I've removed my hood (it has re-grown to some extent, but there's still less there than most people have), plus I've been taking testosterone, which has made my clitoris pretty big. This means I have the perfect anatomy for a clitoris piercing. I spent a lot of time thinking about it. About the risk of losing sensitivity, about the pain of having it done, about how unimaginably horrible it would be if it got ripped out (it happened with my nipple- that was bad enough). In the end I decided I wanted to do it anyway. The piercing just called to me! I'm a piercer myself- normally if I want something done I'd get one of my colleagues to do it for me. The shop I work in is very mainstream; we hardly ever get the chance to do unusual or extreme piercings on clients. The guys I work with have done piercings on me that they haven't done before- normally I am pretty happy to be a guinea pig- but this time we decided it was better if I go to someone who had done it before. I went to a very reputable piercer in London and asked about having it done. They couldn't do it for me, but they recommended I go ask Dave, who they knew had done the piercing before. I rang him and he talked to me about the risks and about his previous experience piercing clitorises. He asked me about what piercings I'd had done already, because he only tends to do this piercing on people who've had a lot of experience being pierced. He told me that in most cases if someone wants this piericng he would refuse, but the fact that I have had over 50 piercings and am a piercer myself satisfied him that I was ready psycologically. He asked me about my anatomy and from what he heard he said he would probably be able to pierce me, although he could make no promises until he had taken a look. He said that he'd be happy to use a local anaesthetic cream, which I was relieved about, as the pain factor was a big worry for me. After talking to him I felt that if I was going to hav e this done, I could trust him to do the best possible job. I spent a little while longer thinking about it, then rang back and booked an appointment.
At A Glance Author Ben Contact Ben@bme.anon IAM benjy_shaped_c When A month ago Artist Dave Studio Tusk Location London Monday was the day. I arrived early and waited for him to get to the shop. As soon as he arrived and spoke to me I felt relieved- he had a really good manner, and I knew I'd be comfortable having him work on me. I had picked this up over the phone, but sometimes a person is different face to face. I told him I thought a vertical placement might be better, because when my legs are closed everything squashes together from the sides. I figured that might cause pressure on a horizontal and make it grow out. On the other hand, I had noticed that the underside of the clit was the most sensitive, so maybe piercing it would increase the risk of loss of sensitivity? He admitted that he wasn't sure- he had only done one vertical clitoris piercing before, and would feel more confident doing a horizontal if it was possible. He took a look, declared my clitoris twice the minimum size he needed, and said that he didn't think I'd get any problems with rejection if he did a horizont al piercing. I said that would be fine. He said he'd prefer to use 1.2mm jewellery. I was a bit disappointed- I don't like those fiddly little 1.2 things- but I said that was fine too. I can always stretch it up later. It's more important to minimise the chance of seriously damaging any nerves than to have the jewellery I want in straight away. He stuck some anaesthetic cream on and covered that with Clingfilm. He told me to put my boxers and trousers back on and go kill an hour. I was worried that if I moved all the cream would smear and there wouldn't be enough to do the job properly, but I decided to trust that he knew what he was talking about. I thought seriously about going down the pub, but in the end I was good and just sat in the waiting room, reading.
Time came at last for me to go in. He wiped away the anaesthetic cream, and I felt that it had worked to some extent- I always find the sensation of touch on anaesthetised skin is quite unpleasant, even nauseating. He cleaned the area, marked me up, then he got my clitoris in a clamp. When he did that, I realised that there were a whole lot of nerves that were too deep for the anaesthetic to touch, and it wasn't going to be painless by any means. I got pretty scared and started hyperventilating. He got me breathing properly, and said all sorts of reassuring things, which I was very grateful for.
Then he did the piercing. I swore. I made little sobbing noises. I generally behaved like a complete pussy about the whole thing. It hurt a hell of a lot. I just can't imagine how horrible it would have been without the anaesthetic. (Anyone who's had it done without: respect to you, you're way braver than I'll ever be.) He asked me if I wanted a breather before he put the jewellery through. I said no, lets get it over with. That made me swear some more. Then he said it was all over, and I felt totally elated. It was like being a kid again, when I was first getting pierced! I haven't had an endorphin rush like that for many years. He stroked my face and told me I'd done really well. I don't think I actually did well at all, but it was nice to hear that. It felt strangely intimate when he stroked my face. Not that I minded at all, it felt like I was cared for, it was nice. He put some fresh gloves on and screwed the ball on the bar. It took him a little while . His hands were shaking; he apologised for his hands shaking, said it was because he was concentrating so much. It had obviously been quite intense for him as well, which I thought was really cool. It means a lot to have someone who is working on you really into it, not just going through the motions. This whole experience has made me resolve to take more time with my clients, to really try and make them feel as well looked after as I did today. He didn't hurt me in the slightest when he was putting the ball on, even though his hands were shaking. In fact, the shaking hand felt good- too good- I feel kind of bad about that, its not right to be feeling that way on the piercing couch! But it was only a minute or so, and the ball was in place. I sat up, took a look in the mirror, and was very pleased with what I saw. I put my things back on, thanked him, asked if I needed to come back for the check-up that was recommended on the consent form. I figured since I'm a p iercer I'd know if things were alright and need only come back if I ha d any worries, he said that was fine. As I was going out he kissed me on the cheek and told me again that I'd done well. I gave him a very small kiss back, resisting the urge to stick my tongue down his throat (did I mention he was really cute? And with vibrating hands- what more could you ask for?!)
I went out onto the street, jumped for joy, and yelled, "yeah, I did it! Fuck yeah!" for a bit. Then I went and caught the train home. On the train I started to itch as the anaesthetic wore off. I tried to scratch the itch by crossing my legs and wriggling a bit. That was a mistake, it hurt, plus it didn't really help the itching. I went home and soaked in a nice warm bath with about 800g of salt in it. The jewellery had twisted round into a very funny angle, no wonder it was hurting. I washed my hands and the area well, then repositioned it. I had a good scratch all round the area... ahhh, relief! After my bath it didn't hurt much, as long as I didn't touch it.
That evening, and on Tuesday, my clit was very painful to touch. After cleaning (during which I would carefully move the bar from side to side to clean as much of it as possible) I would have pain which was focused in my clit and went right up into my abdomen, and took nearly 10 minutes to stop hurting. The pain I was having was so intense that I was convinced I would be out of action sexually for at least a month. However, on Wednesday the pain had eased considerably, and I figured I could handle some very gentle sex if any was offered.
One thing started to really bother me by the end of the first week- the piercing is really wonky. It looked a little bit wonky when it was first done, maybe 1mm higher on one side, but nothing I was too worried about. I guess the pressure on it made it heal wonkier because within a week in looked really bad. It was about 3mm higher on one side than the other. I changed the bar to a ring on the Friday, which made it less noticable. Its not normally a good idea to make early jewelery changes- I wouldn't recommend anyone changes the jewelery in a piercing before it is 3 months old unless they are very experienced at jewelery changing and are using a sterilised piece of jewelery with no external threads. I'm really pissed off that its wonky. I'd like to be able to wear a barbell and have it look alright. Everyone makes the occasional mistake though, I cant say I haven't ever done a wonky piercing myself. I don't any piercer could honestly say that. I'm going to make do with the piercing as it is rather than having another go at getting it straight. I feel like I have lost a certain amount of sensitivity, and I don't want to risk loosing any more.