I received a consultation request today from a gal who was concerned that her piercing hadn't been properly placed. Wow was she right!
I am sending you a picture of my piercing because I am concerned it is too high up??? Could you please look at my pic and give me your opinion?
I had to break the bad news to her: You don't actually have a hood piercing! You have been given a Christina piercing, which is above the hood. It is in a small amount of tissue, which means it is unlikely to heal successfully (migration is common with this placement, especially with that style of jewelry). Also, and perhaps more importantly, if you wanted a VCH piercing, you didn't get one. Did you see the photos of VCH piercings on my website? They are supposed to go underneath the hood so that the jewelry rests against your clitoris.
This prior blog post I put up may help make it clear that yours is not at all in the right location.
If you want to get a VCH piercing, you will need to find a different piercer--assuming you requested a hood piercing and ended up with the one you have.
She responded:
Thank you so much for enlightening me!!!!! I wanted a VCH....now I'm frustrated!!! In your opinion should I take this one out and start over or could I leave this one in and also get a VCH???? What is the purpose of a Christina piercing??? Are there any benefits????
I replied: As long as the piercing appears to be doing well, you can go ahead and leave it in. Yours is a little lower than most of the Christinas that I've seen, and that may mean it might be easier to heal, if it is somewhat in your hood tissue, rather than in the surface tissue of the mons (pubic mound).
A Christina piercing is purely ornamental and can take 6 months or longer to heal and can be prohibitive to frontal sex, possibly for as long as you wear the piercing. By comparison, a VCH takes 4-6 weeks to heal, and many women find it to be very enhancing to their sexual activities! In case your piercer didn't provide you with good aftercare guidelines (and I have to wonder since he or she thought they were giving you a VCH piercing!) you can find my care advice here.
This is what it says about the Christina piercing in my book, The Piercing Bible--The Definitive Guide to Safe Body Piercing:
The Christina (or Venus) piercing is a comparatively recent innovation. It is a surface piercing that is placed vertically at the top of the cleft of Venus (top of the vulva), optimally extending about an inch up the pubic mound (soft mound of flesh just above the genitals).
It takes significantly longer to heal than any other female genital piercing. The jewelry does not contact the clitoris, so this placement is ornamental in nature. The Christina is not one of the most popular piercings because it is not expected to add erotic sensation and takes a long period of time to heal. However, if you are a motivated piercee and you are attracted to this adornment, these aspects may not prove to be barriers.
Have you done the q-tip test as pictured here to check if you are anatomically suited for a VCH piercing? Simply insert the swab under your hood but don't push up too hard on it. If the hood doesn't cover the tip of the swab, try to manually draw the skin down to cover the entire tip. Also, you might want to de-fluff the swab and lubricate it a bit if your hood seems snug or shallow. If you can fit the tip of the swab under your hood, then you're a candidate for the piercing.
Where are you located? Perhaps I can pierce you myself during one of my upcoming guest piercing travels? You can find my events in a block on the right column of my web page. If not, you can check for piercers on my referrals page.
