So the Christina. I think I first saw this piercing in a picture of one of the Suicide Girls who appeared on my boyfriend's computer as a screen saver. I don't remember which girl, but I will always remember the jewelry that graced her mons pubis. At this point in my life I had only my lobes pierced. They'd been done years ago when I was in grade school, and with a gun. I knew absolutely that I would one day be heavily modified, but had yet to find the motivation, money, and courage to face family and friends as a pierced individual. So I stayed stagnant for months, the Christina and other piercings something I imagined I'd do...someday.
At A Glance Author Spidooor Contact Spidooor@bme.anon When A year ago Artist Mike Studio Shrap Metal Location Colorado Springs Finally, after breaking up with the aforementioned boy I felt free enough to explode into who I wanted to be. One evening I was alone in my room. It had been a moody day for me and my housemates were driving me mad. I'd been throwing around the idea of the Christina in my head for a few weeks, researching, falling in love with other pictures I found online. I'd even called a local piercing studio to ask about the piercer's experience with Christinas, and had been assured that every piercer in the shop had done them before. I hadn't woken up that morning thinking I'd actually get it done, but right then and there I made up my mind. I threw on my favorite pair of loose pants, grabbed my jacket and headed over to Shrap Metal. I'd been there various times with friends while they got pierced and was familiar with the place. I didn't call anyone to have them join me. This was for me.
It was late in the evening, already dark, when I got there. I'd been warned that there would be a long wait as it's a popular place, but lo and behold, I walked into the lobby and was the only one there. Quite literally. It was empty. I think I faked a cough or jingled my purse and immediately someone walked into the lobby. I said that I'd like a Christina and Mike, the piercer, made sure we meant the same thing by "christina" so we talked about placement. Once on the same page he led me to the back room, saying we should do it before I got too nervous. Thinking back I probably looked terrified. This was my first unconventional piercing, and I hadn't been pierced since I was eight years old- twelve years earlier. I knew what would happen in the process of getting pierced from reading other people's experiences, but I really had no idea what to expect pain-wise.
Mike was very professional, he talked to me about the piercing and what I could expect as he got the jewelry ready and set up. He has a lot of energy and just kept talking, I didn't have much of a chance to worry about the extreme pain I was sure was in my future. Probably to sooth my nerves, and also because it was time to start and I was just standing there, Mike says "I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you to take your pants off for this." His joking loosened me up and I joked back, "What? You can't do it through the pants?" as I disrobed. He marked me and then had me look in a mirror to see if I liked the placement and thought it was even. I did, and so I lay back and waited. He asked me to take a deep breath and let it out, and quicker than I could process fully what was going on, he was done.
Now, I'm not going to say it didn't hurt, but the pain was quite literally fleeting. Maybe just a second or two of very sharp "hot" pain, and that's it. It didn't hurt when Mike put the jewelry in (curved barbell), but I felt a frustrating I-want-this-to-be-over feeling, probably because I expected more pain. Mike saw me tense up as he screwed the ball on and made sure I was okay. Then we were finished. I got up and looked in the mirror. It was perfect. I walked out of there happy and psyched that I'd finally taken a step in the direction I wanted. And in a way better mood. When I got home I couldn't stop looking at it. I loved how it looked under my underwear too, just a little bump of discreet metal.
It was tender for awhile but didn't swell up. I washed it in the shower with soap and left it alone for the most part. I had to be careful not to let shampoo run into the piercing when showering, because it stung when that happened and I doubt it was good for the healing process. Getting in and out of my very tall Montero was annoying, as was the time the kid I babysat jumped into my lap. After a few weeks I noticed that more of the bar was sticking out at the bottom so I went back to Mike and had him look at it. He said that it looked fine for now, and he could switch it to a shorter piece of jewelry after it finished healing. So I stuck with it.
After a few more weeks the bottom hole had healed up nicely. I had sex at this point and it was not the best experience. The Christina can and will get in the way of grinding. Fyi. Anyway, though the bottom hole was healed the top hole kept crusting up. I babied it, but a few more weeks passed and it became painfully obvious that my piercing was rejecting. I probably kept the jewelry in longer than I should have, but I had my heart set on this piercing. One day I woke up and noticed that due to gravity and the pressure of my clothing, the top ball had sunk. The skin around it was dented and looked red and "mushy." Too much of the bar was showing at the bottom. We were done. For fear of an infection and because it, well, looked like crap at this point, I went into the bathroom, locked the door, and with some effort unscrewed the top ball. The jewelry fell out immediately and the top hole closed up just as fast. I was disappointed, but I knew rejection was likely with this particular piercing so it wasn't a shock.
My Christina lasted about two and a half months. I knew the risks going into this experience and anyone considering it should know it's not the easiest piercing to heal. While aesthetically the piercing was great, for the most part it just got in the way. I was in Tae Kwon Do and although I took a break initially, some piercings just aren't meant for some lifestyles. I wouldn't give the experience up for anything though. The Christina led the way for many other body mods for me. For anyone considering it, know the risks and go for it. It may not last forever (or it might! I'll be jealous...) but the memory will. Just know your body and know when/if you need to take it out.