a representative image from each category to give you an idea of what you'll find if you click through and start browsing our selection of 200+ dermal tops.
Changing Your Dermal Jewelry
Once your dermal piercing is healed and your dermal anchor is secured in place by new tissue, you can safely change your dermal top. It takes between 6 weeks and 3 months for a dermal piercing to fully heal, depending on the individual and whether or not there were any hiccups in the healing process. For instance, if you snagged your dermal jewelry after a few weeks and had to have your piercer re-align it because you pulled the base partially out or pushed the dermal top slightly below the surface of the skin, then you should give your piercing more time to heal before attempting to change your dermal top.
When you're ready to change your dermal top, you may want to ask your piercer for help the first time. As time goes on and your piercing becomes progressively more stable, you can use a tool like our World's Thinnest Dermal Anchor Holder Tool to carefully remove your dermal top yourself and replace it with a new one. Watch the video below to see how much easier it is to change a dermal top with our thin anchor holder tool compared to traditional dermal anchor forceps.
If you'd rather not have to fuss with a tool and completely unscrew a dermal top every time you want to change up your look, then our magnetic dermal tops may be a better option for you. Just purchase a magnet base with a 1.2mm internally-threaded post attached to it (goes with both 12g and 14g dermal anchors with a matching 1.2mm internal thread pattern), and screw it into your dermal anchor. You can then pop in a magnetic gem top in your choice of colors and have a new look every time you fancy a change! Our magnet dermal tops come in both 4mm and 5mm sizes and 14 color options, so you can pick the best size dermal jewelry for your piercing and the best colors to complement your wardrobe. See how our magnetic dermal tops work by watching the video below.
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