Everything You Need to Know About Back Dimple Piercings

Back dimple piercings are dermal piercings in each indentation on your lower back, just above your butt. Dermal piercings have a single point rather than an entry and exit point like traditional piercings.

These little dimples are also known as the dimples of Venus. This explains why some people mistakenly call these piercings Venus piercings.

While the confusion is totally understandable, you’ll definitely need to know the difference before hitting the piercing studio.

A Venus piercing — aka a Christina piercing — is actually a genital piercing.

How is this piercing done?

Back dimple piercings are dermal piercings. To do it, your piercer uses a needle or scalpel to create a small pocket in the middle layer of the skin called the dermis. Using forceps, they’ll insert an anchor with a post into the pocket. Finally, they’ll screw the jewelry “top” onto the post.

Here’s a general rundown of what to expect at your appointment.

Your piercer will:

1. Ask for your ID and give you paperwork to fill out.
2. Take you to a private room to evaluate your back dimples to make sure you’re a good candidate for the piercing.
3. Clean and disinfect the area.
4. Mark the points to be pierced using a body-safe marker.
5. Pierce the first dimple and insert the jewelry, then do the second one.
6. Clean up the blood and disinfect the area again.
7. Give you aftercare instructions.

Will it hurt?

Most definitely. Your piercer is pushing an instrument and then an anchor or diver through several layers of skin, after all.

But exactly how much pain you’ll feel is hard to say, since pain is so subjective and everyone’s pain tolerance is different.

According to anecdotal reports online, getting back dimple piercings is pretty painful — but the pain only lasts for a second.

Having a skilled piercer can help, along with going into the appointment well rested and relaxed.

What types of jewelry are used for this piercing?

Anchors with tops are the preferred choice for back dermals because the tops are interchangeable. You can switch up your jewelry without removing the anchor.

Your other option is a type of jewelry called a diver. Divers have a pointed end base that sits under the skin and a decorative top. It’s inserted into a hole in the tissue that’s made by a tool called a skin punch.

A skin punch is a sharp, hollow instrument that’s pushed approximately 4 millimeters into the skin and removes a circular piece of tissue when it’s pulled out. The diver is inserted into the resulting hole.

This method causes less bleeding, but divers aren’t interchangeable, which limits your jewelry options.

What material options are available for the jewelry?

The Association of Professional Piercers (APP) recommends using only high-quality materials to reduce the risk of complications like an allergic reaction or piercing rejection.

For dermals, your best material options are:

• Implant-grade titanium. It costs more than steel, but titanium is hypoallergenic and nickel-free. This is the way to go if you have sensitive skin or a nickel allergy.
• Niobium. This is another hypoallergenic option that doesn’t corrode and is safe for dermals.
• Implant-grade steel. Steel is affordable and suitable for most people. If you a have a nickel allergy, steel may cause a reaction depending on the severity of your allergy.
• 14-karat or higher gold. Gold is safe for most people as long as it’s not gold-plated. The plating can flake and expose you to other alloys underneath, including nickel. Anything higher than 18-karat gold, however, is too soft for a der.. read more