I'm sure many of the frequent visitors to this site have heard of the Fakir Intensives. If you've heard of the Fakir Intensives, then I'm sure you realize that you do more than LEARN how to pierce there. You GET PIERCED as well, and needless to say it...I got pierced.
At A Glance Author gogo_savvy Contact gogo_savvy@bme.anon IAM gogo_savvy When Three months ago Artist Natalie and Ken Studio Fakir Intensives Location San Francisco, CA
I got three different piercings while at the intensives. Both problematic in their own right, and both my own damn fault, I suppose. The piercings I'll outline in this particular experience will be my outer labia, as I am still struggling in this uphill battle with them, and they really are two of my favorite piercings.
THE DAY:
That day, I came to class fully aware of the fact that I was going to get just what I had asked for. We had been informed ahead of time of the days that they would be performing which specific piercings, and my day had come. Female genital day! Woohoo!
Keeping in mind that I was going to get pierced, and that I may not be able to do so while they healed, I shaved. I mean, I was going to have a rather large group of people staring at my genitals, so I might as well tidy things up.
When my time came, I dropped my trousers, and hopped up onto the table. The instructor for this particular piercing came up, and started to explain the proper placement, procedure, and helpful tips and tricks for these specific piercings. We had decided that if I was anatomically suited, we would do inner labia. If I didn't have enough inner labia to pierce (which I had suspected for a good 2 weeks), then we agreed that we would just do the outer labia.
Upon further inspection, she came to the conclusion that my inner labia were just too small to pierce correctly, and we would opt for the outer labia. This is where she began to explain that the outer labia (for her) had been more painful and problematic than the inner. I took in that bit of information, and we continued with the procedure.
As always, I began my breathing. I tried to center myself and get into a happy place, but it was much harder considering that I was very aware of the many people staring very intently at my crotch. I had decided that the best thing to do, would be to get the two that I wanted at the same time. Tandem, if you will. This way, I would feel one intense burst of energy/pain, and it would all be over. Looking back on it now, I don't know if I would have walked away with two if I had done them one at a time.
As the clock ticked away, and I concentrated on my breathing, I began to feel nearer to that place I needed to be. I felt as if I had sunken into the table a bit, almost like I was below my body, which is the level of calm I try to achieve every time. I took one last deep breath in, and they pushed the needles through. Just like that.
I cannot explain what I felt at that moment. I couldn't explain it, even moments after. All I remember at that specific moment in time, is breathing and saying out loud, "Oh, my god." After I uttered those words I started to cry uncontrollably, and tears came streaming out of my eyes. To date, those two labia piercings were the most painful piercing experience I've ever had in my life. (If you can even call it "pain".) It was very similar to the way I felt when I suspended for the very first time.
After I hopped down from the table; after the crying stopped, I put my clothes back on, and sat back down in my chair. I felt a notable weight in the lower half of my body. I feel that maybe my labia piercings helped ground me, if that makes much sense. It certainly gave a great electric kind of jolt to my spirit. I had never felt as alive as I did just after I got them done.
Days & Weeks After:
I tried my best to take care of my outer labia. I carried a bottle of H2Ocean, just in case I needed a quick rinse after bike riding, etc. I washed them carefully every morning and night, but alas I developed large and very uncomfortable bumps on both of the piercings. The bumps only developed on the inside, but were quite sizeable. I decided that if soaking them every night didn't help, I might try some alternative healing methods.
Weeks of soaking and abstaining from sex did not help, and the bumps showed no sign of shrinking. I decided to try tea tree oil. A quick application every morning and night, and I was seeing marked improvement. They did not disappear, though they did get a bit smaller. After all this, I decided that maybe my consistent bike rides was not agreeing with the jewelry choice. I opted to switch them out to barbells rather than the large 10g CBRs that I had been wearing. I did this, and occasionally still felt a pinch or two if I moved a certain way.
I reflected on my situation further, as I did not see much improvement even after changing the jewelry. I decided to take a wild guess and thought maybe stretching them up a size and minimizing the length of the jewelry further might just give me the level of comfort needed to get rid of these damned bumps! Guess what? It helped a lot.
After I made the decision to stretch them and put in even shorter barbells, I went in to my shop less than a week later and executed my plan. I put in 8g barbells, and it went a lot farther than I had hoped. They felt almost like they weren't there. From then on I have felt absolutely no pinching sensations whatsoever. The bump on the left piercing has almost entirely disappeared! I cannot say the same for the right, however. It has shrunken significantly, but it has all BUT left me alone. I am hoping that perhaps some more TLC will coax it to at the very least take a vacation, but knowing the way my skin handles piercings and wounds in general, I will probably have to think up another miracle.
From what I hear, outer labia piercings can be quite the problematic little buggers, but I plan on sticking out as long as I have to. I refuse to lose these beautiful piercings.