The female genitalia is a wondrous thing, and it becomes even more marvelous when you realize that you can bedazzle your bits with jewelry. There are actually a few different places on the vagina that can be pierced, but the most popular of them all is the vertical clitoral hood (VCH from here on) piercing which, aside from looking good, can impart some pleasurable benefits as well.
If your chosen jewelry for your VCH piercing features a bead, it can increase sensations in the clitoris as they come into direct contact to stimulate during indirect stimulation. Some wearers will find that they take even greater pleasure from activities that don’t directly focus on the clit, like traditional penetrative sex or fingering.
But before you rush off to get your hood pierced all willy-nilly, there are some important things to know and keep in mind — you are, after all, getting a piercing very close to your clitoris. There are some considerations before doing such a thing. So after you’ve found a very professional and very trustworthy piercer to do the exacting work of giving you your VCH piercing, it’s time to start thinking about…
Does getting a vertical clitoral hood piercing hurt?
The short answer here is yes, you will feel some pain. However a lot of people who have gotten a VCH piercing claim that it’s not as bad as they expected and some even compare it to the pain felt during a lobe piercing in the ears.
Afterwards, the area will likely throb for the next few hours or the rest of the day, and while we feel it goes without saying, consider your wardrobe on the day of your piercing: ditch the lacy thong and skinny jeans and opt instead for a pair of joggers and your trusty period panties.
What’s the VCH piercing aftercare regimen?
To take care of your VCH piercing to ensure a speedy recovery and healing, you would treat it like you would a normal ear piercing in which you clean it with a saline solution two to three times a day and avoid snagging it(!!!) on anything while it heals. The healing process is stated as being anywhere from 4 to 8 weeks, so there are a lot of things to keep in mind in the meantime:
- Drink a lot of water. Stay hydrated in order to dilute your urine enough to not sting every time you pee. You may even want to cut way back on your alcohol consumption and consider the acidity of anything you’re drinking (orange or cranberry juice, for instance) during the healing process in order to avoid any undue pain. Your pee can actually assist in sanitizing the area as it heals, so this advice isn’t about avoiding infection so much as it is about avoiding the sting.
- Watch how you sit. In the hours or for a day or two after, try to take it slow when sitting down and standing up in order to avoid snags. More important than this though is to totally avoid activities where you must straddle something for at least 1 to 2 weeks after you’ve gotten the piercing. Sorry, but no horseback riding or spin class for a couple days until you’re accustomed to your new jewelry.
- Consider what you’re wearing. We mentioned it before very briefly, but it bears repeating that during this process of healing you should stock up on snug-fitting cotton underwear. Over that underwear, consider loose or loose-ish slacks or even a skirt. Because the piercing may bleed immediately or a few hours after getting it, be sure to wear a panty liner to catch any blood.
- Don’t play with it — yet. Yes we know you may have gotten the VCH piercing for the additional sexual stimulus it can provide, but as with all good things, it takes time. You should really wait until the healing process is fully complete before engaging in any play down there. Your and your partner’s hands or mouth can contain any number of bacteria that can cause infection, so just stay on the safe side and abstain from sex for a bit.
Is there any reason why I shouldn’t get a VCH piercing?
The only real things that would stop someone from being able to get a vertical clitoral hood piercing are a general squeamishness about sex, and maybe their anatomy.
For instance, if you’re the type of person who is uncomfortable even talking to you partner about the details of your sexual anatomy, then this piercing isn’t for you. Ahead of getting the piercing done, you should have a consultation with the piercer and yes, the person doing the piercing is going to see your vagina. So, prudes should not apply and likely aren’t anyways — so no problem there.
In terms of anatomy though, you must first ascertain if you have a hood large enough to be pierced in the first place. If you want to know if your clitoral hood is big enough for a piercing, take a lubricated q-tip and push it inside of your clitoral hood. If the hood covers most or all of the padded tip of the q-tip, then you’re good to go.
