BME has opened up the range of possibilities of what I thought possible to pierce and generally do to my body. I have a running list of piercings I would love to have, ones I wouldn't get but admire, and those that I plan on getting in the near future. For a while, the christina resided on the "would love to have" list but I didn't have any definite plans to get it done. Despite having my nipples pierced and not being afraid of pain, I just thought of genital piercing as being on another level of "extremeness" that I wasn't quite ready to go to.
At A Glance Author Cylence Contact starfiend3@aol.com When A month ago Artist Erin Studio Chameleon Body Art Location Cambridge, MA That changed recently. My experiences going to the gynocologist and using communal showers made me more comfortable with being nude in front of other people. I had recently found a new piercer after several months without having work done, and I felt comfortable with her. I found Chameleon whilst checking out local places with my roommate, and I was impressed with the level of cleanliness and Erin's professionalism and abilities. She had pierced my cartilage and I was happy with the result, and so she was a logical choice for my Christina.
Though I'd been researching it on BME and wanting it for a while, the decision to actually get it done was rather spur of the moment. My boyfriend was in town and I'd wanted him with me during it, and so I brought it up and he was all for it. I had the money to have it done (Chameleon is pricey, but worth it) and so we trooped off to take the T to Harvard Sq. and then walk a short distance to the garage, where Chameleon is located.
I asked the guy at the counter if it would be possible to have it done since I thought it was a fairly uncommon piercing, and he said that it's more commonly done than I might think and that Erin could do it. So I made an appointment, signed the release form, and paid for the piercing, and then shopped in the area as I waited for the time to come. When it did, Erin called me in with her usual broad, welcoming smile. We chatted a bit as I slid off my undies and scooted onto the table. She had me move forward and put my feet into stirrups, and then checked out my anatomy to see if I was suited for the piercing. I had done the q-tip test and found that I had a defined ridge, like a navel, so I was pretty confident I'd be able to have it done and Erin told me just that. She remarked about how symmetrical my labia are and thanked me for shaving because it made marking for the piercing easier.
She marked me up and then had me sit in a variety of positions to make sure that it was straight. Once she was satisfied, she grabbed the clamps and warned me that it would be a bit uncomfortable. It did pinch quite a bit and was almost as uncomfortable as the piercing itself, but was a duller sensation. I started taking deep breaths in through my nose and out through my mouth. My boyfriend smiled, seeing that I was nervous, and offered to hold my hand but I refused the offer, preferring to go it alone. Erin lined up the needle and made sure I was ready, and then she pushed it through. One thing I like about Erin's technique is that she's very gentle because she pierces so fast. It was over very quickly and she had the jewelry in almost instantaneously. The sensation itself was rather sharp and sort of a scraping feeling. I did feel the needle go through and all the different sensations, but it was very quick. After she screwed the ball onto the jewelry I was just in awe of what I had done. I grabbed a hand mirror and took a look and it was the beautiful, shiny piercing I had been dreaming of. I tipped Erin and bounced out of the shop, euphoric from the experience and the endorphin rush.
Walking was only mildly uncomfortable, and I found that climate changes affected the way the piercing felt. When I got home I did a salt soak to help draw out the lube from the needle and promote general cleanliness. I did end up having sex that weekend, and we were careful to stick to positions like doggy style that do not cause friction to the piercing. When Monday came and I had to go out to go to class, I found that I didn't feel the piercing at all (I kept checking to make sure it was still there because it didn't hurt at all). I was wearing comfortable underwear and skirts which, as I was soon to find out, was a good idea.
A week or so after getting pierced, I woke up late one morning and ended up throwing clothes on over my pjs. I had been sleeping in just boxers and a tshirt, and the boxers were a bad combination with my christina. The top ball kept getting caught on them and generally being rubbed whenever I walked. It was a very pinchy, uncomfortable feeling that I had to deal with all day until I could go back home and change. My piercing was quite red and irritated and I was afraid that the abuse might trigger migration, so I just kept up the salt soaks and tried to baby it as much as possible.
A few days later I decided to wear jeans. Bad idea. Bending over, sitting down, etc. caused pinching and uncomfortable rubbing. Again, this lasted all day, and once again my christina was irritated and red. This time I was convinced it would reject. The top ball was sunken in and there was redness around both the top and bottom holes. Frantic, I went on BME and read every Christina experience and QOD question I could find. I was reassured that the ball sinking in was normal but I was still afraid of migration. I considered going to see Erin, but by then I knew in the back of my mind that I would probably be ok. I went back to wearing skirts, and soon my piercing was nice and happy again. There was no more pain and I felt relieved.
After that scary week when I was terrified I was going to lose my piercing, healing was rather uneventful. The redness went away and the swelling went down. I continued the soaks as needed. After a few weeks I found that there was a lot of excess length of barbell protruding, so I switched to a shorter curved barbell. This worked out well until I had rough, drunken sex and the jewelry fell out. I replaced it with the old jewelry and have had that in since. The extra length is mildly annoying aesthetically but hasn't bothered the piercing.
It's been about 5 1/2 weeks now, and it's doing really well. There is no redness, only a little lymph, and while the top ball is still slightly sunken in I think it's just normal and it doesn't bother me. The piercing appears to have "shrunken" a bit as it has healed - once the swelling went down it was less than 2/3 the length that it originally appeared to be. The original barbell is now too long so I'm getting a shorter one soon. For a while I was avoiding shaving around the piercing, leaving a "landing strip" instead, but for the past few weeks I've been able to shave close to it without removing the jewelry. I was also able to have sex normally after about 3 weeks with the piercing, and even when things got a bit rough it didn't seem to be bothered at all. All in all, I am very happy with it. I've enjoyed being an exhibitionist and showing it off to any willing parties. I'm planning on getting my outer labia pierced next. I'm also going to get a jeweled barbell for my C hristina so it can be even more sparkly and girly.
For anyone considering this piercing, I highly recommend it to anyone who is anatomically suited for it. It is a pretty, inobtrustive piercing that is easy to heal if you have the right structure. And it's a ton of fun to show off :).