Should I bother with Surface Piercings?

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Tuesday August 11th, 2009 @ 7:32 PM

Filed under: Surface/Unusual

Hello there, I am a fairly new piercer, been piercing (post year long apprenticeship) for about 1 1/2 years. I have done plenty of small scale surface piercings like the horizontal eyebrow, the “sideburns” (surface in front of tragus), anti-eyrbows, etc with great success and now I would like to move on to larger scale surface piercings. My thing is, it seems like most spots don’t really heal well at all, and most of the rest have a fairly high rejection rate, although some piercers seem to, or at least claim to have high healing rates on the surface piercings they do. On the other hand it seems as though microdermals have advanced quite a bit and heal pretty well, as well as being more easily removed now and even having microdermals with no holes, i assume to be removed easily.

My question is basically, do you think it is worth it to get into surface piercings? Do you believe microdermals are a better alternative to the surface piercing? If not, what are the best and worst spots as far as healing for surface piercings?

Okay, the way I see things, there are three main factors that influence the viability of surface work - placement, technique and jewellery. There are other factors too, such as lifestyle, general health etc. With placement, areas with the least amount of movement stand a better chance of healing. You should also consider a persons clothing (is it likely to rub?), how they sleep (think of this one in relation to breasts and cleavage piercings), occupation, hobbies - anything that might knock, catch or move the piercing. Technique-wise, we all have our ways. I prefer the punch and taper method (I prefer punches for microdermals too). Do some research. Read experiences. See how other artists do things. Compare the results, practice on friends and find whichever suits you best. Jewellery plays a crucial part, too. The trick is to have the post exiting with a 90 degree angle between the post and the skin, that way there is no undue pressure on the wound edges from the jewellery. This means that curved barbells are unsuitable for nearly all types of surface work. I am also not a fan of PTFE for the same reason. I really, really dig Anatometals flat-bottomed surface bars. They seem less intrusive, sit nicely and are finished wonderfully.

So that’s my take on it. I think that both microdermals and surface bars both have a place in the wonderful world of surface work. As to whether it’s worth getting into surface piercings? Well, I certainly think so.

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