My Accidental Hood

At A Glance Author anonymous Contact anonymous@bme.anon Artist David Nolte Studio Pierce de Resistance Location Melbourne, Australia

My boyfriend and I had been discussing genital piercing for some time. He has a friend with a PA, who incidentally gives it the highest recommendation, and I had been considering a vertical hood piercing (even though I had heard some horror stories), although no concrete decision had been made. I've noticed that genital piercing seems to sweep through groups of friends really quickly. One person gets something done, shows their friends and tells them how great it is, and then it's a snowball effect from there.

My boyfriend was at my house one day, and grabbed the Yellow Pages to try and find a piercer to do these piercings for us. We had both had other piercings and were very aware of the need to find a good piercer. We ended up phoning a number of studios, but particularly liked Pierce de Resistance, and after he asked a number of technical sterilisation/autoclave questions (which David had no problems answering) an appointment was made for that afternoon. I was feeling a bit scared, but I think it's a good thing that the appointment wasn't made too far in advance, so I didn't have the time to get too worked up about it all. After all, I already had quite a few piercings, but somehow I just felt that genital piercing would be really ...... different. Dropping your pants in front of a complete stranger can be embarassing, but I guess you just have to trust the professionalism of the piercer. David also said that he didn't like to be alone when he did female genital piercings (which I though was really good), not that I would have been able to cope with this one on my own anyway. I made sure I ate before I went, cause I knew I wouldn't feel like it after!

We arrived at the studio and David took the time to explain exactly what was involved in both our piercings, including aftercare, which we thought was great. He showed us the autoclave and explained sterilisation techniques. We had the standard forms to fill in, as well as a medical questionnaire, asking about blood pressure, heart problems etc. The studio is really clean, and David being a pharmacist definitely put our minds at ease. He also said that if we had any problems to phone him on his mobile phone (even after hours if we needed to), and that he could recommend piercing-friendly doctors if we ever needed them, which was reassuring.

David has these interesting little plastic models of just about everything you can pierce (ie. ears, noses, mouths, nipples, male and female genetalia), and he's pierced them in many and varied ways. He showed me the female one, explained what each piercing was, advantages and disadvantages of each. This confirmed my research that a vertical hood was the piercing for me.

We discussed jewellery and my boyfriend went first, which maybe wasn't the best idea, because after seeing his PA being done I found myself getting more and more nervous. It was really weird being with him during the piercing, kind of a bonding experience I think. Definitely very strange.

When David had finished, I had completely chickened out and was ready to leave (seeing blood always makes me feel sick), but my boyfriend convinced me to stay, even though I had just seen the look on his face while he was getting his PA. I climbed up on the table, not really knowing what to expect. I had chosen a 12ga straight barbell, but really couldn't ever picture it through my hood. My boyfriend held my hand, I closed my eyes, trying to concentrate on my breathing ....... David was really good in that he talked me through it, and also made me talk as well, I had told him that I have been known to faint and hyperventilate when getting needles, he was really patient and understanding.

Clitoral hood piercing was definitely the most painful experience of my entire life, albeit that the pain only lasted for about 3 seconds. But it really hurt. I felt really lighheaded and had to stay lying down for about 10 minutes afterwards, but I think the hardest part was trying to get my head around the idea that I had a piece of metal through my hood, David handed me a mirror to have a look, there was hardly any blood at all, and I thought it looked great!

Afterwards it felt bruised and a bit sore to touch but definitely no pain, and you have to be careful sitting down for the first few days. The aftercare was really easy, it was completely healed in less than 2 weeks, now I've had it for 8 months, I think it's great and would never take it out.

To anyone considering a hood piercing, yes it really hurts, but only for a few seconds, and the rewards outweigh the disadvantages. They heal really quickly and painlessly and are quite a lot of fun.

I can highly recommend David and Pierce de Resistance, in fact I went back a few months ago and had both my nipples pierced, but that's another story ......