Having had a bunch of piercings/tattoos done over the last 5 years (lip, ears, labaret, vert. hood, nipples, industrial), I had the modification itch again in Dec '08 and decided something had to be done. I began doing research on BME and looked at all my possibilities. I work in a corporate environment, so precaution had to be taken in terms of placement (I took the lip piercings and most ear piercings out for work).
At A Glance Author anonymous Contact anonymous@bme.anon When Six months ago Artist brian decker Studio pure Location Brooklyn, NY Voila! I stumbled on the dermal anchoring site and was fixated. This was supposed to be safer than surface piercings and have a low rejection rate? I looked at pictures of women with anchors and immediately fell in love with the placement between the breasts, in the middle of the chest.
That very Saturday, I decided it couldn't wait, and hiked over to Brooklyn to Pure. There, I was greeted by the receptionist, who had one exactly where I wanted it. After talking to her and asking some general questions (did it hurt a lot, did it catch on clothing and stuff), I was vastly reassured. I waited around for about 20 mins while the piercer worked on another client, then it was my turn.
I had worn a button up shirt, which ended up being very convenient, as I only had to unbutton the top 3 or 4 buttons to do the piercing. Brian asked me to stand straight as he marked the spot...the first attempt was too high and I asked for something lower (work, ya know). Finally, I was happy with the placement and laid down on the table to begin the process.
Brian explained every step very thoroughly to me. He showed me the piercing and the "feet" it would need to anchor into my skin. First he made the incision, then moved the needle around to create a pocket for the anchor. This step didn't hurt much at all, maybe felt like a prick (compared to nipples/VCH, it was a cakewalk!) of a normal syringe needle.
Then the process became a bit rougher. I do blame it on my own skin (I am skinny so maybe there was not a lot of surface to work around) and not at all on the piercer. But when he tried to put the anchor itself in, it kept slipping off the clamp and he couldn't get it into the skin. this resulted in 3 or 4 tries to anchor it in, which felt like enormous pressure on my chest, followed by a painful pop when the clamp would lose its grip and snap off. But finally, he re-adjusted the placement of the clamp again, and it slid in easily. Whew!
He attached the top to the anchor (I chose a clear jewel). And I had bled a tiny bit in this process (maybe 1 drop of blood), so I was cleaned up, and a bandage was put loosely on the piercing area. I was told to not do much to the piercing (apparently lots of ppl use the LITHA method and it's fine), just shower as normal with unscented soap, use saline solution once a day, and wear a band-aid on it for the first few days. I followed all of that and everything worked out great. I paid, tipped, and walked out with a great looking piercing.
Since then, I have gotten so many comments and compliments on the anchor. People are astounded that something like this is possible, and I'm more than happy to explain the procedure to the less queasy. A slight problem has been work attire, because I have had to wear tank tops under slightly lower cut shirts to hide the piercing, but I'm more than happy to make that sacrifice for something that is so pretty.
Another thing that's been interesting is my own body symmetry. Apparently, the middle of my chest (where my cleavage line is in between my breasts) is visibly different from where my belly button is, so if someone were to look closely, they can see that I am not entirely centered. Not a problem, but it's just funny that a piercing has really helped me evaluate my own anatomy.
So all in all, I highly recommend Brian for anchors -- he's probably done hundreds and really knows his stuff. I think my experience was just an anomaly (coupled with maybe my own anatomy). And I highly recommend dermal anchors -- just consider the implications of healing and the possibility of having a painful removal in the future. Also, consider placement. Mine is in the middle of my chest, where I don't have much of a chance to bump/prod it by accident, and even then, I've hit it a couple of times and been in pain for about a day. When this happens, I usually do a saline solution soak and then go about business as normal, and it's healed fine. I do realize that having dermal anchors on other places (hip/face/arms) could be riskier and would probably require more prudent care.