Of all of the female genital piercings, I had long ago determined that I most enjoyed the vertical hood piercing aesthetically. I was quite certain that it was a piercing I'd want to pursue eventually, though I admit, the very idea of piercing such a tender area made me more than a bit nervous. In fact, it made me so nervous that it took me nearly three years from the time I decided to get it done to actually work up the courage to do so.
At A Glance Author Maladjusted When A week ago Location Central Illinois I'm fairly good friends with the guys who do my tattoos and piercings now, having gone to them for about five years now. We aren't "outside the shop" kind of friends necessarily, though they've invited my husband and me out a couple of times for various shop-related and birthday gatherings. They are always very kind and courteous to me and I really appreciate that, and often include them in the group of folks I think enough of to do things like bake cookies at Christmas for.
Given that, I have to admit that even asking the guy who has done all my other piercings to do a vertical hood for me was extremely embarrassing for me. I have total faith in his professional ability and bedside manner (he'd already done my nipples but that was before we were as well-acquainted as we are now) but nevertheless, it was extremely uncomfortable for me to ask him to do such an intimate piercing now that we were friendly. He felt somewhat similarly, and asked if I was certain I wanted it done and him to do it.
There isn't a lot of choice around a smaller town like this, and this shop is one of the only ones (I believe perhaps the ONLY shop) that does "blow the belt" piercings of any kind. That said, I also trusted this piercer more than someone I didn't know, as he'd already done multiple other piercings for me. We agreed that we could both move past the "friends" factor and it wasn't too hard for me to think of him similarly to my doctor when she does my annual exam.
So we went to the back room and he closed the door, and prepped the materials. Surgical towels were laid out (I have no idea what you call them, but the special sheets at the dentist and doctor that they prep instruments on) and then so were the tools for the job. A needle, receiving tube, the jewelry, the violet ink and marking stick and a blob of lube fresh from a small package. He also laid out sanitary covers on the chair. I mentioned that it felt somehow wrong to be sitting uncovered and splayed in a dentist's chair and he found that amusing. As he prepared things we went over the aftercare instructions and made sure it was all nice and clear.
I stripped of everything waist down and sat with my bottom scooted as far to the edge of the chair as I could, per my piercer's instructions. I was incredibly nervous about the pain factor at this point, though very much "in the zone" to stick it out and get the piercing done with. He asked if I was ready and when I indicated I was, he marked me (I was just fine anatomically for this piercing) and then inserted the receiving tube. Once everything was lined up and ready to go, he asked again if I was ready (I said no and laughed, as I always do, then said yes, as I always do).
My piercer indicated to go ahead and take the deep breaths and blow out, and I did so. The first one, no stick. Breath two and bang, he slid the needle through with a quick movement. My legs closed a little and I jumped, but managed not to kick him in the head or anything else destructive. It was done. The worst was over. What a relief. I hung out there while the jewelry was inserted (a small 16g CBR, which he said he preferred to pierce hoods with but that I could swap out for a curved barbell later if I wanted) and then he handed me paper towels to keep the knickers clean of blood. I got dressed and paid and was given kudos for no noise being made by the boys out front.
I quickly realized that 16g isn't very nice for such a soft area and fretted a day or two about letting it heal more before trying to switch it out for a 14g ring. When I also realized I needed on with a larger diameter as well due to some swelling and that the exit hole was tearing a little just from cleaning action, I decided I better fix this problem before I had undergone the experience for naught. I examined things closely, then carefully lubed up a sterilized 14g CBR and followed it in behind the 16g ring coming out. It slid through no problem and the whole area is much more comfortable now.
It's been a little less than a week since I got this done and I have to say, I'm pretty impressed with how fast is seems to be healing. A few "pinchy" moments in the first few days, particularly wearing jeans but that's mostly passed. The area isn't very tender now when I'm cleaning it. I did do a quick "test drive" alone over the weekend with great success, though that was very cautious and light and involved no real tugging or pulling. I'm looking forward to my husband checking things out, though we're to wait another week or so before doing so.
In the end, I'm pleased as punch with this new piercing. I feel a little sexier, and love the fact that it does keep me "aware" of all the goings on down below most of the time. I'm looking forward to changing the jewelry to a curved barbell, most likely more like a 12g or 10g eventually, though I'll take it slow and test the waters a little before changing. I promised I'd never make my piercer do something that uncomfortable for the both of us again, though I was quite pleased in the end that we could both suck it up and get on with it professionally (I knew he could).