After being able to complete several self done piercings in my ears and cartilage, including a conch, I began to consider where I might go next. I considered piercing my nipples. After much thought, I settled on genital piercing and first decided to try a horizontal clitoral hood.
At A Glance Author RKS1st Contact RKS1st@yahoo.com IAM RKS1st When It just happened Artist self Studio my bathroom Location Berkshire Hills, MA
Here is where I must say that I self pierce to manage chronic pain (see my page for more information). I intend to try play piercing as I probably have all the permanent piercings I want at this point. Self piercing is risky, even dangerous, and I do not recommend it to anyone. I am willing to take on these risks for myself and would never consider piercing another person. My adventures into genital piercing involved many attempts on different days, took hours, was torturous and a marathon, there was a lot of fear and shaking (I have a tremor normally anyway - this shaking was extreme), lots of blood, inaccurate placement and corrective attempts. I have equally strong very personal reasons for undertaking this process. However, I want to make it crystal clear that this is NOT the way to go for anyone. Go to a professional where the piercing will be quick, accurate, well done and worth the money and time.
That being said, my first attempt was back in January, 2006. I was trying for a horizontal clitoral hood. It took me forever to finally get the needle through due to fear and yes, even nausea! Once I did I could not get the jewelry through, I was shaking so much. I was extremely disappointed, frustrated and shaken that I went through all that pain just to fail. I did not use any anesthesia. I didn't think I needed any. I had done my research thoroughly for placement, aftercare and such, purchased the proper tools, took time to prepare a clean working surface, I cleaned my tools and jewelry, etc., and experienced intense emotions throughout: shock, hesitation, incredulousness, i.e., what kind of person am I that I can do this to myself? I clamped and re-clamped, tried it freehand, went back to the clamps. And then I couldn't get the jewelry through. Unbelievable. I thought, "Well, that's it, never again!"
On May 21, I was back in the bathroom, seated on the marble, next to the tub, with my feet up and legs spread, trying for a deep clitoral hood, with the aid of a mirror. It was my spouse's birthday. We had our hearing for divorce in four days. There was something poignant about doing this on that day (another story perhaps for another venue). I kept thinking, "what if I nick my clitoris? I can do serious permanent damage here." I steeled myself and went ahead, no clamps, no anesthesia, and a mere half-hour later (considerably shorter than my first experience in January), the needle was through and the jewelry slid in smoothly and easily. I couldn't believe it. I thought, "This is how it's supposed to be!" I must have learned something about positioning the needle in relation to the jewelry that worked! I was absolutely thrilled! It seemed so easy this time. I immediately experienced a rush of euphoria. I'm great! I'm wonderful! I'm powerful! I wanted to run outside and shout it from the rooftops! I didn't.
On closely examining the piercing two days later, once I could tolerate some gentle poking around in there, I saw that it was crooked. Damn! It was, more importantly, pinching skin on the right side and I had definitely felt this in moving around, standing and sitting (otherwise, I was surprised at how comfortable it was, so much so, I didn't even notice it). Clearly, I needed to correct that and ignorantly thought I could just adjust that one side. It had gone so well, I felt confident that I could do this. No, no, no... that did not work and the jewelry slipped out completely. I was so frustrated, I cannot describe it accurately enough to convey the intensity. I re-pierced again right then and there and only got the jewelry in three-quarters of the way when the needle fell out. I had pulled on the needle, rather than pushed on the jewelry. There was NO way I was not going to get that jewelry through. I forced it. I could see the end of the 14g CBR and used a knife to complete the hole. It was painful and it wound up a bit forward having slid a good 1/8" under the skin. I was done. I could do no more. I was exhausted and sore, pushed on the bead (an event all its own), cleaned up and went to bed.
On June 4, I thought I was smarter. I had purchased some EMLA cream and it had arrived in the mail. I am in love with this stuff. I still had to re-pierce, was unable to get the jewelry through, etc., but I didn't care, I couldn't feel a thing. This time, there was a stream of blood pouring out the bottom of the 12g needle I was using (other times little to no blood). In spite of how it sounds, I was free to take more time and place the needle more consciously. It is still slightly crooked but I have no intention of changing anything. I'm probably the only one who will notice (although... eventually, someone else will get a closer look). Then I thought about adding a triangle too! I'm a glutton for punishment, although only self-inflicted. There was really no room there so I pierced both my upper inner labia, as long as I was anesthetized, which I took out the next night because I didn't like how it felt.
This got me thinking that I had given myself a triangle rather than a deep hood after all. I put the piercing where I wanted it, but I honestly don't know if it would be considered a deep hood or a triangle. Funny. I relaxed and enjoyed it. It looks great. What a relief. I didn't even notice it when walking around. I was really happy I finally could accomplish this the way I wanted. I did feel empowered, although I did not feel it as strongly as I did with my experience twelve days earlier. On June 8, I added a 14g vertical clitoral hood, via a similar tortuous session: worrying about placement, not really having enough EMLA left to thoroughly numb the area, sticking myself a few times, lots of blood, and so on. This is also slightly crooked - so what? I had not thought I would want this because my clitoris is so sensitive. The jury is still out on that one, but it does look great. Eventually, I will size both up to 12 gauge for more, um, sturdiness, and change the CBR in the VCH for a barbell or maybe even a labret stud with a gem. Genital pride! There are photos in my IAM gallery and I will submit those as well to BME.
The moral of the story is, again, you don't have to do this to yourself. It would have been much easier with much less pain if I had gone to a professional. It would have been a very different experience. I made my choices and I am very happy with the results in spite of it all. I'm not a professional but I play one (very badly) in my bathroom.
peace.