I had toyed with the idea of a piercing for a couple of years, ever since I finished college. I was too strait-laced to consider it before, but time changes everything, they say. Anyway, I live/work in an environment where the traditional facial piercings just would not work, so I started researching things below the neck, mostly on bmezine. Nipples were somewhat interesting, but were reported to be painful, plus I don't have the chest to set off nipple piercings. Moving south, the belly button is mostly a girl's piercing, so I continued south to the genitals. I looked at all of them, and the frenum seemed to be the one. Relatively painless, easy to gauge, dry (no effect on urination)...it seemed perfect. So the next step: pick a piercer. I live in South Texas, and the only body mods commonly done within a 50-mile radius involve (unwilling) baby calves. So I got back on trusty bmezine.com and sorted m ale genital piercing accounts by area. Bariah Dailey at Taurian Body Piercing in Houston came up time after time, so I called him to check on hours and whatnot. I was a bit concerned that it was my first piercing, but no problem. Meanwhile, I also found out from my friend C. that she was interested in getting her hood pierced. We were going to see each other for a ski trip to Colorado the middle part of January, flying back into Houston on the 20th. She was definitely up for it, so another call to Taurian: A rub! They were closed on Mondays. No problem, tho; I called my friend in Houston, and she said she'd be delighted to have us over for Monday night. So that was that: we were going in to get mutilated Tue night, Jan 21, 2003.
At A Glance Author anonymous Contact anonymous@bme.anon IAM andrew.t When A year ago Artist Bariah Dailey Studio Taurian Body Piercing Location Houston, TX We showed up at Taurian around 7:30 pm, and Bariah walked us thru the procedure and aftercare routines. He warned my friend that 90% of girls are not formed to accept a horizontal hood, and after looking at his model, she examined herself and said she thought she probably was NOT one of the lucky 10%. However, ALL guys are "formed" for the frenum piercing. We picked out a 5/8" 10 ga. straight barbell, and it was on to the piercing room. I got "voted" to go first.
Bariah told me to drop my pants and lie down on his (paper-covered) table; he got a large piece of green surgical-looking paper which he spread over my groin and pulled my penis thru a little hole in it. He first used a pen to mark entry and exit "x's" and asked for my approval...I thought it was a bit farther back from the head than I would have imagined but he was the professional so I didn't argue. Then he wiped it down with disinfectant, and placed his clamps. My friend held my hand, and he told me to take three deep breaths. When I had just started to exhale from the SECOND breath, he pushed the 10-gauge needle thru smoothely and without hesitation. I took a deep breath and sat half-way up at the surge of pain, but it was gone practically before it began...just a momentary thing. I lay back down, he installed the barbell, dabbed away the few drops of blood, and told me I could get up. I pulled up my pants, walked over to the mirror, and kind of incredulously looked at myself...I really did it! I was pierced.
We went to dinner afterwards, and C. said: "I can't BELIEVE you wore jeans to get a genital piercing." I shot back (since she had bled from her hood to the point that I had to go to the local convenience store and retrieve some pads: "I can't BELIEVE you wore a thong!" She had planned to go commando after; she's a much more experienced "piercee" than I, and doesn't usually bleed at all.
Aftercare was as advertised; Bariah said to use a new cup for each saltwater soak, and to use distilled or bottled water. I's wash in the shower every morning (he crossed out the "or twice" after the "wash once ... a day".) At first, I used the bottled water, as instructed, but I think I delayed my healing by re-using a cup I had. BAD IDEA! I'm sure now I was continuously reinfecting it, even tho I was wearing two pairs of clean boxes a day and changing my sheets a couple times a week. It kept oozing and making what I considered excessive crusties. I thought it might have been rejecting as well, as (at rest) more and more of the barbell would show at each end. I finally got a thing of plastic Dixie cups, and altho I was using fresh tapwater (we have well water rather than chlorinated municipal water) and healed up in no time at all.
What next? Well, about 11 months later, I gauged up...but that's another story!