Micro Dermal Anchor

My name is Deb, and I have been a long standing member of the body modification community for almost seven years now.

From age 11, my peaked interest in piercings has been ongoing, and it seemed that you couldn't keep me from learning what was available to me at the time about piercings.

Obviously, as time went on, and piercings became less taboo, I myself experimented more. By age 14 I had 30 piercings, mainly consisting of work done above the neck (I had my nipples and belly button done as well, but as an aspiring piercer, I did these myself, also for the fact that age 18 is the legal age to get genital or surface modification).

I would like to say that at the age of 18, when I got my nape done by Burni on my birthday, I knew fairly everything I was getting myself into. After numerous videos on piercings and being a member of BME for many years, I knew how procedures went, how things were supposed to feel, and how to choose your artist correctly.

Everything went smoothly with my nape. It had been something I wanted done for many, many years, and on my 18th birthday, Burni delivered it. I walked into the shop, received my piercing, and left satisfied, giving Burni a 20 dollar tip. I had intended on future work, and knowing the quality of Club Tattoo, and the care Burni took with me, I kept the two in mind for my next piercing: My micro dermal anchor.

I had been reading about it for almost a year now, but only saw a few pictures displaying the brave people who took the chance on the still very experimental piercing.

Being one of the first 100 people to have my monroe showcased on BME, you could say I liked knowing that ontop of my love for modifications, I was among the brave to sign myself up for a piercing that wasn't well known.

I decided that if I were to get my micro dermal anchor done, it would only be by Club Tattoo, and so I searched out to Burni once more. I called the studio weeks ahead of time, and asked if micro dermals were a procedure that was offered at the Club. 'What's a micro dermal?' the girl on the other end asked me. I should have thanked her for her time, and hung up. However, I continued to explain to her what they were. 'Oh, yeah, Burni does those' she told me. Great! This was the time - I was going to have a gorgeous piercing, and everything was aligned just right in order for me to get it done.

I walked into the Club, only to see the chick at the front desk with a micro dermal as an anti-eyebrow. (Go figure!) I signed the papers, handed over my I.D, and waited for Burni to get to me.

Once it was my turn, I was escorted into his room where I was prepped and cleaned, dot on my chest, and then took my place on the bed when he asked me to. He re-explained to me what it was supposed to feel like, what to expect, and just talked with me in a calm manner through-out the piercing.

I felt a sharp pinch in my chest, and with some deep breathing, the pain was almost un-noticable. Once it was done, and I was cleaned, I asked about the jewelry and how long he thought it was going to take before it started healing (Although I had read online different times on different people, I wanted to get it straight from my piercer). He then informed me that he/Arizona didn't have the PROPER micro dermal anchors, and instead used a NOSTRIL SCREW in place of the jewelry.

I was in shock. I wanted to run out, grab my paperwork, shred it in half, and pretend like I had never shown up.

After a couple minutes of being in a delicate-crazed state, I took a look at what I was presented with.

I had a wound in my skin with a nostril screw in it, and I wasn't about to rip this thing out of my chest and complicate things or jeopardize my health.

Burni instructed me on how to care for the piercing, and I left with an 80 dollar piercing (After tip) and bought myself some H2Ocean, since I knew I was definitely going to need it with this piercing.

Two days later, after following complete instructions and using my already stacked knowledge of piercings, my piercing started to invert. My chest did not know how to heal around a twisted, pointing curved nose screw, and started to suck it in. I didn't know what to do. I gently put it back in its place, and used the H2Ocean to minimize the swelling and infection.

Two days after that, I awoke to the piercing being completely inside my chest, and two and a half inches of swelling covering the entirety of the nostril screw. There was basically only one thing to do. Since my body wasn't going to accept this piercing, I needed to remove it immediately. After an hour and a half of sheer pain and my tear ducts drying up from all the pain and anger I had to go through, the nostril screw was finally removed from my chest. A closer look also revealed that the piercing was about 30 degrees off placement, and ended up laying crooked in my skin. (Probably from the angle he was at during the procedure?)

Doing my daily information and image sap from BME, I noticed a BEAUTIFUL project on a womans back done in dermal anchors of butterfly wings on the front page. Clicking it only saddened me. Another piercer from Club Tattoo, as well as Burni, had done the project. There it was, flaunted in my face - the real dermal anchors I was supposed to get. I took a further look on ClubTattoo.com, and clicked on my former piercers profile. Sure enough, proudly showcased in his portfolio were properly done dermal anchors.

I write this story, because I have hope that the person reading it is much of a body modification lover as I am. I hope they understand my dreams and my desires, and I hope they understand that everything I just told them about my experience is WRONG. I did not go into Club Tattoo asking for 'A nose screw in my chest'. I asked for a 'DERMAL ANCHOR', and I should have been turned away. I should have been told that I wasn't going to have the proper jewelry, and I shouldn't have found out that a nose screw was in my chest AFTER the fact. I need people to know that the glory that Burni is basking in is shadowed with bad experience and unfair treatment. That day, I was just another customer and a quick way to get 80 dollars. However, today, I am no longer a customer of Club Tattoo, and a scarred (Physically and damn well angry) modification lover.

I show my scars from previous modifications proudly, but this was in no way deserved, and it saddens me to find out that my fellow Arizona modification lovers, only six months later, got the treatment I think I should have gotten, or, at least payed for.

EVERY single piercing, along with its piercer, is different and unique. However, I always have stressed this, and always WILL stress this - LEAVE NO ROCK UNTURNED. Ask every single question you can think of before modifying your body. Do not be too scared to ask your piercer a thousand questions - That's what they're there for! This may be their job, but it's YOUR body.