Dermals come up a lot at the studio. Someone’s seen one on TikTok, usually on the chest or face. The next minute they’re walking in asking for “a gem in the face.” aka the facial dermal. No problem, but let’s talk you through it properly first.
What a dermal piercing actually is
A dermal isn’t a piercing that goes through anything. No entry and exit hole like your earlobe. Just a tiny anchor, a foot plate, sitting under the skin, with a decorative top screwed into it from above. One hole, one visible dot, and jewellery that can go almost anywhere flat enough to hold it. Chest, back, hip, nape, etc.
The appeal is obvious, the downside is real too. Your body has to build tissue around a piece of metal it didn’t ask for, and it doesn’t always like to co-operate.
Dermal piercing heals slower than it looks
The surface calms down within a month or two. Underneath, the tissue is still working its way around that foot plate for much longer. Six to nine months on average before it’s genuinely settled. That gap between “looks fine” and “is fine” is where most of the damage happens, because people start treating it normally too soon. A universal problem with piercings in general.
| Stage | Timeframe | What’s happening |
| Acute | 0–2 weeks | Redness, tenderness, and some crusting. This is normal. |
| Surface healing | 1–3 months | The area calms down, and the top begins to feel stable. |
| Consolidation | 3–6 months | The tissue settles around the footplate. |
| Fully settled | 6–9 months | safe for a top change. |
Aftercare for dermal piercing isn’t complicated, but it matters
In short- keep it clean, leave it alone, don’t let anyone touch the top but your piercer. There’s more to it than that, the small things that speed your healing up or wreck it overnight. But we walk you through that properly when you get pierced with us.
Dermal piercing rejection — what to watch for
Dermals reject more often than standard piercings, and that’s biology, not something you did wrong. Watch for the top sitting higher or tilting, the skin over it going thin or shiny, or redness and discharge that’s still going past the first couple of weeks. Catch it early and it can sometimes be saved.
One thing we don’t do
We don’t do skin divers at Outliers Ink. They’re a single-piece jewellery setup with no way to change the top yourself, the rejection and lifespan numbers just aren’t good enough for us to do here. A dermal with implant grade titanium gives you a far better shot at something that lasts.
Why we’re this upfront about it
We’re a Bearwood studio, with plenty of clients from Smethwick, Oldbury, Harborne, and all over Birmingham too. A dermal done properly, with the right aftercare from the start, is something you keep for years. Done badly, it’s a story about the time you got put off piercings entirely. We know which experience we’d rather give you. If you’re in Birmingham and thinking about having a microdermal, Outliers Ink is the best place for dermals and piercings.
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