I'm hoping someone on the board has had one of these done and can answer some questions!

I've only ever had my navel and ears pierced, so I'm a bit scared to have something so permanent and, of course, of the pain. But I just love the look of these.

I was looking to have one placed right at my breast bone, over my heart.

Can someone tell me about pain level? (I'm a wimp) Healing time? Aftercare?

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I got a microdermal on my sternum a couple of months ago. Before that the only piercing I'd had was my ears (they were done with a gun and I had sooo many problems with them).

The piercing was relatively painless and very quick. I think I said 'ow' once and then it was all over! As for aftercare, I had a see through plaster thing put on it straight away that I had to leave on for a couple of days. After that, all my piercer told me to do was to leave it alone. It's gotten a little red and angry at me a couple of times when I've knocked it, but that usually goes away by itself. I think I've soaked it with warm salt water twice since getting it done.

They say it usually takes 2-3 months before it's healed, and about 6 months before you can change it. Just don't try and twist it to see if you can change it before then, as that's the only time my piercer has ever seen microdermals reject. He said that the top usually begins to loosen by itself when it's ready to be changed.

Just make sure that you're certain you want it, cos once it's there the only way you can remove it is to cut it out. But if you decide you do, I'd say go for it! I certainly want more!

I'm supposed to have a 3 microdermal set
and one of them keeps popping out on its own
and i've tried putting it back in twice
so only 2 are currently in...
I think placement is very important
(the one that keeps popping out is right on a bend on my body)

I've had no problems about them healing
and if you have other piercings you will be familiar
with healing of new piercings

Mine are a year and a half old and i did the salt soaks and antimicrobial cleansers

another consideration is also related to placement on the body
if they are place on a body part you don't have visual access to (ie. back of your neck) the top might unscrew and fall off without you noticing and the 'leg' is swallowed up by the skin without something there to hold it

I had that happen twice to the same microdermal
First time, my piercer took a scalpel and made a small incision where she felt the leg was and was able to grab enough of it to screw on a new top

The second time that happened, no scalpel was necessary
she was able just to push the skin around the eg enough to screw it on

Re: your placement... my piercer told me another girl who got a dermal on her sternum similar to the one you described you want to get and while she was on vacation, it got caught on something and ripped right out!

bra straps, shirt collars, waist bands are things that can make a dermal fussy

there's always a risk of that happening so you have to decide if that's something u can deal with

and just as Growing Wings mentioned... it is permanent and having it cut out does leave a scar... I have a scar where my missing one is and that motivates me to try putting it again

you are welcome to pm I'm happy to answer any questions
also if you are in the Vancouver, Canada area... I would recommend my piercer Erynn... she has the hands of a surgeon and a fantastic aesthetic to make sure you get a beautiful result

hth

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