Now it's my turn!

At A Glance Author anonymous Contact anonymous@bme.anon Artist D.J. Studio The Alchemistress Location Potsdam, New York

I'm a college student in Potsdam, New York. While I'm here at school I work at "The Alchemistress." It's the local piercing shop. I am from Albany, New York and also worked in a shop there. I love the piercing industry and it's great to be able to see people getting quality work done every day! Part of the reason I love The Alchemistress so much is the staff. They're very experienced and professional in every respect. When you get a genital piercing, or any piercing really, don't be afaid to be selective about who does it! It's your body and and you don't want the complications of a bad piercing! Make sure you look around at more than one shop. Does it look clean? Has the equiptment been auto-claved? Ask other people about thier experiences at that shop. Was the staff professional? Did they make you comfortable? Did they give out written after-care procerdures for the piercing? Never settle for a place you're not sure about! Again, it's your body!

When I started working at the shop I already had my ears, tongue, naval, and septum pierced. After a few months I decided it was time for something new but I was unsure about what I wanted done. I had considered getting my nipples done but eventualy decided to get my first genital piercing! Since I work in the industry I am familiar with most piercings. I knew I didn't want a labia piercing. I narrowed it done to clitoris or hood. My clit isn't very pronouned and I decided it would be easier to have my hood done. I went with the verticle because it looked more comfortable.

Working at The Alchemistress also made my decision an easy one. I had seen countless piercings done by the staff. I already knew how clean the shop is, wich is extremely important to me. Another thing I love is that the shop has a private room in the back, as opposed to the more visible rooms in the front. This was important because I felt that it should be a private experience. Some shops will do genital piercings right up in a front booth. If that was my case I wouldn't have had the piercing done.

I sat there, on the steel tattoo bed, watchig all the prep work. Getting out the needle, the rubber gloves,and the jewelry. My anticipation built as I thought "Now it's my turn!" I wasn't scared at all until the needle was in position. I expected a lot of pain because of the sensetivity of the area, even though quite a few of my friends have thier hoods pierced and told me it wasn't bad. They were right! When the needle went through I felt a quick intense pain, like a bee sting. That was about it, though. I didn't walk bow-legged like people joked. I am generaly a quick healer and my hood piercing was no different. The only time it ever hurt after the actual piercing was the first few days when I'd sit down and my pants would hit it. This can be avoided by wearing skirts or loose fitting pants for a few days. Wish I'd thought of that one! I cleaned it carefully with anti-bacterial soap and applied triple-antibiotic ointment to it. After about a week I didn't even know it was there! It was the quickest healing piercing I've ever had!

I was pierced with a 14g needle and started off with a small captive bead ring. The reason I started off with a ring and not a barbell is because it makes it easy to clean. You can turn the ring to get soap and triple-antibiotic through there and also to get the bad stuff out. For the first week or two your body will produce something called "lymph." It's just your body trying to dissolve the jewelry. Don't worry, it'll stop shortly. You also shouldn't pick at the lymph build-up. (white "crusties"). Just run warm water over it in the shower and let it come off on its own. Also be careful about touching your piercing without washing your hands first. You don't want to introduce new bacteria to the freshly pierced area. This also means no sexual contact that will agrivate the piercing. Also, make sure you use condoms, you don't want foreign bacteria on a new piercing!

After a month I switched to wearing a 5/16" curved barbell.It's been a few months now and I've still had no problems. If you wear the right jewelry it can be a great sensetivity enhansor. In my case the bottom ball of the barbell comes down and sits nicely on top of my clitoris. One thing I've been told is to change your jewelry periodicly. This is so that your clitoris doesn't become callaced by beeing rubbed in the same exact place all the time. I havent heard this from anyones' personal experience, but numbness "down there" is a scary thought! I know I will be canging my jewelry on a regular basis!

In retrospect it's been a great experience. Now when girls come to the shop asking questions about hood piercings I can speek from personal experience. I definately recomend the verticle hood piercing to anyone who's debateing it or to people who just want a little enhancement!