Surface Piercings Procedure, Placement, and Healing Tips

A surface piercing is not like most piercings. It’s a term for the kinds of piercings that go through flat skin.

Surface piercings grow out relatively quickly as they’re often exposed to a lot of movement.

What kinds of surface piercings are there?

One kind of surface piercings are dermals, done with dermal anchors or skindivers. Dermal anchors and skindivers have a base placed under the skin and usually integrate into the body quite well.

Surface piercings can also be performed with surface barbells. For those piercings, PTFE bars are a great choice because of their flexibility in case your piercing gets hit. Plus, PTFE does not contain nickel.

Where can a surface piercing be placed?

These are some of the most common surface piercings:

The third eye-piercing

Third eye piercings are sometimes called Bindi and are placed in the center of the forehead, around the height of your eyebrows. This piercing can be done with a surface barbell, but these are more easily rejected, so piercers usually recommend dermal anchors. With a surface barbell, you will have two decorations, whereas a dermal anchor only has one.

Hip piercing

This piercing is done either with surface barbells, PTFE barbells, or dermals. It’s often placed at a 45-degree angle, so it "points" down towards the pubis.

This surface piercing is often difficult to heal as it’s very exposed to blouses, t-shirts, and trousers.

Hand web

A hand web piercing is placed in the skin between two fingers. Most people have it between their thumb and index finger, but any other finger will work.

Note that it is very difficult to heal this piercing, as there is a lot of movement in this area. For this reason, many piercers do not recommend it.

Corset piercing

A corset piercing is not one piercing, but a whole series of piercings that are placed on the sides of the back, where corset laces would be held. These piercings are usually temporary, made for special occasions and BDSM.

Nape piercing

A nape piercing is located in the back of the neck. It’s a piercing that is very hard to heal and has a high chance of being rejected by the body.

It is recommended to have it done with a surface bar that is designed for the purpose. You can usually not change the bar, but you can play around with different ends for various designs.

Wrist piercing

A wrist piercing is placed on the upper side of the wrist, just above the back of the hand.

This piercing is placed in a movable spot, so healing is difficult as the wrist is in constant motion.

Dermal anchors are advised for wrist piercings, as they integrate better into the body than a regular bar. Alternatively, a PTFE post can be used.

Madison piercing

This piercing is named after porn star Madison Stone, the first person to get a piercing just below her neck. It's placed opposite a nape piercing, but like a nape piercing, it also has difficulty healing due to the constant movement of the neck.