I did a consultation for a woman who was concerned about the jewelry in her new VCH piercing:
Hi, yesterday I went and had my VCH piercing and I am a little concerned that the jewellery is too short. The bottom ball is not visible and is hiding quite deeply inside my hood which in turn is pushing the top of the bar upwards (this is a little uncomfortable). I don't think it's a shallow piercing but I'm just wondering if I can change this myself (I have been pierced with quite a small straight bar). I am able to send you some pics if that will help? Thank you.
My response:
Thanks for your message. I can tell you without seeing you that if the jewelry is too tight you MUST get it changed out ASAP!
Unless you are quite familiar with body jewelry and have access to sterile equipment including an insertion taper, then I would suggest you go to a professional to have it changed. However, based on your problem, I'm not sure if you should trust the piercer who put in improperly sized jewelry?
You can find all of my piercer referrals here.
If I haven't personally worked with or trained any piercers in your area, you can check the website for a member of the Association of Professional Piercers who is local to you.
The APP is a non-profit international organization dedicated to disseminating vital health and safety information about piercing to piercers, piercees, medical professionals, legislators, and the general public. The piercers are not "certified" by the association, however. While some of the piercers on the list may have taken my seminars at the annual APP conferences, I still wouldn't consider them to have been "trained by me," as those courses only last a few hours and aren't sufficient for providing a thorough education. Please meet the piercer and see if you develop a good rapport and if they inspire your confidence.
Is your jewelry internally threaded? I hope so as passing threads through a fresh piercing is not suggested, but it must be done to prevent embedding if your jewelry is dangerously short…
Take a look at the care instructions I suggest.
She sent some images and additional questions:
Thank you for your very quick reply! I can tell you that the jewellery used is externally threaded but I am a little afraid to take it out and replace it with something more suitable myself. I shall head to another piercer tomorrow for a change of jewellery. I am however now concerned after knowing all of this that it has been placed properly. I have attached some pictures for your inspection (if you wouldn't mind). I appreciate it's hard to tell without actually seeing it properly.
My response:
These appear to show that the piercing is properly placed, in that it pierces though to the underside of your hood. I can't tell whether it is centered or not as you are pulling on the left side of your hood to show the jewelry underneath, and it may look off center due to the distortion of pulling on one side.
