Genital piercings have experienced a private popularity over the past few decades. They’re sexy, edgy, and cool. Plus, genital piercings can enhance sexual pleasure. But whether you’re looking for a Prince Albert or a clitoral hood piercing, there’s one question you need to know, “are genital piercings safe?” In the hands of an experienced professional, genital piercings are safe. But there are things you should do and know before getting one done.

Consult With A Doctor

Your piercing shop won’t ask for your doctor to sign off on a piercing. So technically you don’t need to visit your doctor first, but you really should. After all, this is the health of your genitals we’re talking about. You don’t want to take any risks. Your doctor will make sure that you don’t have any anatomical issues or health problems that could cause potential complications. Discuss with them which piercings you want. If they recommend against any specific piercing you can ask about alternatives. It helps to do a little research before the doctor visit.

Placement Matters

Just like piercing ears and noses, everyone’s genitals are a little different. Because of this, placement needs careful consideration. The location of the piercing needs to avoid any risk of damaging nerves, and minimize the risk of migration or scarring. For these reasons, you really need to choose an experienced piercing artist. As much as we advise against at-home or bargain piercing artists, we especially caution against them for genital piercings.

Potential Complications & Risks

Genital piercings have all the same risks as other piercings. This includes migration, rejection, scarring or infection. But, given the sensitive nature of your genitals, these issues can be more painful. We don’t say this to discourage you from these piercings, but to emphasize the importance of taking the right precautions. The most important ways to prevent these problems are:

• Picking the right piercing jewellery.
• Choosing an experienced, professional piercer.
• Following piercing aftercare instructions.

Picking the right jewellery is especially important with a new piercing. You need the right fit and right materials to avoid complications. Consult with your piercing artist to find the right gauge size for your piercing jewellery. For jewellery materials, you want 14-18k gold or implant grade titanium. These options will avoid imperfections and impurities like nickel. Nickel can cause allergic reactions in piercings, causing irritation and slowing healing.

Possible STI Prevention

With the piercing risks managed, you’re ready to reap the benefits of genital piercings. The most commonly noted benefit is enhancing sexual pleasure. Both men and women report having more intense sexual encounters and more sexual confidence with genital piercings. A lesser-known possible benefit is STI prevention. There has long been an assumption that genital piercings cause a higher likelihood of STIs (Sexually Transmitted Infections). However, this is based on assumptions, not on actual research. A recent study found a lower rate of STIs among males with genital piercings. More research needs to be done to determine the consistency and reasons behind this. But, so far, no study has found an association between body piercings and STIs.

Practice Safe Piercing

Genital piercings are safe. But, like any piercing, they need to be handled properly to ensure safety. Where you go to get pierced makes more of a difference than what you get pierced. At the best Downtown Toronto tattoo & piercings shops, safety is the number one priority. Contact one of our piercing artists today for questions or to book a genital piercing.