I have new metal!
At A Glance Author Skud Artist Louise Studio The Piercing Urge Location Melbourne, Australia I woke up Tuesday morning quite early and checked my watch, which was lying beside the bed. I read it as 1:10pm and experienced a moment of utter panic until I realised I was reading the watch upside down -- it was actually 7:40am, and over five hours until my piercing appointment. Unfortunately the adrenaline rush I'd experienced prevented me from going back to sleep for a couple more hours, so I sat on IRC feeling nervous.
I rang the piercers around 11am to calm my anxiety a bit. I talked to Louise for a while about aftercare and healing times and most importantly about the choice between 10ga and 12ga. She pointed out that 10ga piercings would take longer to heal, and that would mean that it wouldn't put me very far ahead at all in the upsizing process. She also said that 10ga was a big step up from 12ga, and was much much scarier. I couldn't agree more. I quickly settled on 12ga, if only to calm me down and save me from panicking so much.
Just before 1pm I arrived at the Piercing Urge in Prahran and found myself a seat in the waiting area while I waited for Louise to get stuff together. When she was ready we looked at jewelry and I chose simple 12ga SSS rings with SSS beads. I'm not much into colourful jewelry -- what's the point of having a thing for metal if you get it in *pink*?
Anyway. I sat around for a bit longer while the rings and everything were autoclaved, then Louise ushered me behind the curtain and into the piercing area. I'd warned her that I was particularly nervous (having not had any piercings for ages, and having suffered from a steadily worsening fear of surgical procedures over the past few years since she'd last seen me) so she was particularly sensitive and calming. Not that she would have been otherwise at any time, I guess, but I did get the impression that she was making an extra effort. I hadn't been worried about Louise's sensitivity -- that's why I requested her as my piercer -- but I had worried that Peter, if he was there, might make jokes that would freak me out a bit. I still remember last time I was there, when he waved around a Sodding Huge Needle and said "how about this one?". Which is not to say that he's a bad or insensitive piercer; I just knew him quite well at the time and he felt friendly enough to make jokes safely around me.
Anyway, Louise asked me to either take my pants off or just drop them around my ankles, whatever I preferred. I've never minded taking my trousers off for stuff like this (or for just about anything, really) so I removed them entirely and left them on a chair in the corner. I got up on the bench and spread my knees, and we started fiddling round with measuring and marking dots and stuff. Being in sensitivity-overdrive, Louise apologised in advance for any discomfort I might experience while she was poking around, and I tried to explain to her that I was pretty resilient and that it'd take a lot more than random poking and prodding to bother me (like, for instance, needles :)). She nodded, but still seemed to be very very careful. Which I guess is a good thing :)
Louise looked at my anatomy and commented that I had really good labia for piercing, which got things off to a good start. I know what she meant: they form a deep, distinct lip which is easily grasped, rather than just a sort of fleshy ridge like some people have.
I'd explained that I wanted to be able to wear a single ring or a padlock through the piercings to prevent penetration, so that was the main thing we had to work towards. The first thing we did was figure out how far back to put the holes. I wanted them quite close to the vaginal entrance, which is towards the back/bottom of the labia. She warned that this could get in the way of intercourse, and I asked whether we were just talking about tugging sensations. This was apparently the case. I was slightly boggled that anyone would get labia piercings and *not* want them to be tugged during sex, but I guess everyone has their own reasons and stuff. I pointed out for the second time that my genitals were pretty resilient, and that it would be Not A Problem.
She marked a first set of dots and held a mirror so I could see them. I thought they were too far forward, and asked for them to be moved a smidgen back. The second try looked just about right.
The next issue is hard to describe, and was hard to discuss, because of lack of suitable vocabulary. Basically we had to decide whether to pierce straight through or at an angle. Straight through would make the rings sit nicely most of the time, but be pushed outwards when my labia were spread. Piercing at an angle could make them tuck "inwards" more so that they were semi-hidden under normal circumstances but still in close to my vagina when my labia were spread. Since the main point for me is to be able to put a single thing through both holes, and since stimulation during sex wasn't top of my priority list, I suggested that the straight-through approach would be best. Louise concurred.
She marked the inner points of where the piercings would go, and then got out some calipers to confirm that the rings we'd chosen were suitable. Since I'd said I didn't want particularly small rings, there was no problem there. I think the rings I have are about 5/8" internal diameter.
I'd also asked for some advice on whether I was built right for a vertical hood piercing, so she went poking around with a cotton bud and declared that in her opinion it should be fine. This is a good thing. I now know what metal I'm going to get next.
The first step of the piercing was to attach the clamps. Louise
apologised in advance for any discomfort, and I pooh-poohed her,
pointing out that those clamps are *nothing* compared to what my labia
are more used to. She said they charged extra for that kind of service
;)
So then it was time for the piercing itself. Louise asked if I had a preference with regard to warnings... did I want to know when the needle was going through, or just be surprised, or be counted in, or what? I said I wasn't fussed, and was happy to be warned, so that's what we did.
The good news is that the piercings hurt about as much as I expected, no more, and the anticipation was far, FAR more traumatic than the piercing itself. The first needle went through and I jumped a bit, but it really wasn't too bad. I think it felt about the same as my nipple piercings had felt when I got them done years ago (they've since rejected), and I always described that level of pain as roughly equivalent to stubbing a toe: "Ow fuck owowow ahhh that's better".
Simple as the first piercing had been, I knew the second one would be worse. I asked Louise for a short break in between to regain my composure and let my body deal with some of the adrenaline that was kicking around. So she cleaned up the first piercing, put the ball in, and sat and chatted for a few minutes. We talked about healing times some more, and I explained about my impending house-move and travelling to Sydney next week. She said it should be no problem.
When I was ready for the second piercing, she scrubbed up again and put on a clean pair of gloves. I found it much harder to relax this time, even staring at the silly cow toy stuck to the ceiling and listening to the music playing nearby ("Bad Touch" by the Bloodhound Gang, as it happens... strangely appropriate, I guess). When the needle went through I jumped higher than I had last time, and whimpered a bit. Luckily it only lasted a moment, and by the time the jewelry was going through I was chatting happily about how I'd been worried I'd snap my knees together and get a needle in my thigh. Louise told me that peoples' reactions are usually a split second too late for that: the needle was already in the cork by the time I'd jumped. I commented that the verbal lore handed down by piercers about this kind of thing must be really fascinating, and she said "you should hear the kind of things we talk about when there's a roomful of piercers and a few drinks!"
When I was cleaned up, Louise held the mirror so I could see her handiwork. They looked great, sitting just right and glinting nicely in the light. I was thrilled.
A couple of minutes later I stood up (slightly gingerly) and dressed. It was much more comfortable than I expected it to be, which I attribute to the cotton briefs I was wearing; they held the piercings in one place and didn't let them get bumped around.
I paid up and got my aftercare instructions, and swapped a bit more random chat with Louise. She wanted the URL of the place I found that does SSS padlocks, and we chatted about the aftereffects of my rejected nipple rings. She took a look at my scars and said "they look pretty good for having been pierced three times" and I tend to agree with her.
A taxi was ordered, and I headed downstairs to wait for it. When I got in, the driver said "So did you have an urge?" (in reference to the Piercing Urge's name, which had been given when ordering the taxi). I said "uh, yeah" and he asked "What did you get done... your ears?" (I have 2ga holes in each lobe). I happily agreed with him... there was no need to tell him otherwise.
I got home safely and spent the afternoon sitting around on IRC. It was surprisingly comfortable -- no swelling or pain worth mentioning, just a tiny bit of tenderness when I moved around significantly, for instance when I sat down or stood up. Even walking was quite comfortable. And, even more surprising, it didn't sting when I went to the toilet. I was happily surprised.
Later in the evening, I cleaned them for the first time with salt water, bathing them well and turning the rings. It was easy and painless, but I could see that they were starting to swell up a little. As Louise had predicted the right one was swelling more. I'm very impressed that she could tell that that would happen... she obviously really knows her stuff.
As I'm sitting here now, a couple of hours later, and they're starting to ache a little, though not enough for me to bother with icepacks or anything. I'll probably feel them if I move around in my sleep tonight, but I don't think they'll seriously impact my rest.
It's now just over 12 hours since I got this metal stuck through me, and all seems to be going well. I'm definitely looking forward to playing with them, though it'll probably be a few weeks before they're ready for much more than the lightest touch.