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Surface piercing

Type of piercing

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Surface piercings are piercings that are found on flat parts of the body, giving a double-pierced look that sits flat against the skin. A surface bar follows the plane of skin, while a standard piercing is pierced through the plane. Standard piercings have an entrance hole with an exit hole that is usually directly behind the entrance hole, whereas with a surface piercing the entrance and exit holes are next to each other on the skin surface.

01Types

Some examples of surface piercings:

02Rejection and migration

Surface piercings can be difficult to heal. They are the most likely to be rejected as they only break through small amounts of skin. This leaves less skin to keep the piercing secure. The body will push it to the surface of the skin causing it to "grow out". Proper placement and jewelry selection by an experienced body piercer can help alleviate this problem. A healed surface piercing can last from a few months to a lifetime.

Watch videos about Surface piercingExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article Surface piercing, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

Images, from Wikimedia Commons:

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