At A Glance Author addicted to steel When A month ago Artist self Studio home Location Australia Evidently, I have a reasonably high pain threshold when it comes to piercings below the belt-line, so to speak..Or perhaps what I mean is most of the genital piercings I now possess have caused me very little pain whatsoever. My first piercing was an ampallang performed about seven years ago. (Yes, that was painful, but in an almost surreal, detached way) (This, incidentally, was performed in a very quick, efficient manner at the Piercing Urge, Sydney. The piercer had a good "bedside manner". The clinical hygiene of the practice was immaculate, the staff had a good sense of humor and the studio stocks one of the best range of jewelery on display in Sydney, particularly internally threaded gear) Glowing endorsements aside, the point I am making is that, perhaps, having started at the more intense end of the standard genital piercing spectrum, the intensity of a guiche or a frenum just isn't there.
When I received my ampallang, the endorphine rush was terrific. I was on a euphoric high for two days. Even the inflamed throbbing pain of taking a pee gave me an erotically charged rush, a rush mixed with a feeling of pride that I had, at long last modified my body.
After this experience, I quickly returned for a guiche, a fun piercing I am very pleased with, appealing as it does to an erotic aesthetic. A lorum followed. Again, it was a pleasurable piercing. It felt like an ant bite. It healed very quickly.
I realised that my urge to pierce was becoming a law of diminishing returns. I realised that this was an addiction like any other. It was not so much the pain or the healing process that hooked me, per se. (Don't get me wrong. I'm no pain junkie) It was definitely the sense of achievement in an aesthetic sense. When a well placed, successful piercing is achieved there is a certain sense of pride that comes with it.. But, because there hasn't been a lot of pain or healing time to contend with, the sense of achievement is reduced and the next piercing always seems just around the corner.
I've found that depression or sexual frustration are dissolved a little if I concentrate on a new piercing. You could call it a displacement activity, I guess.
I've therefore found it prudent to keep a big darning needle (sounds horrible, right?) (14gauge) and some sachets of water based lube, some alcohol swabs and various 14 gauge rings in a bedroom drawer.
It's usually late at night when the urge strikes me.
I know. I know. Don't self pierce. I'll include, right here, the disclaimer "Do not do as I do." Go and seek out the talented professionals who can perform piercings hygenically and safely.
It's true...and you'll probably get a better looking result in the long run...Besides-which, you should be supporting the industry that supports you. (That's why I like to order jewelry through my local studio and not grab something from far-distant shores of the net with a credit card number.)
Having said that, I'll add that I've self pierced a lot now, sometimes I've kept the piercings sometimes I've enjoyed them for a week or so.
Anyway my latest effort was a second lorum...late at night.
After a shower, I boiled a pot of water on the stove with sea salt in it. Salt water boiling at a higher temperature as it does, I imagine it is better for killing off the nasties. I use sea salt because it doesn't have any of the chemical anti-caking agents. I boiled a 14 gauge CBR for a good number of minutes and fetched by previously mentioned big old darning needle. Now this isn't as shocking as it sounds because with the aid of a most excellent whet-stone, I've sharpened this needle into a razor like article that has now done a few good piercing jobs on my nether regions. It has become, dare I say it, quite an old friend. No. I don't share it with anyone else and yes I sterilise it thoroughly. The method is crude, albeit effective. Being a home brewer of beer, I mix a very strong solution of sodium meta-bisulphate (You can get it at your home brew supplier. It's the same stuff you sterilise baby bottles with) This is basically bleach. After 15 minutes of that, The needle gets thrown in with the CBR into the pot. About this time I had a couple of fingers of brandy and then another. Two drinks takes the edge off but that's all. (Again. Bad. I know)
I scrubbed my hands with detergent. (No antibacterial soap around...Remember what I said about not doing as I do?).
I wiped the area at the base of my penis shaft with the packaged alcohol wipes and carried the pot of water with the needle and CBR in it to my bed. Here I had already laid a comforting fresh white towel after my shower.
Lying on the bed I examined the area to be pierced and felt for any veins or obstructions beneath the skin. Pinching at the skin beneath a bright reading lamp gave the area a translucence that was very easy to read. No veins or worries. Next, having waited for the pot of water to cool sufficiently I take out the needle. A dob of KY lube from a freshly opened sachet makes the sliding easier once the needle goes through. Pushing on the needle, there is an instant prick of hot-pain as it first breaks the skin. Then the pain becomes duller and my adrenalin starts to kick in as the serious work of pushing the needle through gets underway. When the needle is through to the eyelet, the hole has widened sufficiently for the CBR to follow it through. In this case, I'd left the CBR in the pot of salt water, figuring it was better than leaving it on a surface of dubious sterility. The mistake I made was that the wet CBR was a slippery little critter and I compromised my whole sterility regime then and there by dabbing it with the corner of the (clean) towel. These oversights are why I don't work in a piercing studio, ladies and gentlemen.
With the CBR dried off, I pushed it against the back of the needle and, surprise, surprise, it actually went through without a hitch. The first glint of metal, as it emerges from the hole is about the most satisfying part of a piercing...........no, wait. The most satisfying part is clipping that pesky little ball home. Ten eternal minutes later and with a very cramped set of fingers and stiff neck, I had that relief and the ring was secured.
At about 2am I threw the towel out of the bed, pulled the covers up and went straight to sleep. The endorphines had worn off long before things had given way to frustration with the ball. I awoke the next morning with my first reminder being a stiff neck. (It was way worse when I self pierced a guiche, but that's another story.) I pulled back the covers and greeted my morning wood with another little adornment at its base.
I love the look of it and, a month later, it's a happy healthy piercing. I will probably continue with three or four more, replacing them with small twelve gauge barbells as they heal. I have a barbell frenum beneath my ampallang so eventually I will probably end up with the complete ladder. I just hope my girlfriend copes with that OK.
Again, remember, I'm talking about my own experiences in self-piercing, here, but I am in no way condoning my actions.