SO...I finally got up the nerve to get my hood pierced. I have wanted to get this done for about 2 years, but I just never had enough money and i wasn't sure how the healing would go since I am a long distance runner. Since I was already accompaning my friend The Leprachaun on his septum piercing journey, I decided that it would be the perfect time to get my hood pierced. I think he was slightly embarrased that he would be witnessing my genitals being punctured, but he was a good sport, nevertheless.
At A Glance Author Embryodead Contact raven_goddess9@hotmail.com Artist Carmen Studio Primal Graphics Location Albany, NY
I decided that I definitely wanted to be pierced by a female, since this is such a "private" piercing and all. Since I have been pierced at Primal Graphics before (tragus) and the experience was a very good one, I dragged The Leprachaun there.
We got there after almost colliding with another vehicle and I discussed with Carmen whether to get my hood pierced vertically or horizontally. It was something that I had thought about before deciding I definitely wanted the piercing, but I still had a difficult time deciding. Although, I prefer the aesthetics of the horizontal piercing, I decided to get it done vertically; as Carmen put it, the vertical piercing is more "functional." Hey, why not-I don't mind getting somthing that looks sexy AND improves my sex life. And both vertical and horizontal clitoral hoods look good.
So, since The Leprachaun was nervous about the pain of his septum piercing (that wimp! *s*), he decided to make me go first. Carmen began to set up, doing the usual piercing things-laying her tools out, getting out the needle and the jewelry, etc. We decided on a 10g curved barbell, as i did not want a ring. That sounded a little bit large, but i _really_ wanted a barbell, and hey, having big metal balls between my legs sounded cool. I took off my pants, and spread 'em. Carmen marked the piercing and handed me a mirror so i could check the placement. She didn't clamp it which I thought was a good thing, as i find clamps to be slightly irritating, and can't understand why you would clamp a hood. I was pretty nervous and the needle did hurt a bit, but it hurt a lot less than my tragus. But, as with most piercings, the pain only lasted a few seconds, and in a way it was a good kind of pain, if you know what i mean. It barely bled at all, which also was surprising. THe piercing itself cost $60 since i got a barbell instedad of a CBR.
I was advised to abstain from sexual activities for a month (although Carmen said that most people have little problems with sexual activity after a week). I was also advised to soak it in salt water and use antibacterial-the usual aftercare stuff.
Afterwards, and for the next few days the piercing was slightly sore when i sat down too quickly or bumped it, but otherwise did not hurt at all. I would say that all pain/soreness was gone within 5 days of the piercing. I have had it for about 3 weeks now and it looks great....I'm glad that I got it done. I haven't tried it out with a partner yet, so I'm not sure how that will be, however it is somthing that I look forward to.
I have not had any problems at all with this piercing-the aftercare was simple, however it is pretty difficult to dip your genitals in salt water for 10 minutes without some discomfort. (I used a wine glass balanced on a high chair.) However, these salt water soaks greatly eased the minimal soreness that i experienced.
Everyone that has seen it (maybe 10 people) has said that it looks great-I'm sure that if you (yeah, YOU) get yours done it will look great too! It is definitely worth the few seconds of pain!
If you are thinking about getting this piercing, I would definitely recommend that you do it. It is attractive and (from experiences by myself) "functional." I have 18 piercings (15 in my ears, 1 tragus, 1 tongue) and this was the least painful of all of them, which was a big surprise to me.
Make sure that you find someone that you are comfortable with. It is kind of strange having someone looking at such a private area on your body, so trust is really important, as well as studio cleanliness.
If you're in the Albany area, I would definitely recommend that you get pierced by Carmen @ Primal Graphics-she's really friendly and is very knowledgable. She always answers all my questions, even if they are a little bit peculiar without making me fell like a big sillyhead (which, admittedly, is difficult to do).
If you have any questions feel free to email me. I'd love to answer any questions about my experience.