At A Glance Author Big Jim Contact Big Jim@bme.anon When A year ago Artist Brian Garcia Studio Black Hole Location Portland Oregon Most of the pieces here are concerned with the experience of getting a guiche. I got mine a year ago and I would like to offer some advice about getting and healing a guiche.
Choose a piercer who is experienced and obsessively clean. Get someone who isn't inhibited. You may be a little shy about being poked at and prodded in the perineum, but the piercer shouldn't be. The guiche is definitely an erotic piercing, and it should be placed so that it produces the maximum possible amount of sensation.
The length of the guiche aftercare periods I have seen recommended has varied between 6 weeks and 10 months. The reason for this is that some piercers say that the guiche is a genital piercing, and others claim it is a surface piercing. My guiche was pretty well healed after 8 weeks. I think the guiche is a genital piercing. The longer healing time is avoidable if you use some common sense. Some people shouldn't get the pierce at all because they are too flat in the perineum. If the guiche is going to heal properly you need to have a little bit of skin that can be grasped readily. The smaller gauges of jewelry are more likely to give you trouble, because they can cut into your flesh as you move. I was pierced with a 10 gauge needle and an 8 gauge curved barbell was immediately tapered into the hole. The hole stretched (or settled) a bit initially but it was never cut or aggravated by wire-like jewelry.
Certain lifestyle choices might be problematic if one wants this particular piercing. Professional cyclists and candidates for equestrian glory might have problems. You should be realistic about your condition. I declined an offer to get on a mechanical bull at a party the night I got my guiche. In general sitting is harder than standing while you are healing.
I initially used a curved barbell because it was lighter and less prone to movement than either a captive bead ring or a circular barbell. When my guiche was more healed I bought a cbr. There is no reason to rush stretching the hole with weights or bigger gauges. I went up to a six-gauge and then a four-gauge pretty quickly. Tapering wasn't necessary. Even now it is slowly getting bigger. Heavier pieces of jewelry are more stimulating, but your guiche will get larger on its own.
Cleanliness is also vital. The studio should remind you of a doctor's office, and they should go out of their way to assure you that they are clean and careful. There is a lot to worry about after you leave the shop though. I washed my hands and my perineum with antibacterial soap a couple of times a day. I did my best to empty my bowels exclusively at home. You can't always clean yourself as well as you would like in a public bathroom. Sometimes between sexual intercourse and dietary excesses you end up washing more than twice a day. The salt-water soaks I gave myself with a shot glass were also a bit drying. In any case, my guiche got a little irritated. Applying a mixture of 2 parts grape-seed oil and one part lavender oil to it with a cotton swab a couple of times a day took care of the problem. I use it even now if I am feeling a bit dry. I also made sure that I had a constant supply of fresh underwear and sheets. I bought a pair of oversized jeans before I got pierced. Clean, loose, breathable clothes are a must.
The salt-water soaks will do a lot to sooth and heal your guiche. I did it at least twice a day for five minutes at a time. I also used a saline-soaked cotton swab to clean around the edges of the piercing. For the first couple of days you probably shouldn't handle or move the jewelry if you can avoid it, but you should definitely soak it. Eventually you will be able to push it through a bit to facilitate cleaning, but don't rush it.
You may eventually develop hard white circles around the openings of the piercing. I did and it distressed me. It was only a sign that I was healing however. Don't be afraid to ask your piercer or a doctor if you do see something you consider unusual. Look closely as you clean yourself.
I would also recommend using a piece of jewelry that you know would not irritate you. I considered a number of options before I decided to use stainless steel. I've been told that the Europeans don't even use stainless steel for new pierces. I am not irritated by high quality stainless steel. I had one piece of jewelry that was cheap and it did bother me. I took it out and replaced it with a high quality cbr. Fortunately my guiche was already healed but it would have been doubly awful if it hadn't been. Titanium and niobium are both a little more expensive but you should at least consider them.
In conclusion I would say that if you are considering getting a guiche the important thing to do is to go slowly. Make sure you can commit yourself to an outrageous level of hygiene. Are you aware that it might hurt for weeks? Getting my guiche was fun. The healing process was painful. Know what you're getting into. Make sure you've found the right piercer, the right shop and the right jewelry. Listen to your body. A well-healed guiche can give you years of pleasure.
I would like to point out that Guiche does not mean "window" in French. Guichet means tellers-window, or ticket-counter. My Harper Collins/Robert dictionary defines guiche as "accroche-coeur". I would translate this to "heart-hook". H. C. R. uses "kiss-curl".