I received a question about initial jewelry for outer labia piercings, and it led me to make a few comments about piercing aftercare, too.

Hi!  Thanks for opening up the world of female genital piercings. I can't wait for your book to be available here in South Africa, and not only because I would love to take a gander at all the piercing pics...

I have one hood piercing and at this stage it's the only body piercing I've got (got pierced ears - one hole each), but I'd love to have more.  I agree the aftercare is very important and it has to be done religiously.  That was actually worse (pain-wise) than the actual piercing, because the ring had to be manipulated and the wound cleaned with saline.  My piercer also recommended tea-trea oil (neat) as an antiseptic.  It worked for me.

I want to pierce my outer labia as well - but I would love to get your advice...  Would captive-bead rings or flesh tunnels be better?  I know everyone has rings, but I've seen some pics of tunnels through the labia and they look good to me, too, especially since I would love to lace them up from time to time...

HI there,

The most recent care guidelines do not advise turning the jewelry. Also, tea tree oil can be a harsh product and may not be suited to aftercare in its full strength (depending on the product).

Rings would definitely be a preferable jewelry style for healing outer labia piercings. Because flesh tunnels are hollow, they would tend to collect matter and that would increase the risk of infection. They also usually look best if they fit the piercing fairly closely, but that won't allow for swelling or inflammation that can accompany outer labia piercings. Once you are fully healed the jewelry can be changed, however. 

#NSFWClick here to see video of me performing genital piercings. There's one available of me doing four outer labia piercings (and a fourchette piercing). Link takes you offsite.