People get this kind of piercing for a number of reasons, including to enhance appearance and sexual pleasure. But can clit piercings actually improve your sex life, and are they safe? Here’s what you need to know if you’re considering getting a clit piercing. The only external part of the clitoris is the clitoral glans, the small nub at the top of the vulva. In the vast majority of cases, a “clit piercing” is actually on the clitoral hood, the skin partially covering the external clitoris. However, 10 to 20% of vulva owners don’t have clitoral hoods that are suitable for this kind of piercing, says Angel. “Some builds are too petite or shallow—there’s simply not enough tissue to get jewelry far enough away from the edge of the hood for safety and stability,” she says. “Others have too large or heavy a pubic mound, which would interfere with jewelry and could cause irritation or even embedding.” However, some people with vertical and horizontal clitoral hood piercings report that the movement of the jewelry during intercourse provides them with clitoral stimulation. The triangle piercing is more likely to produce pleasure through grinding motions. “I’ve had plenty of clients experience positive changes in their sexual responsiveness and ability to orgasm following hood piercings,” says Angel. However, Thompson says that while some of his clients have reported increases in sexual pleasure, most don’t. “It’s more of an aesthetic thing,” he says. RELATED: 21 Women Explain What Sex & Orgasms Feel Like For Them Because there isn’t yet widespread information about the nerves of the clitoris, even among doctors, procedures like these can be very error-prone. For this reason, it’s important to make sure any piercing you get is from a reputable place and compatible with your anatomy, says Angel. “Because of variations in genital anatomy and personal preferences for sexual stimulation, each piercee must be evaluated (and even counseled) by an expert on an individual basis before deciding on a genital piercing.” Make sure your piercer is trained specifically in clit piercings. Every piercing runs the risk of infection, which can happen during the piercing itself if the proper precautions aren’t taken or during the healing period, says Angel. Make sure your piercer is using sterile tools and jewelry and follows cross-contamination prevention protocols, and follow any aftercare guidelines you receive. There’s also the possibility of a piercing tearing, migrating, or rejecting, but this doesn’t usually happen if you have the right piercing type, placement, and jewelry size, says Angel. If you want to adorn your genitals without taking these risks, some companies, like SubSensuals, make clip-on genital jewelry that doesn’t require any puncturing of skin. People’s experiences can range from high amounts of pain to no pain, says Thompson, but regardless, it’s usually over within a split second. While your piercing is healing, it’s important to avoid swimming and baths; keep your fingers, which can be dirty, away from the piercing; and refrain from sharing bodily fluids (including saliva, semen, or vaginal), Angel adds. Thompson recommends waiting two weeks before having sex. Piercings can close up if the jewelry is removed, so Angel recommends leaving it in. If you want the piercing to close up, though, you can just take the jewelry out. Otherwise, you shouldn’t remove it, or it’ll close up pretty quickly. Thompson suggests using Cetaphil to clean the area around the piercing. “You don’t want to use astringents like alcohol peroxide,” he says. “That can produce a yeast infection.” Before getting any kind of clit piercing, Thompson urges going around to different studios, talking to piercers, and doing online research to make sure you’re working with someone trustworthy. “Lots of piercers are doing genital piercings without any specific training, and they are hurting their clients,” says Angel. “Consulting an expert is critical.” The clitoris is key to pleasure for those who have them, so it’s worth taking your time to make sure you’re making the right decisions. Suzannah provides private coaching and courses in the areas of sex and relationships, as well as doula services.
