Dermal anchors, also called micro dermals, are a type of implant. This process has been developed more recently than piercing and enables the placement of jewellery on parts of the body that were previously impractical to pierce.
Dermal anchors are semi permanent body decorations, of which one end is implanted firmly under the skin allowing the tissues under the skin to heal around the anchor and hold it firmly in place.
Dermal anchors can be placed on parts of the body that were considered unsuitable for piercing or where skin piercings (surface barbells) tended to reject.
Using a dermal punch a small hole is made in the Epidermis (top layer of skin) creating a pocket into which the base plate of the anchor is inserted. A short stem, 1.5mm to 2.5mm, protrudes through the skin, the end of which is internally threaded allowing a range of components such as discs, balls, picture discs and stone settings to be screwed on.