When I went to see my piercer, Andrea, last March, I wanted a hood piercing but she explained to me that I was not built right since my hood was not developed enough due to a large vein with a fair amount of vascularity, which is great for multiple orgasms but not good for a hood piercing. I left feeling really really sad and went back two weeks later and had Andrea do two horizontal nipple piercings which healed beautifully without any problems but I still really really wanted a genital piercing. I looked online at all of the piercing sites and decided on outer labial piercings as the perfect piercing for me since I could not relate at all to inner labial piercings. And the months passed and I still wanted two outer labia genital piercings so I made an appointment at Pangea Piercing in Ann Arbor with Andrea who is the best.
At A Glance Author kyndhippie When It just happened Artist Andrea Studio Pangea Piercing Location Ann Arbor, Michigan I arrived at Pangea Piercing ten minutes before my 2:15 PM appointment so I could enjoy the peaceful, warm ambiance and look at her beautiful selection of jewelry in the glass cases in the lobby. She said, "Hi" to me and let me relax while she prepared the room for the piercing. I signed and initialed all of the requisite paperwork and she copied my driver's license which is a necessary procedure although I am well over 18 years of age.
Last time I visited Andrea, I purchased a barbell for my first hole in my right ear which was done with a piercing gun when I was 18. It looks wonderful since the barbell hangs below my ear in the back and just looks so nonchalant. This time, I wanted to update my three bottom holes on my left ear so she replaced my current jewelry with a 5/8", 14 gauge barbell for the first hole just like the right ear. The coolest thing was that she put two 3/8", 14 gauge barbells in the second two holes, which looks awesome. I did not know barbells could be so diminutive.
NOW ONTO THE LABIAL. I took off my jeans and climbed up on the table which was covered with paper. I put my heels on the table and spread my legs. She washed the area, put a forceps on my right labia, and used a toothpick to draw a dot, and then did the same with the left labia. She suggested that the rings not line up exactly, instead one would be slightly higher than the other so they did not knock into each other. I thought that was a great idea. Then she showed me the size of the ring and I freaked. It was 11/16", 12 gauge. I could relate to the 12 gauge but the diameter of the ring looked terribly large and unfeminine. She explained that she measured the labia and had to double the measurement to allow for swelling. If I had difficulty healing or felt the rings were impeding the progress, I could get them changed in 3 months to no less that 7/16" but I needed this large size ring for the initial piercing since the labia could swell. How annoying is it to have larger labia...well, I told her to go ahead since I have total confidence in this wonderful, kynd, sensitive, and understanding female. She also asked which side I wanted pierced first. "Why Andrea?" She told me that some people decide not to get the second one done on the same day...I told her that was so not me. I told her about how different body types feel pain with more or less intensity and I was one who felt it with less intensity since I am fairly muscular and not extremely sensitive to discomfort.
The piercing process began and I took a practice breath, then a real breath which I held and then there was the awesome burning sensation of a new piercing. How cool is that! The second side always hurts more because you might think you remember what to expect but you feel the rest of what you did not remember when the needle goes through the second piercing. I looked down briefly, tipped her well for the education, her wonderful "bedside" manner, and the beautiful work. Andrea gave me Provon and sea salt and reminded me to wash my hands before going to the bathroom in case I decided to touch the area (how kynd was that!). I walked out to the counter and paid for my five pieces of jewelry plus the piercing and was just totally high from the adrenaline rush. To quote the GRATEFUL DEAD – "Nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile."
Happiness to me is a new piercing to nurse, more places to put jewelry, and the positive experience that I always have at Pangea.