Seven-Star Needles set, with plastic hammer device, for non-penetrative acupuncture therapy, from the surgery of a British practitioner c.1996, unsigned, Chinese, 1975-1985.

Dermal needles are also known as ‘Seven-Star’ or ‘plum blossom’ needles. They are a cluster of small pricks set in a ‘hammer’-shaped device. This makes shallow indentations upon the skin in non-penetrative acupuncture therapy. It is often referred to as Plum Blossom needling.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), acupuncture needles stimulate certain points on the skin. This unblocks the flow through the body of a life force known as qi (chi). TCM practitioners believe qi is essential to wellbeing.