A year ago, I never would have imagined myself with a genital piercing. Yet I'm sitting here today with a vertical hood. In my teens, I had some ear piercings and my navel done, but I'd never been interested in anything more extreme. When I went to university, I met people who opened my eyes to piercing for reasons other than aesthetic value. This brings me to why I decided a vertical hood would be a beautiful and stimulating piercing to have. After I made my decision, it was about a month before I was able to have a consultation. Not having a great deal of experience with piercings, a friend recommended Corey at Adorned, saying that he thought he was one of the most capable piercers in Calgary.
At A Glance Author anonymous Contact anonymous@bme.anon When N/A Artist Corey Studio Adorned Location Calgary, AB
When I walked into Adorned, I was instantly impressed by how clean everything was, even in the reception area. I then met Corey, and signed the release so he could examine me. He took me to a studio (also immaculate), and got me to remove my pants and underwear and sit on the edge of the piercing table. I was feeling a little nervous about undressing in front of someone I'd just met, but he was so professional that it really helped put me at ease. He had me lay down on the table with him sitting on a stool in front of me. He then told me to put my feet on his knees and spread my legs as wide as I could. After getting over the shock of the feeling of the rubber gloves, the exam was fine. He took some measurements, and the exam was over in about five minutes. He told me that I was well suited for a vertical hood, and that I could get dressed. We spent a few minutes talking, and he explained every step of the piercing and answered all my questions. I booked my appointment to have it done for the next day, and walked out very confident that I'd made the right choice of piercer.
I returned the next day with a terrible case of butterflies, which I think were a combination of nerves and excitement. I met Corey and he took me back into the room, where I went through the same routine as the day before. He told me that he'd be doing the piercing with a 10 gauge curved barbell, because anything smaller wouldn't heal as well. He had me lay down again on the table, and even though I tried not to, I saw all the equipment he'd be using on me. All the tools were wrapped individually, and I noticed Corey changed his gloves after unwrapping them, I assume to insure no germs were passed from the wrapping to the tools. He then cleaned the area on me very thoroughly and marked where the piercing would be. At this point I thought it best to stop watching what he was doing and focus on relaxing. He told me he was ready to do the actual piercing, and that I had to try not to jerk or kick him when he did it. I suppose I was expecting the same 1, 2, 3 I got when I had my ears pierced at 10 years old, but he just told me to take deep breaths. After three deep (and very nervous) breaths, I felt him pierce at the bottom of my breath. I made a face as much from surprise as pain, and before I really had a chance to think about it, it was done. The pain much less than I remember my navel being, and over much more quickly. The jewelry hurt a bit when it was being inserted, but again it was over quickly. Corey handed me a mirror, and apart from a couple of drops of blood, it looked great. It was perfectly even and exactly where he had showed me it would go.
I got dressed pretty carefully, but already the pain was fading from noticeable to barely there. I walked out of the room a bit bow-legged, mostly because I was afraid of somehow catching the barbell on my clothes. To my relief, I found I could walk normally without irritating it. When I got to the entrance, Corey gave me a sucker to get my blood sugar up, and I sat down. The dizziness was more from the adrenaline rush then anything. After about 10 minutes I felt much better, paid Corey and left Adorned. For the rest of the day I was walking and sitting with little discomfort. The next day there was a little bit of bruising, but by a week after there was nothing. I did the sea salt soaks Corey suggested in the aftercare sheet, and I never had a problem with it. It healed like a dream. It's now been close to 3 months, and I love it. It hasn't added a lot to my sexual stimulation, but it's made me a lot more comfortable about that part of my body. It's amazing what a piercing can do for your self-confidence. I'm now considering a triangle, and have already had a consultation, again at Adorned. For anyone considering a hood piercing, or anything else, I would highly recommend Adorned. I've never encountered a more professional studio, and Corey was incredibly competent and accommodating.