Clitoral hood piercing
| Clitoral hood piercing | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | Clitoral hood |
| Jewelry | captive bead ring, Barbell, J-bar |
A clitoral hood piercing is a female genital piercing through the clitoral hood surrounding the clitoris. There are two main types of hood piercing, the vertical clitoral hood piercing and the horizontal clitoral hood piercing. As the name indicates, the difference is in the direction the piercing is oriented in the skin above the clitoris. Neither of these piercings penetrates the clitoris itself.
Like most genital piercings, these piercings have relatively short healing times, due to the amount of blood flow to the area. During the healing period however, the piercing is a wound and can increase the risk of sexually transmitted diseases.
Vertical hood piercing
Often referred to as a VCH. In a vertical hood piercing, the clitoral hood is usually pierced in a manner that causes the jewelry to rest directly on the clitoris, which often enhances sensation.
Not all people, however, have the proper anatomical placement to do a successfully healed piercing. Those interested in the procedure are commonly advised by their piercers of any location and placement issues.
Jewelry
A wide variety of body piercing jewelry can be worn in clitoral hood piercings. Barbells, J-bars and other bar-style jewelry are common in vertical hood piercings, and both captive bead rings and barbells are common in horizontal hood piercings. It is not uncommon for the beads of a barbell to be decorative, as is common in navel piercings.
History
The origin of this piercing pre-dates the popularity of contemporary body piercing.
It is commonly believed that these piercings, and all genital piercings, provide added sexual stimulation to the genitals. The amount of stimulation depends on many factors, including placement, jewelry and the individual. There are urban legends about hood piercings (which are often confused with clitoris piercings) either causing uncontrolled sexual stimulation or even orgasm, or where the constant stimulation leads to the desensitization of the clitoris and the difficulty or inability of the bearer to reach orgasm. Due to a lack of empirical study, there are no well-documented cases of either of these things occurring.