Wednesday May 16th, 2012 @ 1:30 AM
I have a severe scar from failed breast reconstruction following bilateral mastectomies. One local studio is willing to try, the other said no.
The scar is really a hole in my chest surrounded by thick scar tissue. The area has also been subjected to radiation therapy, which is why I’m getting differing opinions.
I’d like a pair of flexible barbells if that’s possible. Pictures and much more info to professionals who have advice or comments. I need your help folks!
I don’t think that a curved (or flexible) barbell in that area would really be a good idea - even without the scar tissue.
I think your best bet would be to get two dermal anchors either side of the indentation, giving the appearance of a surface bar. That way nothing has to pass through the scar tissue and they will have a significantly reduced chance of migration and rejection.
Although I have no experience with post-mastectomy pieircings, I have done this same thing a number of time on clients with fantastic success. Any experienced piercer will be able to perform it for you, but as always make sure you check out their portfolio for similar HEALED work and make sure you are fully satisfied with all of your questions before you decide on a specific artist.
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Posted by Joeltron | Permalink | Comments
Wednesday May 16th, 2012 @ 1:05 AM
The picture isn’t exactly amazing, but i had this done under my eye a couple months ago and it seems the bar is sticking out a lot. is this normal? or is it rejecting?
As the skin doesn’t appear to be red or irritated, I think it has just healed slightly high. In that area it can be quite common, however an experienced piercer will be able to re-plat (make flatter) the pieircing so it is flush against your skin again.
If it is not annoying you (other than aesthetically), I would suggest to leave it alone. Sometimes trying to get it flatter will just make it worse. If you are finding that you are catching it lots, perhaps re-planting it is your best bet.
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Posted by Joeltron | Permalink | Comments
Tuesday May 15th, 2012 @ 6:15 AM
i recently got my hip dermals done about four weeks ago and am now noticing a little of the post showing. is it rejecting this early, and if so is there anything i can do to stop this process. i have heard everything from doing sea salt soaks to taping it down every day for a couple weeks?
It sounds like the swelling has just gone done from when it was initially done, I would strongly suggest against taping it down - this normally just irritates them more and makes them want to spring up and out much quicker.
Best to leave it the hell alone and let your body decide how it wants it to sit, you can also get it re-planted (taken out and ‘re-done’) so it sits back flat again.
Be sure you aren’t wearing clothing that will snag/rub against it and be super careful of towels and other things that can get caught and make it want to come out further.
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Posted by Joeltron | Permalink | Comments
Monday May 14th, 2012 @ 1:39 AM
I recently got four microdermal anchors on the torso area about three weeks ago. I was wondering what the likehood is that they’ll reject.
That would all depend on how they were done, the size of the base - but most importantly your body.
It appears that they are very well placed and have the correct sized tops on them for an initial piercing. I would say that as long as you don’t get them caught or snagged on anything, that your chances of having them for a long time are very good.
As always however, your body is the main determining factor in migration. Some people’s bodies ‘want to’ push piercings out, others scar easily.
Just be careful with them around towels, seat belts, your hear and getting changed and you should be sweet.
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Posted by Joeltron | Permalink | 1 Comment
Sunday May 13th, 2012 @ 1:49 AM
I got a dermal on my wrist 9 days ago. It looks (potentially) slightly swollen and is red approx 1/4in around it. There is no pain or discharge associated. Is this normal or early signs of infection and is there anything I should be doing aside from cleaning twice daily with sea salt?
That redness is quite normal for an a dermal anchor and I wouldn’t be worried about infection - just make sure you are not bumping it or getting caught on anything.
You can try icing (10mins on/10mins off) with a clean wrapped cool pack or use an anti-brusing cream AROUND the anchor (not on it) like Hirudoid for Lasonil too.
Don’t stress about it, it should go down within a week - if it gets worse or beings to feel ‘hard’, go to your piercer and get them to examine it further.
0 / 0 votes
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Posted by Joeltron | Permalink | Comments
Sunday May 13th, 2012 @ 1:49 AM
I have 2 microdermals on the back of my neck, and one of the tops fell off. there’s a thin layer of skin healed over it now but what should i do? go in and get another top put on right away or wait awhile before doing so?
Oh my! I would strongly suggest to go see a piercer this very second! What is happening is your body is trying to encapsulate the entire base and ’seal’ it in, not a good thing.
If you can’t get to a piercer this very moment, you could attempt to get a friend to put the top back on it (assuming you found it). The thin bit of skin covering the top will simply ‘break’ as you screw the top back on. They go on righty-tighty, lefty-loosey. Even if its just in a little bit, it will keep it good until you can get a piercer to put it on properly.
If you don’t have the top, you could try to put a 16g externally threaded barbell in there (they are actually the same thread). You will find that it will get caught like crazy, so its only a temporary solution - but better than nothing.
Long story short - go see a piercer (any professional piercer) as soon as you possibly can do get them to pop a top back on. After a short period of time it should return back to normal.
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Posted by Joeltron | Permalink | Comments
Tuesday May 8th, 2012 @ 2:43 AM
I had two microdermals done on my cleavage a couple of days ago. There was much tugging and pushing involved. The piercer seemed to have a hard time inserting my microdermals; he pushed and tugged so much that I have small cuts from where the jewelry cut into my skin while he was twisting. I left with a sore chest and not much confidence in my piercer. He said I need to go back in a week or so, so he can finish “popping them in”. They seem to be in just fine, but both of them are slightly angled. Should I go back and let him “pop them in”? Or should I seek another piercer? I am afraid that whatever he ends up doing next week will just traumatize them and cause them to reject.
What should I do?
It sounds like your piercer wasn’t very experienced in doing anchors, my suggestion would be to go find a reputable studio and get them fixed ASAP.
You want anchors to be as flush as possible (especially when fresh) to reduce the chance of rejection and drasticly reduce the chance of snaggage later on.
The earlier you fix them, the better it is as you won’t have formed much scar tissue yet (making them harder to remove and more difficult to fix).
0 / 0 votes
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Posted by Joeltron | Permalink | Comments
Sunday May 6th, 2012 @ 4:03 PM
I recently got a Christina piercing and I LOVE it but I’m concerned it’s rejecting already. It looks like the top ball is sitting farther down in my skin, if that makes sense. I can push it out but it just looks like it’s sinking into my skin. Wasn’t sure if this is rejection or something I need to watch for? I’m cleaning it with a simple saline solution once or twice a day.
Sounds like you are having the opposite problem. Rejection is when your body pushes the jewelry out. Yours is sinking into your skin or nesting. This happens when the jewelry is too short and the skin is swelling.
Go back to your piercer and have him put a longer piece of jewelry in and you should be just fine.
0 / 0 votes
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Posted by Ryan Mills | Permalink | Comments
Sunday May 6th, 2012 @ 12:54 PM
This is a ridiculously simple question, but its hard to google information on dermals.. I was just wondering what a typical Dermal top would be, 3mm, 4mm, or 5mm? I was trying to order tops and I don’t want to end up with the wrong ones.
Most people will pierce with a 4mm or 5mm top, depending on the area. ‘Open’ areas I think look better with 5mm tops, like the back of the neck or stomach. Facial anchors are more commonly done with 4mm tops, to make them less over powering - this is obviously totally up to personal aesthetic preference.
If you are unsure, go with the 4mm or if you want it to look ‘bigger’ then go the 5mm. 3mms are really only good for older anchors and can ’sink in’ cause problems, even without a bump or irritation.
0 / 0 votes
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Posted by Joeltron | Permalink | Comments
Sunday May 6th, 2012 @ 5:11 AM
*I don’t want any rude comments please*
Does it look infected at the top & does it look crooked? I only had it done Thursday & I’ve been told it may be because of swelling:
It most certainly does not look infected, if it was (trust me here) you would know. I’m not a fan of PTFE (or any plastics) for surface style piercings as they can cause this pressure and promote the development of hypertropic scar tissue. You will get a fair bit of yellow/clear discharge coming from a fresh piercing and is totally normal, as is the redness.
It does look a little crooked, but nearly impossible to tell without a directly front-on picture. It could be a bit of swelling distorting it, however I find that it doesn’t usually effect it that much.
If you are worried about the placement, go back to your piercer and ask them to have a peep and see what they think. Accidents happen and that area is difficult to line up, if it is crooked they will usually fix it up for free for you.
+2 / 2 votes 
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Posted by Kylie Garth | Permalink | Comments
