The Next Big Thing? Microdermals and Surface Anchors Microdermals — or “surface anchors”, or simply “anchors” — are a design of body jewelry that allows for a “single point” piercing. That is, a piercing that has only one visible end or bead. So for example, it allows one to place a single gemstone in a third eye position, and because of its design, no invasive procedure is required to implant it — it does not have the complexity of implantation of a transdermal implant (although it may have some of the complexity of removal). In addition, its versatile nature makes it an excellent tool for unusual formations of piercings as of course any number may be placed. “THIRD EYE” MICRODERMAL PLACEMENTS; LEFT: IAM:PUREANGEL BY BRIAN DECKER, RIGHT: BY JOHN DURANTE (IAM:JAWN D) Since their introduction as a prototype by Custom Steel at APP 2006, microdermals have been explosively popular with most users becoming convinced that these could be the next big thing in piercing, and arguably the first “new” idea in some time. That said, the technology has been around in other forms since the mid-nineties — Steve Haworth went through several designs of transdermal implant which heavily influenced their design, as did the single point pocketings first promoted by Jon Cobb, as well as dermal anchors (gallery) and other DIY-anchor techniques. In addition, surface bars, and especially the later punch-and-taper (or punch-and-elevate) procedures, involved related techniques and healing, which influenced the design and development of microdermals. Since they’ve been growing in popularity now for a solid six months, I feel somewhat tardy waiting this long to talk on the public record with artists performing microdermals, but the good side of that is that now enough time has passed that people can reflect on healing and the ongoing development of microdermals and related procedures. Let me begin by introducing the people I talked to (in no particular order), a small cross-section of the piercers and jewellers performing this procedure and making these devices. Ask around to find more! BASIC MICRODERMAL DESIGN — A SMALL BONE PLATE WITH HOLES FOR TISSUE INGROWTH, AND A THREADED POST FOR THE ATTACHMENT OF DECORATIVE ENDS. Oh, and just so there’s no confusion — these interviews were conducted separately, so don’t read anything into any implied interactions between them! Bryan Thomas Mojo Studios, Peoria, IL iam:cellfire Didier Suarez Enigma Professional Piercing, San Diego, CA iam:DidierS John Joyce Scarab Body Arts, Syracuse, NY iam:j_scarab Steve “Travelling” iam:micro-wave James “Wizzer” Wisniewski Hollywood, CA iam:Wizzer Brian Decker Pure Body Arts, Brooklyn, NY iam:xPUREx Pat Pruitt Custom Steel Body Jewelry iam:[email protected] JLo (John Lopez) Slave to the Needle, Seattle, WA iam:JLo IME Integrity Body Jewelry iam:IME Shannon Larratt BME iam:glider    How would you describe what a microdermal is? BRIAN The idea is to give the aesthetic look of a transdermal implant but with the simplicity and safety of a piercing. DIDIER A microdermal is a single-point surface piercing with a threaded changeable end. JLO I don’t call them “microdermals”. I called them single-point-piercings until Industrial Strength introduced their surface anchors — I like that name. Eight or nine years ago I tried something like them, using 14g fishtail labret jewelry — which was a horrible disaster. Maybe a year and a half ago I saw somebody on IAM was using nostril screws and having some success. I tried some myself with not so good results — the results were 50/50 at best. PAT Sorry to say, but bending up nostril screws to be used as anchors is super-ultra ghetto if you ask me, and being a part of this industry, I hated to see something misused like that. There is enough talent in this industry to have stuff like this professionally made — hence the new microdermal. JLO A fellow piercer at Slave to the Needle, David, and I started drawing pictures and debating design ideas to create something similar to the transdermals in David’s scalp but much smaller. We wanted something that required standard piercing tools only — no surgical tools. Something any seasoned professional piercer should be able to do. Strangely enough, I got the call from Pat at Custom Steel that very week. MICRODERMAL JEWELRY; LEFT: IME’S PROTOTYPES, RIGHT: IS SURFACE ANCHORS (ALMOST IDENTICAL TO CUSTOM STEEL MICRODERMALS), INSET: ANCHOR BY BRIAN DECKER PAT I started playing around with the idea about a year ago after seeing the dermal anchors being installed. I thought that piece of jewelry really sucked ass for that particular application (it was more or less a bent up nostril screw). I gave it a lot of thought before sending a CAD drawing to John Lopez to check out (because of his experience with dermal anchoring) and Phish (because of his experience with implants) to get some initial feedback in February of this year. JOHN When I first saw the dermal anchors, I knew they were a bad idea… but I thought it had potential. A few practitioners started doing variations of the “dermal anchor” with bent nostril screws, but I still wasn’t sold. The first true microdermals I heard of were Pat from Custom Steel’s pieces at APP 2006, machined out of solid titanium. This new design made far more sense to me. It had borrowed from transdermal design. It had little holes in the base that the skin could anchor in, but was small enough that it could be inserted easily, without the need for a scalpel, sutures, or elevators. JD from Industrial Strength had designed a very similar version, and offered me samples — I was amazed at how small they were. It was mind blowing! They came with a healing nub, very similar to transdermals, but any 14 gauge bead could screw onto them. JLO A few months after I talked to Pat, I was invited to visit JD at Industrial Strength. He flew me out to California and took me on a tour of his manufacturing facilities and showed me his version of the very same idea. He was calling them “surface anchors”. This is a great name because it doesn’t sound quite so “medical”. JD gave me a bunch to try out and I instantly knew these things were going to get big… and I still think they will. PAT Noah Babcock from Evolution Body Piercing in Albuquerque, who I would consider a master at surface piercing, guided me through potential installation procedures with such a small device, staying in the realm of common piercing instruments. The goal was to produce an implantable fixture, that could have interchangeable ends, that could be installed with no medical tools, but only common tools found in any shop — so no scalpels or punches… just piercing needles and tapers. The first prototype run debuted at APP 2006 and went out to a handful of clients on the down-low… they’re healing very nicely with no issues. TYPICAL MICRODERMAL INSERTION — 1. ENTRY/EXIT POINT IS MADE USING A NEEDLE OR DERMAL PUNCH; 2. MICRODERMAL JEWELRY IS INSERTED INTO THIS HOLE AND USED TO ELEVATE A POCKET AS NEEDED; 3. JEWELERY IS SETTLED INTO PLACE. BRYAN After I saw pictures on Pat’s page I thought they were neat, and I tried one on myself. STEVE I started hearing about them this summer when several of my friends began talking about them and I got messages from manufacturers advertising them. At first I had a lot of fears and apprehensions regarding them, but my friends kept telling me of their successes with them. After I kept hearing positive things about microdermals, I did my first in August on a good friend of mine, a ‘third eye’ placement. BRIAN I actually began doing something similar about a year ago, but with a different design of jewelry that spiralled into the entrance. The piece had a central base point rather than the more common design which anchors itself mostly only on one side of the base. The idea, for me, came about quite a while ago, when I was searching for a more cost effective way of making transdermal implant pieces. The first one I did was, and still is, in the wrist of iam:Peck. WIZZER I also started working with the microdermal concept using hand-bent jewelry. I started using the microdermals produced by Industrial Strength a few months back and I am now working with prototypes made by IME of Integrity Body Jewelry. Overall, I’ve done over a hundred of these, every one being successful in both procedure and healing! IME I did a few with nostril screws in 1999, but ever since Pat from Custom Steel came out with them at APP this year I have had a ton of people asking me to come up with a design of my own. I have been prototyping them for a few months in my spare time and started doing them on friends, to make sure the design is stable. MICRODERMAL PROCEDURE BY KEITH ROMAN (KYKLOP TATTOO, PITTSBURGH PA)    Does anyone specific deserve credit for developing the microdermal? PAT I think I can solidly hold claim to the latest design of the microdermal, hell, I even coined the term “microdermal”. STEVE I agree. BRIAN Yes, the pieces I make are based on Pat’s design. They’re much easier to insert than my older idea. JLO I think Pat and JD both were working on them at the same time, and IME at Integrity has come up with a variation that just might provide some specific solutions. I know that many piercers have been working on the idea for well over ten years. WIZZER I’m sure the idea of single-point microdermals or dermal anchors have been used by many people in shops never heard of, so I can’t give credit to anyone specific. DIDIER It seems the design was no more than a small bone plate with a 3/32” barbell post placed to one side. After the first prototype was made and we all started testing the prototypes, we’ve had three or four changes in the anchor since the beginning.    Why use a microdermal instead of a surface piercing, a transdermal, or even an older method like a dermal anchor (or single-point pocketing)? BRYAN Movement barely affects microdermals. Time will prove that statement, but I’ve seen microdermals be successful in places where surface bars would fail. The really great thing is the procedure — because they’re so tiny, there’s no need for an incision or sutures — it’s just a 14 gauge needle! JLO I’m not sure what the difference is between “microdermals” and “dermal anchors”. I’ll refer to the 14ga single-point jewelry as anchors from this point on. The main advantage of anchors over transdermal implants is they’re frickin’ tiny! The fact that a needle and a pair of hemostats are the only tools needed rocks! Anchors can be used to create odd number patterns that weren’t possible with surface piercings — they can be placed nearly anywhere you want. And of course, we can now “bedazzel” tattoos! Weeee! JOHN Microdermals should replace older methods like dermal anchors all together. I think there are some instances where a microdermal can replace a transdermal, but not in every instance. BRIAN A microdermal seems to be more stable in areas of movement than a surface bar is because of the reduce pressures, but I believe transdermal implants are a more permanent, sturdy, and stable procedure, mainly due to their size and centred bases, and less likely to tear or reject. JOHN I’m far more comfortable offering the microdermal to my clients, since it can be done without the surgical aspects that a transdermal requires, making it safer for myself and the client. A microdermal far easier to remove, with less scarring involved. PAT It’s a transdermal on a much smaller scale, but in comparison to the dermal anchor they’re one and the same — just a different base design with the interchangeability of decorative ends. I’m sure there will still be a place for surface piercings on some individuals, but with the microdermal, it opens up the door for precision placement, less trauma, faster healing time, and almost zero migration issues. Compare that with the issues involved with surface piercings! I do believe this will replace surface piercings. WIZZER These microdermals will be giving surface piercings a good run for their money, but won’t replace them. It definitely opens many new placement opportunities, and healing times are drastically shorter, and longevity better, than with surface work from what I’ve seen. I’ve also been using these in replacement of standard navel piercings on clients who have a “true” or “outie” navels! Another use for these are lip or labret piercings, making the concern about tooth damage and gum erosion a thing of the past. DIDIER I’ve also done them for labrets, cheeks, and other oral piercings for prevention of gum recession, and they work great. WIZZER While working with these for the past six months, their popularity has been increasing rapidly. People who have no interest in piercing whatsoever seem to love the idea of having some “bling” off to the corner of one eye. A new door has definitely been opened. DIDIER Because microdermals are independent, it allows the skin to move, pull, and stretch freely. You still have to pay attention to the bodies folds and creases, but the free movement allows the body to heal with less scarring. Coming from the perspective of a service that could be offered to clients in a regular walk-in studio, I think it’s a less invasive modification than transdermals, and can offer some of the same desired looks. JOHN I kind of rate these new microdermals right along with surface piercings, but, to be honest, these microdermals in many instances are actually easier to do that some surface piercings. That said, most piercers don’t fully understand how surface piercings work, and most aren’t using the correct jewelry or placing them properly. I’m sure that many piercers won’t get how these new microdermals work. I only wish that practitioners that didn’t understand would ask someone who does, instead of trying to figure it out on their own by using clients as guinea pigs. “FRANKENSTEIN” MICRODERMALS BY WIZZER    Do you consider it an implant or a piercing? BRYAN It’s easier to get done than a “normal” implant, since it doesn’t require minor surgery, but you are still putting something under the skin that may require some effort to get out. So it’s still an implant. PAT You’re using piercing-only techniques to install an implant — so it’s a hybrid. BRIAN Once healed into place, for removal the microdermal will need to be cut out. It still won’t be as difficult to remove as a transdermal, but the client most likely will have a very difficult time trying to remove them alone. DIDIER The tissue through the holes isn’t as strong as most would believe. JLO I think it’s a piercing. Definitely. In fact, I charge the same for an anchor as I do for a nostril piercing! STEVE It lies in the middle. Being that they can be inserted via traditional piercing techniques, they’re very accessible to artists who feel comfortable with doing piercings but not doing implants. JOHN It’s definitely closer to a piercing. One thing I love about these so much is they can be done with a piercing needle. In areas with strict regulations, where implants, or the use of scalpels, are prohibited, microdermals should be fine since the only thing you need to install them is a piercing needle. DIDIER I think it’s a piercing all the way.The anchor is like a one sided flat surface bar. IME It’s closer to a piercing in my opinion.    Do you mind describing the procedure you use to install them? JLO I pierce the skin using a 12 gauge needle, in a similar way to how I do surface piercings, but the needle only goes in the depth of the bevel and then comes right back out. Then I use a modified pair of hemostats to hold the anchor (with a mini disk screwed in), and do the insertion. DIDIER I’ve done over a hundred with needles. I used a 10 gauge at first, which I suggest for beginners, but I’m going between 12 gauge and 11 gauge right now. Some parts of the body require a small needle because of the thickness of the tissue. BRIAN I install microdermal pieces into pockets, fully in the subcutaneous layer of skin, through a 1.5mm punched hole. After punching out the entrance point, I use a small 2mm wide flattened elevating tool to make a pocket for the main, longer part of the microdermal piece. I turn the tool around and make a second, smaller pocket for the “heel” of the piece. With the jewelry threaded onto a 2mm taper, I insert the long section of the base into the larger pocket and push in and downward until the punched hole is stretched enough for the “heel” to snap down into place. Last, I unscrew the taper and thread on the chosen end piece to the base. Generally, the pieces I use have 3mm tall lifts, and are about 5 or 6mm long. STEVE My procedure was taught to me by Leo Ziebol of 5 Point Studios (iam:5point). To make the channel, I use a 1.5mm biopsy punch with a small silicon o-ring on it to control depth. I attach the microdermal to a threaded taper and slide the ‘foot’ of it under the tissue, using the ‘foot’ to elevate the skin and find a good area for the base to lie. The ones I’ve used have a smaller end on the other side of the base, and I massage and manipulate the skin to place this end at the same depth as the other side of the base. After making sure it is sitting well, I remove the taper and attach the end [bead] on top, lightly massaging the tissue afterwards to ensure it all sits properly. IME I use a needle. The microdermals that I have been making match the crescent shape a needle makes. JOHN I tried a couple with a 10 gauge needle. Everything went fine, but I found I like a 1.5mm dermal punch better since it is very similar to how I do surface piercings (using the “punch-and-taper method”). What I do first is clean the area with Technicare, and then mark where it is going to be. I pinch up the skin where the mark is, and insert the 1.5mm dermal punch straight down into the skin. Once that hole is there, there is no need to use a taper to elevate the skin like you would with a surface piercing — you can just use the leg of the microdermal to separate the tissue for itself. Using a pair of hemostats, I hold the microdermal by the healing nub, and place the long leg of the piece into the hole, lean it back, and pop the short leg into place. The whole procedure is very fast; faster than a surface piercing. WIZZER I use a 1.5mm dermal punch to create the initial hole for the base to be inserted through. I found that I get a better, more flush seating with the jewelry under the tissue using this method, as opposed to using a larger gauge needle. For easier insertion and better control, I use threaded tapers as a handle which screw into the base. Then it’s a simple pinch and push to seat the jewelry in the hole. The threaded taper then unscrews, and the desired threaded end is put in place. I only finger tighten my ends to prevent the base from rotating under the tissue when the ends are changed. LEFT: BAT EYES TATTOO DECORATION BY KEYLAN LEVINE (IAM:XKEYX), RIGHT: TWO WEEK OLD CLEAVAGE ANCHOR BY DIDIER    How is the procedure from the client’s point of view? Is it something people want anaesthetics for, or is it no more traumatic than a piercing? BRYAN It’s on the same level as a surface piercing. Anaesthetics aren’t really necessary for doing them. JLO In certain parts of the body it can hurt quite a bit, but in other areas it’s just stupid-easy. Thicker skin such as the lower back creates a much more intense sensation, and thinner skin with a lot of elasticity such as the forehead or throat is easier. DIDIER I think the procedure is the easier than most piercings, if done right. Sometimes it can take a minute to make sure the anchor is sitting flat, but better then than later. BRIAN Anaesthetics are never necessary for installing microdermal pieces. The entrance punching is usually the most painful part of the procedure, and is very minimal. It takes less time to put in than a punch and elevated surface bar, and is even less intense than that. Installing a microdermal piece usually takes under a minute. STEVE The friends I’ve installed them on so far say it is a very light procedure — they have been quick, clean, and easy. JOHN Anaesthetics aren’t necessary at all. As I said earlier, it’s basically the same technique I’ve been using for surface piercings. The clients that I have done the procedure on have all said it was one of the easier procedures they have been through.    Have you done many? BRYAN Just the one on me. JLO Well over forty now I’m sure. DIDIER I’ve had the advantage of working with Industrial Strength from the first prototype. So, like I said before, I’ve done over a hundred, and I have a few projects that required multiple anchors. STEVE I have only done four — a ‘third eye’, and a set of three on a sternum. So far the third eye has healed without any incident, and the sternums, which at first were bothered by the person’s activities combined with the ends, are now doing well. JOHN At this point I’ve done a bit over a dozen of them, and have a few more lined up. All the ones I’ve done so far are still in, and have healed, or are healing fine. I’ve only removed one so far. That wasn’t due to any healing or irritation problems — the person needed it removed for her job. BRIAN I’ve done quite a few now, yes. They are growing more known and are a more stable option for a lot of areas than surface bars — but I only suggest them for clients who know they will not be as easy to remove as a surface bar.    How have they been healing, and what is your recommended aftercare? BRYAN Mine is about a month and a half old, and healing has been very, very easy. I’ve gotten a little crust out of it and that’s about it. I used the LITFA method along with H2Ocean five or six times — I’m really lazy when it comes to aftercare. So far, things are going well, and it’s been one of the easiest things to heal ever… much easier than a surface piercing. JLO Healing seems to be fairly consistent from person to person, and body part to body part. I’ve noticed that it takes longer than I suspected — about three months. At about six to eight weeks they often become quite “juicy” and a bit angry. Then within a couple weeks they settle back down and finish healing. I only suggest warm, moist compresses when they itch, swell, or otherwise need attention. Otherwise I suggest completely ignoring them. STEVE The aftercare I’ve suggested has been the same I suggest for a standard piercing — keeping the piece safe, free from stress, free from irritants, clean, dry, and just generally giving your body a good environment to heal in. The healing processes have been uneventful and comfortable for the wearers. BRIAN Thus far I don’t know of anyone that’s had problems with my microdermal pieces. Even in the center of iam:amnesiac’s lip, it appeared healed in only a week or so. The only real problem I had with one was Steve Truitt’s nape — the piece I was using from Industrial Strength only had a 2mm rise, and the tissue in his nape was much thicker. We only had a disk end piece at the time, which made for a much too tight fit. The aftercare that I suggest is no different than with a surface bar — dry heat compresses and sterile saline washes is all I have my clients do for healing. DIDIER I’d have to say 98% success in healed healthy anchors. I’m suggesting cool saline pads for the first day or two, and after that I’m having my clients do warm compresses with saline. I’m asking that they not change the end for two or three months.    Wow, 98%? You think you’ll really get 98% success in the long run? DIDIER Time will tell. I think certain placements will do better long term. IME So far complete success. I recommend taping it for the first few days, keeping it dry, and leaving it alone — but I am a “leave it alone” kind of guy. JOHN Healing success so far has been great, and no problems have been reported. I’ve basically been telling people to leave them alone — keep all soaps, lotions, and everything else away from them. I do like the Simple Care Spray from Body Art Pro. The client can just spray it on once or twice a day — that way they feel like they are cleaning it, so I don’t have to worry about them trying something else that may irritate it! WIZZER My suggested aftercare for these is the same as any piercing I do: an inverted cup of warm saline solution, held to the piercing for five minutes, twice daily, followed by the area either air drying or being pat dried with a disposable, lint-free paper towel product or gauze. I usually dress the microdermals with a Tegaderm bandage after the procedure and provide two extra pieces for the clients to apply before sleep for the following two nights. PROCEDURE ON IAM:CURSETHISMETALBODY BY IAM:MUTE-ONE    How robust are they? Do they hold up well to sleeping on them, impacts, bead changes, and stuff like that? STEVE Their relatively small size compared to transdermals, and some surface piercings, caused me to worry initially about how they would hold up to impacts and stress. So far, the wearers haven’t encountered any large amounts of stress on them, and I haven’t heard of it being a problem from my friends who install them. The bead changes I’ve done have been very simple and caused no irritation. BRYAN I’ve only snagged mine on clothes a few times, and it’s still in there! You need to be really gentle when changing the ends on them — it feels like you are going to pull it out. I’ve seen a few pictures of people who pulled them out while changing the ends on them. JLO Obviously, the longer they are healed, the more they can handle. After the body really grabs them they are quite resilient, but since they are so small, a good snag has the potential to rip them right out. One of my customers had to change her bedding completely because of the lace that constantly found a way to wrap around the disk! The ones I have on my temples get banged and pulled daily by my one year old daughter. I’ve had them for about five months and I don’t even pay attention anymore. No pain, and no problems at all. BRIAN I don’t think microdermals, with the most recent jewelry designs, have been around long enough to know. I’ve done end changes with no problems, but as far as impact resistance, I still think a transdermal implant will be more stable — but a surface bar less. JOHN For how small the are, they are very robust. I’ve done a couple on wrists, which are notorious for giving surface piercings problems… yet these microdermals seem to be holding up fine. The initial healing nub can get knocked around a bit, especially while sleeping, but it doesn’t seem to cause long term damage like it does for many piercings. LEFT: LOWER NAVEL BY BRIAN DECKER, RIGHT: CLEAVAGE BY WIZZER    How did you learn to do them? DIDIER I started with myself, and other piercers and counter staff. After a few months I contacted most of my regular clients and offered the service in exchange for information on the anchors. STEVE I took the time to think about the procedure, and talked to a couple friends who had done them before attempting one. Leo Ziebol told me his procedure and I adopted it. JLO I have great guinea pigs working the counter at Slave to the Needle — these people let me do anything to them if it’s free. LOL. JOHN I talked with a few practitioners that had already installed them. I found out what methods they were using, and what drawbacks they had come across from them. I had a lengthy talk with Tom Brazda about them at APP 2006, before I even knew they would be so readily available. After talking to so many practitioners that I respect and getting their input, and since I had been using the punch and taper method for so long, I was confident in my ability installing these pieces. BRYAN Just common sense and asking other piercers some questions. BRIAN Yes, nothing more than common sense and second nature, I think. I’ve been doing implants and punch and elevate surface style piercing long enough that it just made complete sense right away.    Are any skills on top of “good piercer” required to install a microdermal? DIDIER I think most skills can be applied from piercing. In my experience, the motion of the needle is like a “dip” when doing a surface piercing. The finger position is a little different, but varies depending on how difficult it is to pinch the tissue. BRIAN With the method of insertion I use, a good understanding of measuring and feeling for tissue depth is important. Otherwise the piece may not sit fully in the subcutaneous layer, and may pull an end piece down under the skin if placed too deeply, or facilitate rejection if done too shallowly. Anyone who understands punch and elevate surface technique should have no problem with these. JLO Being able to read the grain of the skin and visualizing the jewelry in the tissue helps a lot. STEVE I think any artist that devotes an appropriate amount time and effort into researching microdermals is capable of doing them. This means someone who knows how to install them with minimal trauma, what qualifies as appropriate placement and use, a good base of knowledge and experience regarding aftercare, a sense of preparation in case something goes wrong during the procedure or during healing, knowledge on their removal, knowledge on sterile procedures and cross-contamination, care for the wearer, and good intentions. JOHN Being a good piercer is a start. Having some experience in elevating the skin for surface piercings would help — that can be from punch and elevate or from pierce and elevate methods. Knowing how the skin elevates and separates makes it easier to grasp installing these. Confidence in yourself is important, but without arrogance — knowing when you’re not ready, and having the morals, ethics, and responsibility to admit it is important, and unfortunately that is something a lot of people in our industry don’t seem to understand. IME I found it to be really simple. PAT Here’s the scary part — with the finesse of the design, you don’t even have to be a good piercer to install these! LEFT: TWO WEEKS OLD BY KEYLAN LEVINE (IAM:XKEYX), RIGHT: BY JOHN JOYCE    What advice would you have to other piercers who would like to start doing this procedure? BRYAN After some research, practise on yourself first — or at least on a really trusting friend. PAT Like with everything watch, learn, and do research here on BME… or practise on friends and family. These are so simple to install — it’s pretty amazing. But I’m not gonna be offering the jewelry to just anyone. Due to the number of hacks out there that are willing to do anything to make a buck, I’m keeping my clientele to a very short list. JLO They’re easy enough. All you need to do is do them in your mind first. The not-so-obvious problems seem to show themselves that way. Then be ready to improvise when you actually attempt them. If they don’t sit right, don’t be afraid to remove them the next day and massage the skin and immediately reinsert them. Play with them a little and you’ll find a technique that works for you. Sky Renfro (from propiercing.com) is working on setting up a class too! That’ll be so awesome to experience other piercers’ techniques as well! DIDIER I would suggest video taping what you are doing, and taking your time. Do a dozen in four months — not in four days. Watch your video and learn from your successes, as well as your failures. And if you take your time, your success rate will be higher. BRIAN Even if piercers are seasoned and have no problems with getting the pieces into the skin, they should limit them to clients who understand they will be difficult, and most likely painful, to remove. STEVE There are lots of very talented and friendly artists doing these procedures — talk to them and make sure you feel comfortable with every step of the procedure before attempting it. Understand everything from the purchasing of the jewelry, proper sterilization and installation, and long-term aftercare, and its possible removal. JOHN Ask for help. Ask someone you respect that you know has done these — find out how they did it. If you live near someone doing them, ask to watch them do one. Hell, ask them to do one on you! Then you get a firsthand experience of how they are done, and how they heal. This is all knowledge you can share with your clients. PAT The long-term degree of adherence of the microdermal to the underlying tissue is still unknown… Noah has the longest running microdermal of mine to date at six months. I have a feeling with the microdermal being implant grade titanium, these may have to be cut out and away from the tissue that bonds to the titanium. People should consider them permanent as long as healing and removal information on fully healed microdermals — one year plus — remains unknown. IME Look around as see what other people are doing. This is a newer item and a lot of people are doing different things — try and check them all out.    What advice would you have to clients looking to have one of these done that isn’t already a friend or regular of a piercer doing them? DIDIER If your regular piercer can’t do the procedure, ask for a referral. Do your homework — like for any other piercing. STEVE Make sure you feel safe and informed on the procedure. Also, these particular pieces are new inventions in our industry and we are still learning about them — keep that in mind. JOHN While they seem to be working our really well, their success can’t be guaranteed. Along the same lines though, no piercing can really be guaranteed… JLO Until anchors have been around for four or five years I think we must think of them as being in a trial phase. BRYAN I probably wouldn’t do one on a client — maybe on another piercer who knew the risks and such, but these things are still too new for me to be doing them on customers. Besides, removal will require some cuts… BRIAN Clients need to know these pieces are borderline permanent, with respect to ease of removal. JOHN Research it, and research the artist doing it — research everything. Make sure you want it and consider it a permanent choice. I know these aren’t as “permanent” as transdermals, but they are more permanent than your standard piercing. Even if the microdermal isn’t permanent, any scars left behind from it (or any piercing) can be. LEFT: TEMPLE BY KEYLAN LEVINE (IAM:XKEYX), RIGHT: SELF DONE BY BRYAN    Does the design of the microdermal still need refinement, or do you consider the current design “mature”? JOHN It’s still new and in its testing phase as far as I’m concerned. PAT My original design had a lot of time and thought into it. Aside from the variables (number of holes and post length) there isn’t much room to improve upon. That said, I am working on some finer points to the microdermal that I’ll discuss and debut at a later date. DIDIER I can’t see what I would do different with the design. Anything to make the anchor less likely to reject or pull out would make it more difficult to insert or remove — I’ve been told that Industrial Strength is also working on different variations of the anchors. STEVE I’ve only had experience with one model of microdermal, and I thought it was very appropriate for its usage — but I won’t be surprised if we see better models out as the popularity of this jewelry rises. BRIAN For ease of insertion, I can’t think of a shape that would work better right now, but perhaps a design that doesn’t have permanent anchoring of skin through the jewelry would be a good idea. If the main section of the base looked more like a tuning fork with two “legs” rather than holes, the piece would still be able to anchor as scar tissue would build up in the gap, but removal would be much simpler. WIZZER I feel the Industrial Strength microdermals work really well — the only issue I have is the removal. With the healed microdermals, a small incision is needed to lift the “heel” of the jewelry out of the tissue. I’ve been using #11 scalpel to make this relief cut, but I’ve also heard of some practitioners using the side of a piercing needle. The other problem with the Industrial Strength microdermals is the rise on the base — all of which come in 3/32”, which I found a bit long for facial work. JOHN I’d like to be able to get the rise in a slightly longer length. I think in some areas an 1/8” rise is a better choice — being able to choose between the two would be great. WIZZER The prototypes I’m using now (made by IME of Integrity Body Jewelry) are available with as small as 3/64” rises, and in sizes ranging from 14 gauge to 10 gauge which work really well. This design also eliminates that “heel” which is found on the Industrial Strength microdermals and provides for a smoother insertion with a less invasive removal if removal is needed. IME I personally think that there is very little in the world that couldn’t use some refinement. Microdermals are no exception — just about everything can be improved on. JLO I am very happy with the Industrial Strength design — it’s certainly working well. I think Integrity’s design will probably work better in certain areas. IME is prototyping them, so we’ll have to wait and see. LEFT: FOOT BY DIDIER, RIGHT: FINGERS BY KEYLAN LEVINE (IAM:XKEYX)    Do you think this has the potential to become a common or popular procedure? JLO Oh yes, I foresee them being as popular as nostril piercings at least. BRYAN They look awesome — I can see them being very popular! But I don’t feel that piercers should offer them to every customer that walks in the door — I don’t think the average customer is ready for something like this. DIDIER We’ve been trying to take our time working with these to assure they will be safe and effective for our industry. Things are just going so well with these that I see them being mainstream — even more than the surface bar. I see it staying as part of our list of standard procedures. IME I think so, for sure. It looks good on paper so far, but, it is a new thing — it’s going to take some time to see if they hold up. Personally I am very sceptical-slash-excited — as a piercer I’m just always making sure that what I’m doing is 100%, and a large part of that is the longevity of the end result. STEVE Microdermals definitely have the potential to become a popular procedure. I see more and more every day, but as their popularity rises I do fear low quality companies will start manufacturing shoddy representations of them without considerations for their usage. This has happened with virtually every type of jewelry so far, so I cannot imagine microdermals being exempt from it. Hand in hand, as they become more popular there will be a demand for low-cost procedures that might contribute to inexperienced — or uncaring — artists attempting them. Again, this has been true with virtually every new procedure we’ve seen. It seems inevitable, so I would urge everyone to make sure they feel comfortable and informed before allowing an artist to work on them — as you should with any procedure. PAT Yes, as you can clearly see, it will be popular. A week and a half from its debut at APP to a handful of people, Industrial Strength knocked off my design purely for the money and profit involved — they made insignificant changes, but, still, it was based on my original design. I was trying to test these out in a controlled fashion, put several out, get feedback, refine the design, do another test, and see if there are any issues with healing… But then Industrial Strength took this and ran straight into production, offering them to the masses, with no research, no development, and no testing. Because of this, several piercers are installing microdermals on a daily basis, making them commonplace, just like navel piercings. I guess time will tell on this. …but, yes, these will be the “next big thing,” if they already aren’t already. JOHN Commonplace, yeah, sure… popular, eh, I don’t know… It’s not going to be the next navel or nostril, but it may be the next surface piercing!    Anything else you’d like to add? DIDIER This is the first new anything to come along for piercing in a long while. More information will be available soon. I’ve been ask to sit on a panel on Anchoring for APP 2007, and look for a class through Professional Piercing Systems as well. JOHN I just want to thank Pat and JD for pushing boundaries and working on this design. IME Pat Pruitt of Custom Steel was the first person to start making these things and I feel that he has received very little credit this year. We as a community of jewelry makers in my opinion come up with all kinds of different things to make, and rarely do we get things like patents, seemingly leaving it to the “goodwill” of the rest of the community to not steal our designs — or start making something that is so similar to the original design that it looks like nothing but theft. PAT Aside from my personal soreness with a Custom Steel original being knocked off in record time, I think a word of warning should be sent out. That would be the long term applications of installing microdermals. Let’s not fool ourselves… this is an implant!!! This is not a piece of jewelry. I feel that removal down the road is still an unknown, and with the ease of insertion any Joe Hack piercer can install these… but removal on the other hand will require some skill. Shannon Larratt BME.com

WARNING: This article contains explicit photographs. Michelle, “The Pass Around Girl” Be not too liberal; it doth belong to dogs alone to fuck the whole day long."           - Friedrich Nietzsche After I posted photos of “Michelle, The Pass Around Girl” and her extremely direct and explicit tattoos on ModBlog, it generated a flurry of comments and debate about them. Were they part of a D/s relationship? Were they self-abuse or derogatory in some way? Michelle, an educated (she has a Masters Degree in English) and STD-free sex addict and cancer survivor, answered a few questions for us via email. You can also watch out for her in November when the interviews she did with Dr. Phil and Dr. Keith Ablow should air. BME: Tell me a little about yourself. MICHELLE: I am twenty-seven years old, five and a half feet tall and 135 pounds. I reside in Denver, Colorado. I am married to the adult actress, BisexualBritni and have been for almost eight years. BME: And tell me a little about your difficulties with sex addiction? MICHELLE: I have a huge problem with sex addiction and have been trying to shed light on the fact that women suffer from sex addiction as well as men. I have been fired from every job I have ever had for having sex on the job. I had affairs on my first husband to the point where he killed himself. I have had almost thirty affairs on Britni, and my marriage with her is in shambles.   I will betray anyone, at any time, to have sex with men or women. When I tried to fight my addiction and not have sex with people, I got myself jailed three times for domestic assaults on Britni. I have been confined to mental institutions twice for my outbursts that stem from not acting on my addiction. I have desperately tried to get help for my addiction, but all the hospitals who treat sexual addictions only cater to men and have no facilities for women. I currently attend Sex Addicts Anonymous (SAA) meetings and am doing the best I can with my addiction. BME: When did the tattooing process begin? MICHELLE: I started the tattoo process during the time I was initially trying not to act out on my addiction. Since I was trying hard not to actually have sex with everyone I spoke to during a day, my sexual addiction came out in other ways. My mind could not, would not, and could not stop focusing on sex 24/7 — I was wet and turned on all day, every day. My pussy ached so bad for attention that I could barely function.   I combated this, and in an attempt not to cheat on Britni again, I started tattooing what I was thinking on my body. The tattoo process — the pain — helped release the endorphins I live for, and when I looked in a mirror I could see what I was addicted to. Of course, being a sex addict, once I realized that the sexual tattoos made me feel better, I started doing a lot of them and I will be adding many more. BME: How did the tattoos progress? MICHELLE: I started with the “Cum Slut” tattoo and had no intentions of going further at that point. Then, while I was obsessing about sex, I would think of another tattoo and go have that done. Then, another and another. The words got more direct as the tattoos went on. By the time I was at “cum in me” and “fuck my whore ass”, I started to realize I was acting on my sexual addiction in a different way. I can barely go a day without having sex, and everything I do in my life is geared toward having sex. I can have four extramarital affairs a week and not break a sweat or feel any guilt — my body drives me toward sex to a degree most doctors have never heard of. BME: Do any of the tattoos show while you’re out in public? MICHELLE: The two girls kissing on my chest shows up daily in most everything I wear, and since I often wear bare midriff shirts, the “cum slut” and “cum in me” tattoos show up rather often. Plus, I have the lesbian tattoo on my lower left ankle and script that says “girls will do girls” — plenty of people see them, and plenty are offended by them I am sure. Though my wife is the adult actress, and I have posed for very few adult-type photos, the Internet’s reaction to the tattoos has been overwhelming — I was sort of surprised actually. BME is the first to publish my photos on an actual website. BME: What would you say to feminists that say the tattoos are negative toward women? MICHELLE: Feminists bother me. They decide what is good and bad for women in the same way men do. I will do what I please, when I please, and that is feminism. I will or will not get whatever tattoo I like. BME: Who did the tattoos? Was it hard to convince them? MICHELLE: In LA, the ink was done by Nathan’s Tattoo on Topanga Canyon Blvd, and in Denver, the work was done by Low Life Tattoo on Broadway. I have to stay with those shops as quite a few won’t do this sort of work. I was told “no thanks” several times before I found artists open minded enough to do what I asked them for. Nathan’s Tattoo in LA really enjoyed doing this sort of work. I think it was new and different to them, and a break from the same old stuff. BME: What do your partners think of the ink? MICHELLE: Men absolutely love the ink. They like to act out what my tattoos say — “fuck my whore pussy” and so on. Britni thinks they are hot, as do many other girls I have had sex with. People basically love the ink until I upset them, or say no to having sex with them — then they are easy targets for insults… “What kind of loser tattoos themselves with shit like that?” or “I bet your mom and dad are proud of you.” BME: Have doctors said anything about them? MICHELLE: A handful of doctors have seen them and said nothing. I can see it in their eyes when they read them, but to their credit, they say nothing. I did have one nurse in a mental hospital go down on me after asking a few questions about my tattoos. So the ink seems to have prompted at least one healthcare professional to act improperly. I was just surprised it was a woman that did it, and not a man. BME: Your ‘A’ is a Scarlet Letter reference I assume? MICHELLE: Yes, you’re right. It is a scarlet letter and brands me as the Adultress that I am. I don’t mean to have the affairs that I have, but I seem powerless to stop them. If someone pays attention to me, the only thing I can think about, until I have sex with them, is having sex with them. BME: When you call yourself “The Pass Around Girl”, is that literal, or is it a persona? MICHELLE: My last job was an $80,000 a year position as a supervisor for RTD in Denver — I was fired for having sex with the people I supervised. I found out I was known as the “pass around girl” by the bus drivers. It was not a term of endearment, I assure you. The term just sort of stuck, and that is often how I am referred to, and I often refer to myself as such. BME: Thank you! Finally, how can people get in touch with you? MICHELLE: I hope my story has been able to help people — I can be contacted at [email protected]. Shannon Larratt BME.com

Who owns my body?

“Nothing is legal with body hacking — so what!?! Why should we respect laws made by people who still believe that man should be like god made him? Why should we respect laws made by people who want to take the control of our destiny?”

– Lukas Zpira

In a recent ModBlog entry I featured someone who’d had a skin removal scar done, which then keloided out of control, constricting his chest and negatively affecting mobility. Instead of going to a doctor or attempting non-surgical options, he chose to have two very experienced body modification practitioners cut off the keloids and stitch him back together (as seen in our scar repair gallery). From a risk point of view the procedure was arguably no more dangerous (perhaps even less, because of the wound closure) than a larger scarification project, let alone implants, tongue splitting, transscrotal piercings, and other common heavy modifications. To ensure healing went went, the practitioners stayed with the client (who was a practitioner himself) for a week afterwards, monitoring the process, and making sure he had full aftercare and treatment. As I write this the procedure is a success and the client is very happy with the results.

However, the two artists found themselves faced with enormous criticism accusing them of having irresponsibly “crossed the line” into medical territory, thereby endangering the client needlessly and putting others in the industry at risk should there be a legal snap-back if anything went wrong — which to me seems about as valid as telling gay men they can’t hold hands in public because it’ll freak out the heterosexuals, causing them to vote against gay marriage. Even though the reaction was likely a bit knee-jerk because the photos were quite graphic, there is some truth to the suggestion that the procedure may have been legally “medical” in nature because scar treatment is something doctors do and consider their territory. So even though in terms of difficulty or risk the procedure was less than almost all surgeries, it could have still caused a legal problem.

Depending on the nation it was done in, a wide range of charges could have been (and still could be) laid, including variations on practising medicine without a license and assault charges. Had the procedure been erotic in nature (subincision or castration for example), additional charges could be laid against media and websites posting photos and discussion of the procedure, including obscenity charges and record-keeping charges (for example, an American site has the legal obligation to share full identification information on the people in all photos of this type with the US government — thus BME is hosted outside of the US).

This all raises an interesting political question — why can’t I ask anyone to perform a “medical” procedure on me? Sure, I might be better off if I went to a doctor. But is it right to force me to go to a doctor? Do I not have the right to make the “wrong” decision? If not, why is it not my choice? It’s not as if I’m asking for the right to drunk drive or some other “wrong” decision that’s going to hurt others — I am asking only for the right of self-determination.

All human rights emerge from the belief that ultimately an individual has the right to choose their own destiny, and as such, all human rights and freedoms are built on the statement that we own ourselves. However, this runs contrary to the legal answer to the question I posed, because I can’t ask just anyone to do the procedure — I can only ask those who are approved by the government, and they usually have the legal obligation to refuse me if the procedure is in any way atypical.

“When there’s another person, if it’s a medical professional, you’re asking someone who is following the rules of the land to do something which, if it’s brand-new, has to be authorized by committee after committee after committee after committee and whatnot so he doesn’t get charged with manslaughter or assault and doesn’t lose his license.”

– Dr. Robert H. Stubbs, MD FRCSC FACS

So if I ask a doctor to do an atypical procedure, they are legally obligated to refuse (unless they’re willing to spend years justifying your case to their superiors). If I ask a friend to do it, they face a variety of criminal charges if they do it. If I do it myself, I risk medical imprisonment (psychiatric commitment, a process by which I can be permanently stripped of all my rights, and medicated against my consent to the point where I can’t defend myself). And if I do somehow get it done, and decide to talk about it publicly, I (or the hosting website that publishes my story and pictures) can be criminally charged for doing so. I think it should be very clear that there are broad limits as to our ownership of our own bodies, with the government determining what we are permitted to do and have done, and by whom.

In this sense, heavy body modification is an active form of political resistance against a system which seeks to make us prisoners under the guise of “protecting” us. Perhaps you agree that most of the time the government is right. Perhaps you are even correct most of the time. But that puts you in a position to help guide people, not to force them to submit to your opinion when it comes to their decisions about themselves. Forcing people under threat of prosecution and imprisonment to make decisions that “they’re better off” making is a slippery slope. Instead of arguing as to where to draw the line in terms of how much freedom the government should “give” people, what we should be arguing about is whether the government even has the right to draw a line telling us how much of ourselves we control and how much they control.

Actually, I’m not even willing to even have the debate — it’s black and white as far as I’m concerned. You can’t be “mostly free”. Mostly free equates to slavery. I’d rather make mistakes as free individual than be successful as a slave (that said, my intention is to be successful as a free individual!). Tell me that’s nonsensical all you want, or that maybe big brother knows better, but I’ve made lots of good decisions, and lots of bad decisions, and I value them all as a part of my life experience. I own myself, and I don’t need to be protected from myself. When I need help from the government, I’m comfortable asking for it. I’m not comfortable having it forced on me.

There are already many laws in place to protect us from the actions of others. A person who claims to be a doctor or otherwise misleads customers about their background can be charged. A person who abuses minors or engages in predatory behaviour (sexually, financially, or otherwise) can be charged. Negligence charges and many others can be used in the case of problematic or abusive practitioners. As far as I’m concerned the only laws in the realm of “practising medicine without a license” should have to do with people pretending to be doctors in name. The specifics of the procedure are irrelevant.

But when it comes down to it, the statement is quite simple:

I own myself. I can leave myself as I am, or I can improve myself as I see fit, or I can even choose to destroy myself. It’s my decision, and my decision alone. Any law that tells me that I don’t own myself, and can’t dictate what is done to by body and by whom, is fundamentally wrong and by definition a tool of those who would enslave others. Worse yet, it belies a flawed foundation upon which true human rights cannot be built.

Until society concedes total individual self ownership, freedom and rights are but a smokescreen.

Shannon Larratt
BME.com

 

April Fools? Another two months of magnetic implants

 

“Man could escape danger only by renouncing adventure, by abandoning that which has given to the human condition its unique character and genius among the rest of living things.”

 

Most years I publish an “April Fools” article here on BME (articles like Adding and Subtracting, Joshua, The Raelians, and Love at First Bite). This year I’d like to write about dealing with the aftermath of something arguably foolish instead. As you know, last year I had magnets implanted in my fingertips in order to allow me to sense electromagnetic fields. While I’ve been very happy with them on the sensation end of things, as I left off with the last article, it appeared that one of the magnets had started to break down after its silicone coating was damaged by opening a pickle jar wrong (please read that original article first if you have not already).

 

Since that writing, as you can see above, the other side of my hand got similarly irritated (although no trauma that I know of occurred to initiate it as it had on the first problem) and started to blacken and become uncomfortable. I also started seeing photos of magnets taken from other people’s bodies which had significantly broken down — here is, I believe, what is happening:

 

The magnet starts as a small gold-coated neodymium (rare earth) magnet encased in a thin bubble of silicone. These magnets are tiny (about a third the size of a grain of rice), so the coating is extremely fragile in parts. It doesn’t take much for it to become compromised, and with only a tiny gap (as seen in the middle picture), the body starts to break down the magnet, extracting the substances it can use and trying to encapsulate those that are toxic. Not long after (within weeks if not less), the magnet is almost completely broken down and becomes a loose powder of toxic elements surrounded by bits of silicone. At this point it has of course also lost its magnetism so it is no longer functional either.

Because the effects of neodymium exposure of this type are relatively unknown, and in other circumstances the substance is known to be cytotoxic, mutagenic, and carcinogenic, and because it was somewhat painful, I believe it made sense to have them removed. I asked my friend Tom Brazda to do the extraction — he’s the only person I’d trust to do this (and I suspect there are few piercers who know him and his work that wouldn’t put him on a top five body piercers of all time list).

On to the gory details. Be warned that these pictures are graphic.

 

In the first picture we’re applying a topical anesthetic to my finger. The glove-cot contraption is on because the anesthetic needs to be applied without coming in contact with the air. In the second shot Tom is doing a final check of my finger and marking the location of the implants. While four implants had been originally installed, only two appeared to be there eight months later.

 

My suspicion is that the set slowly migrated together. I believe this shifting has caused them to appear as two, and I also believe that it’s possible that this shifting, which would have caused the two units to vibrate against each other, may have accelerated the breakdown of the silicone.

Oh, and at about this point I got a phone call from a friend urging us to consider aborting the removal… She’d had her doctor (a GP) remove hers, and he cut down toward it, reached in to grab it, and it just fell to pieces… He backed out and referred her to a plastic surgeon. So far she has kept it, and three months later her finger is very discolored (far more than mine was), and still quite sore. She did however mention that she found a clinical reference to neodymium — it is at times used in laboratory mice to extend their lifespans. Hmm… Maybe it’s not so toxic after all?

Naw, better safe than sorry I think!

 

Anyway, we began cutting a flap over the more recent and more irritated of the two magnets. Rather than just cutting down and spreading the skin and trying to pull it out, the plan was to make a cut that would let us just fold open the skin over the implant and remove it either by excision, scraping it off, or irrigating it out depending on the consistency. We couldn’t be sure what the specifics of the procedure would be until we actually got in there.

 

The top half of one or two of the magnets pretty much just fell out (you can see one in the first picture), but we were left with a largely empty cyst-like shell made up of and surrounded by blackened tissue. There were some loose flakes and powder but most seemed to be a part of the spongy mass of scar tissue. Irrigating it didn’t move anything, and it was completely adhered to the flesh around it, so there was no way to grab it and pull it out. All we could do is cut all around it and remove it as a single piece.

 

Some healthy tissue was removed, but the majority (if not all) of the toxic material from that side appears to be gone.

Going into the second side (the older of the two compromised sides) we encountered a little different tissue. The implant also sat quite a bit deeper in the flesh; deep enough that we couldn’t be completely sure at the time there wasn’t another hidden behind it (and while I think it’s gone, I won’t be entirely certain what’s left until the healing is done).

 

When we’d dug down deep enough to expose it, the good news was that the cyst was quite well developed. It was rooted in place a little, but we were able to pull it out without significant damage to the surrounding fingertip and with minimal excision of healthy flesh. It was seriously gross though seeing these really vile and rotten looking blobs coming out of my finger!

 

Now, with my fingertip completely exposed, but finally clean, it was time to stitch me back together, and we were done. I’ve been very stressed out over these problems, and it felt so good to see those sutures going in and knowing this was almost over.

 

My only regret is that we accidentally threw away the removed tissue and magnet bits as we were disinfecting the workspace. I’d hoped to take a much closer look at the magnet, but unfortunately that “oops” moment killed that. I can however share with you a magnet that rejected from the finger of a friend of Steve Truitt after about four months. This one has barely broken down, but the silicone is gone from one side, part of the gold coating has eroded, and the inner core has started to decompose.

 

Some people’s bodies will reject the magnets like a splinter (the lucky people), other bodies will try and encapsulate them, others will try and break them down, or a combination of all of these strategies. Internal body chemistry will also greatly affect how quickly the process happens.

I’m treating the wound with Neem pills and a Neem spray and so far it appears to be healing quite well. My right hand, which also contains magnets (but in a stacked configuration and with a thicker coating of silicone), so far has experienced no problems. In fact, it’s gotten more sensitive over time and I find myself becoming more and more aware of the electromagnetic environment around me (for example, noticing “hot spots” in power cables and couplings that are leaking radiation into the air)… But, I think it’s only a matter of time before that stack is compromised as well, and as sad as it will be to remove them, I think I have to take them out as well.

Talking to Steve Haworth and others, it sounds like a significant percentage of the small magnets implanted in people are already breaking down. It’s effectively a defective product, not even safe enough for a year in the body, let alone a lifetime. Steve tells me he’s considering ceasing sales of his smallest units (they are currently for sale on eBay), but honestly, especially given that we’ve known now for months that they’re not very stable, I feel that it needs to go a step farther and a recall needs to be issued for all of the silicone coated magnets that are out there. I do not believe that any of them will remain stable in the long term, and I believe that all of them will break down in time as I’ve described here.

One of the problems with body modification these days is, well, BME and the internet in general… When someone comes up with a great new idea like these magnetic implants (and it is a great idea), it’s instantly posted, and everyone wants it right now. But now, because of that rush, there are dozens of people, many not inside the body modification industry (so they’re without easy access to removal, let alone monitoring), that need surgery that could have been averted with a proper testing cycle.

I’d like to propose that for volatile implants and other procedures that can have unforeseen effects on the body, that these procedures should be limited to people working inside a studio or otherwise able to go to the studio the practitioner works in on a nearly daily basis. These things need to be aggressively monitored and documented so the risks are thoroughly known before they move into the client sphere. It’s one thing when we endanger ourselves as professionals inside this industry, but it’s another thing if clients who may not understand that the risks are not fully known are put into that same danger.

When I receive photos to BME, for every thousand fresh photos I receive perhaps one hundred healed photos… Of the two, it’s the healed photo that has more value. Think surface piercings — you can do a crazy corset with rings and it looks great fresh, or a forearm piercing with a straight bar and it looks great fresh too, but good luck getting a healed photo. Furthermore, for every healed photo I get, I get one problem photo (that is, a photo of a serious complication). I think because when people get a body modification others tell them it’s a stupid thing to do and too dangerous, so when things go wrong, there’s often a sense of shame and embarrassment… So they hide that the problem happened, and other people repeat their mistakes because they were unaware of the risk.

Let me be very clear about this: things go wrong all the time. It’s part of the game. But when things do go wrong, rather than hiding it, we need to share everything we know about the problems so they are less likely to happen to someone else.

In this magnetic implant procedure, one main simple thing went wrong: the magnet is not stable in the body, and the coating provided was not a sufficient permanent barrier between the magnet and the body. For existing people, I again strongly urge removal — and don’t kid yourself into thinking that because yours hasn’t broken down yet that you should be able to keep it. If yours hasn’t broken yet, thank your lucky stars that removal is going to be much simpler!

For people who’ve not gotten magnets implanted, I really have to emphasize that implanting this style of magnet with a thin silicone sheath, knowing what we now know, is reckless to the point of being stupid, since it simply doesn’t work. The initial product has turned out to be defective — but I believe we can still make this work. Glass (like an RFID) won’t work because the magnet can’t be exposed to heat without de-magnetizing it. There are however other polymers such as polyurethane (used to coat artificial hearts) with better durability and good biocompatibility that can be applied and cured at room temperature. So don’t think the idea of giving humans magnetic vision is a dead one!

[Please be sure to visit the companion article to this by Jesse Jarrell; it’s a great explanation as to the thinking that went into the development, and also includes some of Jesse’s ideas as to why things have gone wrong and how they could be fixed.]

But let’s be sure that we take it slow, wait out a few people testing them before we go putting hundreds of experimental devices into people who can’t easily find removal options, and document our failures as well as our brilliant theories! There’s nothing wrong with taking risks, but taking needless ones is, well, foolish.

Shannon “Nine Finger” Larratt
BME.com

BME.com Press Release: The alleged piercing-related death of a teen in Canada

 

Magnetic Implants A Six Month Retrospective

 

Life is “trying things to see if they work.”

– Ray Bradbury

 

 

BME.COM 2005 Year End Awards Thanks for another great year! With your help, BME continues to go strong as it enters its twelfth year. In this wrap-up article, I’d like to thank a few specific people who helped BME grow in 2005. These lists are just the best of best (or the biggest of the best if you’d like) — thanks must also go out to the thousands and thousands of people who made smaller but still important contributions, to say nothing of the paying members and BMEshop customers who make it possible to keep the servers online. In 2005, BME received about 60 gigabytes of image submissions totaling approximately 300,000 files. Of those, 188,485 images met our standards and were posted to the site. These successful image submissions came from 24,257 people and were posted in 151 separate updates. Along with those pictures, 7,234 stories and articles were posted and reviewed by site members, and 4,803 articles were posted to the BME newsfeed — almost all by volunteers. Overall top image contributors The competition was fierce this year and the numbers are quite staggering. BME/HARD members were competing with both professional piercers and with event photographers for the top spot. Below are the winners for the overall top image contributor of the year: 1. 4,171 images Big Rick

2. 4,159 images stained steel

3. 3,733 images


kokomi.3k
4. 3,242 images


KitanoKaryuudo

5. 2,044 images


RussFoxx

6. 1,990 images


perk900
7. 1,523


vampy

8. 1,354


VEAL

9. 1,353


Allen Falkner

10. 1,229


peo52

11. 1,150


hypermike

12. 909


stainless
13. 872


dispel

14. 859


Lexci Million

15. 848


KIVAKA

16. 833


Urban Soul

17. 832


Joao Caldara

18. 824


bena
19. 762


jonathanpiercing

20. 712


Hornet

21. 708


giselle

22. 653


bastard

23. 612


Ars Bonus Gallery

24. 607


wildirishrose
25. 559


joker

26. 510


UREA

27. 507


freakypumper

28. 504


j_scarab

29. 501


Rings of Pleasure

30. 489


Anonymous
31. 475


Anonymous

32. 468


nobcatz

33. 450


Guerella

34. 441


Crazy Glamour

35. 434


RAFAEL

36. 431


Efix
37. 411


rwethereyet

38. 406


deb

39. 397


HeadlessLego

40. 391


mc4bbs

41. 384


Vex Hecubus

42. 354


holey13
43. 353


matt bruce

44. 336


Bea und Lehni

45. 326


Tranquility

46. 325


holierthanthou

47. 320


piercer_dave

48. 313


rollsplitt

Top image contributors per month

And let’s break it down by month as well:

January 1. vampy (871 images) 2. Big Rick (520 images) 3. matt bruce (216 images) 4. KIVAKA (210 images) 5. kokomi.3k (171 images)

February


1. VEAL (241 images)
2. Big Rick (232 images)
3. KIVAKA (173 images)
4. 667 (170 images)
5. Anonymous (137 images)

March


1. stained steel (276 images)
2. Big Rick (240 images)
3. kokomi.3k (174 images)
4. Anonymous (144 images)
5. Crumbs (132 images)

April


1. stained steel (1,268 images)
2. Allen Falkner (796 images)
3. kokomi.3k (337 images)
4. KitanoKaryuudo (318 images)
5. bastard (251 images) May


1. hypermike (486 images)
2. stained steel (448 images)
3. kokomi.3k (419 images)
4. KitanoKaryuudo (271 images)
5. rollsplitt (201 images)

June


1/2. Big Rick (448 images)
1/2. stained steel (448 images)
3. kokomi.3k (419 images)
4. gastaum (221 images)
5. KitanoKaryuudo (191 images)

July


1. Big Rick (1,346 images)
2. perk900 (707 images)
3. RussFoxx (685 images)
4. KitanoKaryuudo (615 images)
5. Anonymous (454 images)

August


1. kokomi.3k (916 images)
2. Allen Falkner (553 images)
3. giselle (397 images)
4. dispel (356 images)
5. vampy (276 images) September


1. stained steel (954 images)
2. Big Rick (436 images)
3. RussFoxx (348 images)
4. Anonymous (309 images)
5. dispel (256 images)
October


1. Big Rick (704 images)
2. kokomi.3k (412 images)
3. KitanoKaryuudo (322 images)
4. deb (277 images)
5. Crazy Glamour (160 images)
November


1. KitanoKaryuudo (767 images)
2. RussFoxx (580 images)
3. bena (488 images)
4. Anonymous (404 images)
5. mc4bbs (282 images)
December


1. stained steel (823 images)
2. kokomi.3k (624 images)
3. KitanoKaryuudo (433 images)
4. VEAL (304 images)
5. wildirishrose (243 images)

Top image contributors per section

To make it more fair, I’ve also broken down the winners per section. Most of the names are still familiar, but this also shows you some of the niche contributors who helped keep some of the more difficult sections alive:

Tattoos 1. Big Rick (3,528 images) 2. bastard (629 images) 3. j_scarab (260 images) 4. babakhin (186 images) 5. Efix (158 images) 6. Anonymous (152 images) 7. RAFAEL (150 images)

Piercing


1. stained steel (1,464 images)
2. KIVAKA (675 images)
3. Lexci Million (337 images)
4. piercer_dave (214 images)
5. holey13 (199 images)
6. holierthanthou (199 images)
7. alienboy (150 images)

Scarification


1. perk900 (433 images)
2. hypermike (360 images)
3. Joao_Caldara (318 images)
4. matt bruce (294 images)
5. stained steel (204 images)
6. UREA (152 images)
7. vampy (144 images)

Ritual


1. stained steel (2,090 images)
2. RussFoxx (1,930 images)
3. Allen Falkner (1,347 images)
4. vampy (1,115 images)
5. bena (718 images)
6. stainless (663 images)
7. dispel (661 images) Culture


1. perk900 (1,145 images)
2. Big Rick (643 images)
3. newaddict (257 images)
4. spot (197 images)
5. Allen Falkner (176 images)
6. Lexci Million (169 images)
7. B-boy (162 images)
BME/extreme


1. jonathanpiercing (511 images)
2. mc4bbs (391 images)
3. emilio gonzalez (214 images)
4. old soldier (173 images)
5. stardust99 (165 images)
6. Anonymous (141 images)
7. Anonymous (124 images)
BME/HARD


1. kokomi.3k (3,733 images)
2. KitanoKaryuudo (3,218 images)
3. VEAL (1,264 images)
4. peo52 (1,229 images)
5. Hornet (712 images)
6. Urban Soul Bonus Gallery (692 images)
7. Ars Bonus Gallery (612 images)

 

Most diverse image contributors

While some contributors tended to submit in just a few categories of BME, other people submitted to many different galleries (piercers especially). In 2005, 739 galleries were updated at some point during the year. The following people deserve recognition for having an active involvement in a wide range of activities covered on BME:

1. stained steel (71) 2. holey13 (62) 3. KIVAKA (55) 4. Lexci Million (55) 5. Efix (50)

6. j_scarab (50) 7. alienboy (47) 8. babakhin (43) 9. holierthanthou (42) 10. redneckzombi (42)

11. HollywoodPiercer (42)
12. el tio pincho (40)
13. Joao_Caldara (39)
14. bob-omb (39)
15. RAFAEL (38)

Most consistent image contributors

Some people submitted only occasionally but in large numbers — for example, folks who documented conventions and events. Others contributed on a more constant basis, meaning that any given update was likely to have an image from them. Of the 151 separate updates posted to BME in 2005, the following people were represented in the largest number of them:

1. KIVAKA (61)
2. Lexci Million (60)
3. j_scarab (55)
4. alienboy (51)
5. Joao_Caldara (45)

Top experience authors

I was blown away by the number of articles some people wrote this year, with the top place being a tie of a story submitted on average every twelve and a half days for the entire year! Here are the top authors of 2005:

#1. 29 stories kyo		#1. 29 stories cuthalcoven		#3. 21 stories aniorange
BlueStar (18)

psychonautje (15)

Lozza_mc (15)

\wolfbane (15)

Skip3s (14)

Paindreamer (14)

hunterjackson (12)


Anonymous (11)


Ebowlotus1960 (11)


WarMaiden (11)


Anonymous (11)


Flutterfly (11)

Honorable mentions (10 experiences): gothicphoenixx, d’Latta, and Orilind.

Top experience reviewers

When experiences are posted they first have to move through a moderation process whereby members of the site determine what should be posted and what needs to be sent back for revision first. Of the 7,526 experiences that were posted, the following list shows which reviewers were successfully involved in getting those ones posted (so this doesn’t include the experiences that were rejected):

1. Ebowlotus1960 (3,387)
2. deadly pale (2,759)
3. cuthalcoven (2,618)
4. Frisky_Vixen666 (2,608)
5. dressxupxdollie (2,442)
6. Yknits2001 (2,374)
7. Skip3s (2,159)

Top BME newsfeed contributors

BME’s newsfeed is maintained by a small team of volunteers (anyone can submit stories) who troll news sites finding any articles that might be of body modification interest to readers of BME. The following people posted the greatest number of stories to the newsfeed:

1. rebekah (2,337)
2. Ebowlotus1960 (881)
3. CajunChefClay (392)
4. piercedjenny (336)
5. Frisky_Vixen666 (334)

BME/News Interns and Staff

In 2005, BME brought on two interns to develop content for BME/News. Much thanks to them for their hard work and articles, and good luck on their future ventures, writing and otherwise:

snackninja Read all of Jordan’s articles

typealice Read all of Gillian’s articles

In addition, the following people maintained a column in 2005 on BME:

The Lizardman

Jim Ward

FREE

Fakir Musafar

Princess_Poop

QOD Staff

As it has for years now, BME’s QOD staff tireless answers body modification questions from the public. Here are the members who posted regularly over 2005:

MONTE

Gary

shawn.spc

spikesandstuds

amorphous

LexTalonis


vampy


The Fog


j_scarab


Lassi

BMEshop

BMEshop is a small family business that runs independently from (but is still partnered to) BME. Here’s who makes sure that your BME swag and body modification gear gets to you quickly and at a fair price:

badseeds

tcie

BME Core Staff and Volunteers

And, of course, BME’s core staff of volunteers and employees:

badur Badur’s done a wide range of things for us including being held hostage by a hostile ISP!

CT
CT helps with server maintenance, especially with our IIS servers.

PhilipBarbosa
Phil does much of the day-to-day image processing.

1101001
Jon maintains and administers many of our UNIX servers and also does development work.

dita
Dita runs BMEjapan.com


Jen
Jen handles customer support email and manages the experience moderation system.


Rachel
Rachel runs the business and financial end of BME and also does server maintenance, installation, contracting, moving, and more.

glider
That’s me, Shannon!

I have almost certainly forgotten people from this list, and for that I apologize! I’ve also I’ve left off related projects like wlfdrgn‘s IAM scholarship, Shawn Porter‘s SPC, and Crow‘s Modified Mind, folks that contribute to ModBlog, that all deserve their own credit as wel.

But what did they win?

Everyone you saw mentioned on this page gets a limited edition 2006 BME staff shirt (in whatever color they’d like). The design is based on military unit shirts for those of you who don’t have family in the armed forces, and the latin on the front says “free will”. Anyway, if you see someone wearing one of these, you can bet that they made significant contributions to BME (or perhaps robbed someone who did), and thus influenced the future of the body modification community with their input (thus “PROPHET”) on the back.

But wait — there’s more! You know I love making t-shirts, so instead of just one staff shirt design for 2006, I’ve made two for winners to choose from. If they appear on this page once, they can choose one of the two shirts, and if they appear more than once, they get both. Shirt number two (available in any color but black or white) is a picture of BME’s pinup of the year, Eva (KitanoKaryuudo) — click here for a closeup:

In addition, the top five image contributors won $100 gift certificates to BMEshop, as did the top three experience authors. Oh, and everyone here got free access for a year (not that they need it since they contribute so often). I wish I could give out more prizes!

Thanks again everyone for a great year. Big things are in store in 2006 on a lot of levels; a new content management system, a rewrite of IAM, some new sociopolitical projects, tons and tons of free stickers, and more. I think you’ll like what’s coming…

Shannon Larratt
BME.com

Dermal Anchoring

“Today every invention is received with a cry of triumph which soon turns into a cry of fear.”

– Bertolt Brecht

It’s not often these days that I get to document a new type of body modification procedure — most procedures are long since invented — so I was thrilled when Ben from House of Color in Colorado Springs sent me the following two photos titled, “eye boogie”.

The procedure, which he calls dermal anchoring, is something he came up with a few years ago and he feels he’s perfected over the last year. It’s starting to take off in Colorado Springs — Ben says he can’t make the custom jewelry fast enough to keep up with demand — and if it works as well as he says it does, perhaps that trend will spread even farther.

Among other things, you may remember Ben as the third person to hold the Guiness World Record for the most number of piercings on a single person in a single session (back in 2001 it was 227 piercings). Running from that notoriety he’s settled down at House of Color (“the first shop I really call home”).

Ben with a client

BME:	I assume you first considered the options of surface piercings and transdermal implants which cover similar territory?

BEN:  Surface piercings and transdermal implants are very solid procedures — surface piercings are great, but if there’s too much tension on the skin or if they’re too heavy, they reject — you can counteract this by piercing deeper and through more tissue, but this means a longer healing time, increased infection risks, and a look that might not be right for the location. And transdermal implants need a lot of skill, and if done wrong can cause serious problems — just look at the words alone: the big one is “implant”. That means it’s permanent, and to remove it is a lengthy and very painful process. BME:  Dermal anchoring seems similar to single-point pocketing? BEN:  Yes, it is very close, although the dynamics and the design of the jewelry are what make it different. Really, I developed this procedure on a dare! My friend wanted the outside of her eye done. I didn’t want to risk the rejection from a surface piercing, and we only wanted one bead showing anyway. I offered her an implant, and she told me to fuck off, adding that I was smart enough to figure out another way — so I spent a few months hitting the books and making jewelry prototypes.

Cam was starting to become a pest about it, and eventually I was ready to try. The feeling of doing the procedure was overwhelming and made me sick to my stomach — I was so scared that if she moved, I’d hit her eye, and let’s face it — insurance won’t cover this.

BME:  Was the procedure successful? BEN:  Yes, but unfortunately even after all that, the jewelry fell out in her sleep two days later. The jewelry was the problem — it wasn’t holding to the skin. I’ve been through six generations of jewelry design now — a few willing victims and a bit of trial and error development, and after the third or fourth time I started installing them in myself so no one else would get hurt — but I’ve finally got it right. I’m doing it in 18ga for anywhere around the eye, and 16ga to 12ga for other locations… I have five different kinds of jewelry in various designs up to high motion pieces that look like a scary fish hook… The geometry of the jewelry is the key to making it last.

Dermal anchor jewelry

BME:	How do you put the jewelry in? You said it’s simpler than a transdermal…

BEN:  All it takes is a normal needle, the jewelery, and a steady hand. First you read the skin grain and watch the way it moves and bends. Let’s use the example of an outer eye — the grain is horizontal to the center of the eye. Lift the skin (eye closed) and insert the needle, without letting it come out the other side, going about a quarter of the way down on the needle stop. Then make a quick quarter turn and remove the needle, spinning it in reverse from your quarter turn. Next push the jewelry in place, and jiggle it lightly to move the flap into the crease in the jewelry. Finally, press down for about ten seconds.

Dermal anchor procedure

BME:	That’s really clever — how is the aftercare and healing?

BEN:  Assuming the customer does what they’re told, they do great. For the first week they need to press on it six or seven times a day and cover it with a bandage at night, just until the anchor grabs the tissue better… Healing is really beautiful — minimal to no bruising, no blood after the jewelry is in… They just need to keep it clean with soap and saline solution every three hours. In dry climates like we have here in Colorado I’ve found it doesn’t dry out the tissues. BME:  And the success rate? BEN:  After I got the jewelry right, of the twenty or so I’ve done, the people who’ve taken care of them have had complete success. Those that haven’t taken care of it still tend to have the jewelry, but it shifts and moves out a little.

So close to the eye!

BME:	How do people react to dermal anchors when they see them?

BEN:  “How is that in there?!” — they think it’s glued on… But most people really like them. A few piercers have tried to copy it but just managed to hurt and mess up their customers — of the shop whores in town got one done and then had to come to me two weeks later to remove it… and then asked me to do it right. I said no, which is good because I later found out her plan was to take it to another piercer so he could copy the jewelry…

Co-workers have pushed me to release it to the world, but I’m taking things slow. It’s still really new and I don’t promote it too much. If people ask, I tell them about it — normally the pictures in my portfolio get the conversation started. My philosophy as a piercer is that if you’re doing this for the money, you’re going about it wrong. This is an art form, and that is how it must be treated. That’s when your best work will come out.

Dermal anchor “ring”

BME:	Have you observed any risks that are unique to this procedure?

BEN:  Not really… without any upward pressure on the skin, normal rejection doesn’t even happen. I guess if you go to a mosh pit, yeah, but you could also have your teeth “reject” there too. It’s just really important that people take care if it — you practically have to staple the aftercare instructions to their shirt for them to remember… But that’s all there is to it. BME:  Any advice to piercers who’d like to try this? BEN:  Please call me. I’ll tell you whatever you need to know, or if you live in Colorado or are making a stop, come in and say what’s up… Don’t try and do these with just your skill under your belt unless you’re really good. I’ve seen what happens when some guy says “I can do that”, and it doesn’t look pretty.

Multi-anchor star arrangement

Ben can be reached at House of Color in Colorado Springs at 719-390-4128, or you can drop him an email at [email protected]. By the time you read this, he may already have his first batch of jewelry from his manufacturer (all of the earlier pieces were custom made by him). If there’s an interest they’ll add the jewelry to their catalog, so you can talk to him about that as well.

Thank you to Ben for talking to us about this procedure, congratulations to him on being part of a that small roster of artists to contribute a new procedure, and I look forward to seeing more dermal anchoring in the future.

Shannon Larratt
BME.com