At A Glance Author vicky Contact vicky@bme.anon IAM vicky-dreamer When N/A Location UK 23 April '03
I had pierced my hood vertically only recently, but at the time I was suffering from depression and had already pierced myself several times within a very short time period. The vertical hood piercing was, I thought the last genital piercing that I wanted and unfortunately due to my overconfidence I had managed to make a mess of the piercing; I disliked that it look crooked, shallow and to sum it up in a single word, ugly.
Only a couple of weeks after the initial piercing I had removed it so that the tissue would have time to heal whilst I waited on some new supplies to arrive from Wildcat so that I could attempt to re-pierce my hood, once again vertically but hopefully it wouldn't turn out so bad second time around.
I felt incredibly nervous about performing the piercing again and decided to go back and restart my research, I call it 'research' but all I really did was log into the BME Vertical Hood gallery and inspect the masses of photos that had been submitted. I did take the time to read some of the hood piercing experiences, but as I had already experienced this piercing myself I didn't feel that I was benefiting from reading other peoples experiences.
When I felt that I was ready to go through the piercing experience again, I once again gathered my materials and made myself comfortable on my bedroom floor.
I was sat on a towel, with a mirror propped against a chair leg, a pair of new clamps in a mug of boiling water on the floor beside me and a new 14 gauge needle still in its sterile wrapping next to the water. I had a marker pen, a torch, antiseptic wipes, cotton swabs, camera and a brand new 14 gauge curved surgical steel barbell, all ready and waiting to be used - but for some reason I was finding it harder to settle my mind in preparation for the piercing. I didn't want this piercing to turn out as badly as the first one and so time and time again I remarked the guide dots, then cleaned them away and marked again, and again; I simply found it impossible to be happy with what I was doing.
When I was finally satisfied with the positioning of the guide dots I removed the 14 gauge piercing needle from it's wrapping and set it to rest on a cotton swab. I removed the new pair of clamps from the mug of water and carefully clamped the delicate piece of tissue that was my hood, making sure to carefully align the guide dots that I had taken so long to find satisfaction with.
When I first pierced my hood I had decided to use ice to numb the area, but this time I wasn't going to use ice, I didn't want to take the pain away, I just wanted the piercing to be a success, so with clamps in place I grasped the needle in my right hand and pressed the point against the top guide mark, after taking a deep breath I pushed the needle firmly and it slid through my hood and passed through the centre of the second guide dot.Leaving the receiving tube in place I pulled the needle clear and picked up the new barbell, I had forgotten to unfasten the ball and so quickly fiddled to remove it and then I carefully placed the barbell into the end of the receiving tube - I was still holding the clamps in place so felt as though my hands were full but I managed to pull the barbell back through the piercing with the receiving tube, then once the tube was clear I took off the clamps and fastened the ball in place.
Once the clamps had been removed the feeling returned and my hood started to throb in response to the pain I was feeling, small amounts of blood trickled from the piercing so I wiped it clean with the antiseptic wipes that I had laid by my side in case of this such instance arising. As soon as I had cleared all the piercing equipment out of the way I stood up and carefully inspected the piercing in the mirror. The second attempt had been a huge success, a good depth had been achieved, it was straight and the barbell fitted well. All in all I was extremely happy that I had gone ahead with the piercing again.
As far as aftercare was concerned I used exactly the same as I had first time around. Following the advice found on the BME Glossary, I cleaned the piercing twice daily with a solution of warm salt water, approximately half a teaspoon of salt to 8oz of water and if need be I cleaned the piercing with an antibacterial, antiseptic spray.
Within a week the piercing felt comfortable and no longer tender, but I didn't change the jewellery until the first month had passed just so I could be sure that I wouldn't cause any damage to tissue that was still healing.
If you're an adult IAM member and would like to take a look at the results of this piercing then you can take a look at the gallery on my IAM page.
I have always maintained the thought and attitude that self piercing isn't safe, even though I know I will continue to pierce myself, there are many factors that lead me to doing my own piercings. I only hope that people who read this will take the safe option and decide not to pierce themselves, but to go to a professional, reputable studio and have their piercings performed correctly and safely.