clitoral hood piercing

I received this message from a Facebook friend:

I received a piercing-related question that I hadn't heard before:

I got a VCH piercing two weeks ago and was just wondering if you know anything about clit pumping after a piercing? I've looked on the web but can't find anything about it. Sincerly, Sarah

My response: Hi Sarah, You'd certainly need to wait for a few months before attempting any pumping as it puts a rather intense pressure on the tissue. The piercing should be very well healed. Obviously you need to have a pump that fits over the jewelry to get a good seal--but that shouldn't be an issue is you're wearing average-sized jewelry. Have you done pumping previously? If so, then you already should have familiarity with how it feels and how the process works. So you'd just need to add some awareness of your piercing and if there is any soreness or discomfort, you should ease up or stop.

If you want to watch  how I perform piercings, you can see me doing them in graphic detail here: http://clips4sale.com/10557. There's also a great video of me examining different configurations of female anatomy and describing which piercings are possible and where exactly they chould be placed. They aren't meant as "how-to" videos, but they do show a lot about how I do what I do.

Here's an email I received from a woman who was experiencing a problem because the jewelry that was placed in her VCH piercing was too short:

Hi there, I've contacted my piercer too, but I'm looking for some guidance and hoping you can help.  I had my VCH pierced a week ago.  It was initially healing very nicely with no issues.  However, when I had it pierced, I was told that my hood was very long and he probably could have used a longer barbell (I have a straight barbell in now).  This morning when I was cleaning it in the shower, I noticed that it was uncomfortable and found out that the bottom ball on the barbell has retreated into the piercing hole.  I tried to manually push it back through but it is stuck and very uncomfortable. What should I do?  Will my piercer be able to remove the jewelry and hopefully put a longer barbell in? I'm worried that it's healing around the ball and will be very difficult to remove. Thank you for any help you can give, Amanda

Amanda, Go see your piercer immediately! You MUST have a longer bar put in ASAP! If you allow jewelry that is too small to remain in place then it is likely to end up embedded. As the ball sinks in, your tissue grows around it, and soon you'll need the assistance of a doctor to remove the embedded jewelry by making an incision or two near it! Wearing ill-fitting jewelry is dangerous, especially when a piercing is so new. A curved bar gives you the advantage of some extra space without adding extra length--I usually start VCH piercings with them. This excerpt from The Piercing Bible explains proper VCH placement and jewelry:

I was recently contacted by an interesting woman. She's a gynecologist (among other things) and she requested my help to answer questions about body piercing for a book she's writing:

Dear Angel- I am an OB/GYN physician, artist, and author, and I am interested in getting touch with Angel to discuss clitoral piercing for a book I am writing. My book (working title: Coochie Confidential- Questions You'd Only Ask Your Gynecologist If She Was Your Best Friend) is a book of Q&A about all aspects of women's health. The book will be published by St. Martin's Press in Fall 2010.  Should you be interested in answering these questions, I would be happy to credit you, quote you, and reference The Piercing Bible. One question that was submitted relates to clitoral piercing. 

I got this message from a gal I pierced in NY:

I just wanted to thank you for my beautiful piercing, I'm so happy with it, but I am a bit concerned that it may be getting infected. Perhaps I'm just overreacting, but its really really tender and sore, and its been about three days and I also noticed a small dot of discharge that was a light yellow today for the first time. I've been following all of your directions and keeping everything clean and sanitary, so I'm not really sure what went wrong. I'm really afraid, but if you can tell me what steps I can take steps now to possibly reverse the infection and what else I can do besides the sea salt baths and antibacterial soap, I'd really appreciate it. I read the chapter in your book about Trouble and Trouble shooting but since my symptoms weren't as severe, it didn't seem to really pertain to me. Please help if you can! Sincerely,

B.

I referred her to some relevant pages in my book (182-183 "What to Expect") because this portion explains that some secretion, redness, and tenderness are all perfectly normal in a new piercing! And they can last throughout the healing period...

I also advised her that one of the worst things she can do is over-clean. I told her to try to relax and follow the instructions I'd given her for aftercare and to review them in the book.

She wrote back:

Thanks Elayne, I guess I was just over reacting but I appreciate your help! I read all of the pages and a few other chapters in your book and everything reassured me that what I'm experiencing is normal. I think that the problem was that I was over cleaning my piercing, but now I feel much better and not so much pain and tenderness.

Here is an email exchange that started as a comment to one of my other posts:

Hey, I wanted to know if I could ask a question about a VCH that was done MONTHS ago (at least 5) and might be rejecting.How do I know?  Would I be able to send a picture and you tell me.. or can I find a picture online?

My response: You are welcome to email me a photo or two to: angel@piercingbible.com and I'd be happy to take a look. What problems are you having that make you feel concerned about this? To see photos and a diagram of properly placed VCH piercings go here: http://ringsofdesire.com/femalegenital.html and http://ringsofdesire.com/q_tip.html. Or, you can watch me do the piercing here. Marie wrote again:

Hello! I came across your website (very informative!) and had a question. I am interested in getting a vertical hood piercing, but I am not sure if I had sufficient tissue for the piercing. I tried the cotton swab thing and although it seems like enough, I was still unsure. I would just feel strange going to a piercer, dropping drawers and them saying "sorry, no can do.". Kind of awkward. Any other ways I could make sure? Casey

Hi Casey, You're welcome to send me a photo of you doing the q-tip test, and I'd be happy to do my best to tell you whether your anatomy appears pierceable. In a piercing studio it is a daily occurrence that individuals are not suited to a particular piercing placement they desire. There is nothing to feel awkward about at all! It isn't a personal matter: each human body is unique and must be evaluated on an individual basis for suitability. A consultation before piercing for this purpose is very common. A good piercer will make you feel comfortable. He or she can also let you know what other piercings may be suited to your build, if not the one you wanted. Where are you located? Perhaps I can suggest a skilled piercer in your area. Sincerely, Angel P.S. To see video of me performing a VCH and the way the anatomy looks go here. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="311" caption="Watch genital piercing videos"][/caption]