I received two photos from a woman who requested an appointment to receive a Vertical Clitoral Hood (VCH) piercing from me during one of my guest piercing visits.
She sent me two photos, including one of the q-tip test:
I replied:
Did you do the q-tip test yourself? I know it is quite challenging to do that and get a photo at the same time. My concern is that it appears you may have butted the swab up against the bottom of your hood, but not slipped it underneath. Usually, when the swab is under the hood, you can see it (the bulge of it) to some extent. In your case, I merely see a sort of fold at the bottom of the hood tissue, which may indicate the swab is just pushing up on the skin, but is not actually beneath the little one-ended tunnel of the hood.
My concern is also strengthened by the other photo in which it appears as there is not a whole lot of hood tissue present (in which case, the swab would show through if it were in the right spot).
Can I get you to try the q-tip test again and make certain the tip of the swab is up under the hood? It can be very helpful to de-fluff the swab to some extent (remove some of the cottony tip) and lubricate it with something quite thick and slippery--like actual lubricant.) You don't need to send another photo if you feel confident that you can get the swab end under your hood and that the tip of it is indeed covered by your hood tissue.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
To help you, attached is a photo of a "surface hood piercing" that is incorrectly placed, with a swab in the right location, a photo marked with the "inverted V" of the hood, where the swab should go in, and one of a "q-tip test" with the swab way lower than where it should be. That image is marked with a red dot where the swab should enter the hood--in front of the clitoris. I hope these prove helpful.
Surface Hood Piercing with Q-tip test:
The "inverted v" of the hood marked:
Improperly done q-tip test with the proper spot for the swab marked with a red dot:
