WHAT IS A PRINCE ALBERT PIERCING & HOW DOES IT WORK?
More people than ever had genital piercings, with PA piercings being the most prevalent among men. A Prince Albert piercing: what is it? How does it operate? In this blog post, we cover all you need to know.
In recent years, genital piercings have gained popularity among both men and women. The most sought-after male genital piercing is a Prince Albert piercing, also called a PA piercing. Is this the right male genital piercing for you? Men of all ages love this piercing for both sexual and aesthetic reasons.
Choose the kind of PA piercing and Prince Albert jewelry that will be most suitable for you and your partner after learning how PA piercings are put, whether you're thinking about getting one or you want to know more about how these piercings operate.
PRINCE ALBERT PIERCING PLACEMENTS
Traditionally, a Prince Albert piercing is inserted through the penile shaft's underside and toward the penis' head. Prince Albert piercing jewelry is inserted via the head of the penile shaft after a piercing needle is inserted up into the urethra. Because the traditional PA piercing position places the bottom ball in direct touch with a woman's G-spot during sexual activity, it is more likely to stimulate a female partner during "doggy style" intercourse.
If you'd like, you can get a reverse Prince Albert piercing in place of a standard one. The opposite end of the jewelry still protrudes from the urethral orifice in the penis head when a reverse PA is used, but the top of the penile shaft is punctured rather than the bottom. When it comes to sexual positions where the top ball of a reverse PA piercing rubs against your partner's G-spot, such as the missionary position, this location may be more enjoyable for female partners.
PRINCE ALBERT JEWELRY
Since their curved geometries match the entry and exit points of both traditional and reverse PA piercings, circular barbells, bent barbells, and captive bead rings are the chosen styles of beginning jewelry. Although men can wear Prince Albert wands in their PA piercings as well, since PA wands are more invasive than captive rings, bent barbells, and circular barbells, this more sophisticated type of genital piercing jewelry is typically better suited to wear in healed PA piercings. Like bent barbells and rings, PA wands are not the best Prince Albert piercing jewelry for daily wear because they can cause discomfort on the skin when you're active, especially if you're flaccid. However, wearing Prince Albert wands for bedroom play can be entertaining.
A hollow tube inserted into the urethra makes up a Prince Albert wand. It could feature a "leg" that is positioned perpendicularly toward the front end of the wand and passes through the piercing opening on the penile shaft's underside (as with the blue Prince Albert wand above and the stainless steel PA wand with a doorknocker ring shown below). For people who have two holes in a row on the underside of their penile shafts, there are also PA wands with two posts sticking out of the bottom. Moreover, the penile shaft of certain Prince Albert wands is encircled by one or more rings. See the wide variety of styles that are available by visiting our Prince Albert Wands page.
Be aware that occasionally you must sound before you can comfortably place a PA wand inside your penile shaft. In addition to being useful for urethral play, sounding wands are efficient dilators that can extend the urethra to make room for a wand shaft more pleasantly.
THE PA PIERCING PROCESS
Choose a piercer you trust and feel most comfortable disclosing your genitalia to, as PA piercings are done in a private, sensitive location. Despite what many people think, you don't have to keep an erection going when getting this piercing. Try to unwind as much as you can, then allow your piercer to work its magic. Ask your piercer to administer a topical anesthetic at least 15 to 20 minutes before piercing you if you're worried about discomfort. After using an antiseptic skin cleaner to clean the region to be pierced, s/he will mark the desired location, ensure that you are satisfied with the design, and start the piercing procedure.
When the urethra is punctured by the piercing needle during the Prince Albert piercing procedure, it hurts the most. This is not a piercing for the weak of heart, as you might feel an excruciatingly painful moment as the needle pokes into your urethra. But it will pass shortly. You might have a brief period of severe, intense pain once your Prince Albert jewelry is inserted, but other than that, you should only feel dull, throbbing ache. A topical anesthetic can help to make the urethra puncture less painful. If you are able to handle it, take a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory as IBProfen to relieve any post-piercing soreness and inflammation. However, aspirin should not be used as a pain reliever, especially in the first week or so, as it can thin the blood and result in severe bleeding.
Your piercer will probably advise you to start with either a circular or curved barbell for your jewelry. Wearing jewelry can make it easier for you to urinate, but it can also make things messy if it protrudes from your urethra. These types of jewelry will help you avoid that problem. (Until they grow used to controlling the spray created by Prince Albert jewelry, some men must urinate while seated.) It's also more comfortable to wear bent or round barbells in a Prince Albert piercing on a regular basis for both sex and everyday activities.
Your beginning jewelry should be worn for the first six weeks, if not the first six months. As starter jewelry is always longer than necessary to allow for any swelling, you might be tempted to switch to jewelry that fits closer to the skin as soon as your piercing looks healed. However, it may take several months before the fistula (piercing hole) thickens and becomes sufficiently fortified to tolerate a change in jewelry. Have your piercer replace the jewelry in your Prince Albert piercing if it has to be changed sooner because it is too tight or made of a material that irritates your skin. Dating to your skin, have your piercer change your Prince Albert piercing jewelry for you.
PRINCE ALBERT PIERCING AFTERCARE
Maintaining appropriate piercing aftercare is crucial after receiving a Prince Albert piercing. It is not advisable to clean your PA piercing with soap very often as this may cause drying out and slow healing. Flush your new Prince Albert piercing with saline wash products like H2Ocean and Recovery Piercing Aftercare Spray for the best results. Doing two complete soaks in a sea salt solution daily and misting your piercing three to six times a day with piercing aftercare spray in between soaks is recommended. There are two ways that you can perform full soaks:
- Soak With Piercing Aftercare Spray – Put some store-bought piercing aftercare spray or saline wash in a small glass, then immerse your penis in it for five minutes. Perform this exercise first thing in the morning and once more at night or whenever your schedule allows for the most convenient two times daily. Alternatively, you can apply cotton balls soaked in piercing aftercare spray to each of your piercings individually until your piercing is completely saturated with a calming sea salt solution, which should take at least five minutes.
- Soak With Homemade Sea Salt Solution – To produce your sea salt solution, you'll need 1/4 teaspoon sea salt (pet shop aquarium salt works best), a cup of sterile water (boiling tap water for five minutes works just as well as store-bought sterile water), and tea tree oil (if preferred). Tea tree oil is a beautiful addition to a DIY sea salt solution because it is a natural antibacterial and moisturizer. It will soften the dry, damaged skin surrounding your piercing and reduce the likelihood of an infection.
To make the solution, dissolve the salt in the sterile water by stirring it in, and then combine in two to three drops of tea tree oil. (Tea tree oil needs a carrier, such as sea salt solution, and shouldn't be administered directly to a piercing.) After preparing the solution, you can apply it using one of the two methods described in #1: either immersing your penis in the solution or applying it with several freshly cleaned cotton balls. Still, soaking is always the best choice.
OTHER ASPECTS OF PA PIERCING AFTERCARE
During the first four to six weeks following piercing, cleaning your new Prince Albert piercing should be your primary priority. However, there are other things you can do to promote proper healing as well. Getting enough sleep is also critical because this is when our bodies repair the most. Eating healthily is also essential for supporting your immune system and minimizing the amount of alcohol and nicotine you consume throughout the healing phase, as these substances can impede the healing process. Because nicotine has a systemic effect that can be paralyzing to the body's ability to heal, it is especially detrimental.
Avoiding sexual contact for as long as possible is another way to take care of your body while your Prince Albert piercing heals, especially during the first crucial 4-6 weeks of the healing process. Premature sexual activity or self-stimulation can jiggle your jewelry and lead to little rips or larger ones, and rips in the skin serve as a haven for bacteria. Since other people's saliva contains alien bacteria that could cause an illness to develop, even oral sex is not recommended.
Wear a condom to reduce jewelry movement and prevent contact with your partner's bodily fluids when the time comes to test-drive your healed PA piercing in the bedroom. Additionally, go slowly. A Prince Albert piercing requires adjustment for the man who has it and his significant other. Partners' responses to PA piercings are typically quite strong; they either adore or detest the way sex feels when there's a PA piercing involved. Make sure your partner is comfortable getting this piercing by conversing with them before deciding. Additionally, consider the sexual positions that you both enjoy and determine if your spouse would be more comfortable with a regular or reverse PA piercing in certain situations.
It is crucial to clean your PA piercing with saline wash right away after having sex, even if you are wearing protection. In addition to being relaxing to your piercing, the sea salt solution will remove any leftover dirt or bodily fluids.
STRETCHING A PA PIERCING
Many men prefer to begin with 8g–10g of Prince Albert jewelry and work their way up to larger sizes until they discover the ideal fit that maximizes sex arousal for both of them. Even while most PA piercings heal in six weeks, it's best to wait until it's completely healed before attempting to expand your piercing. This includes at least three months. Before considering a size increase, you must wait at least 1.5 times as long as it took for your PA piercing to heal the first time around. This implies that you shouldn't try any further stretches for 6–9 weeks. Doing this gives the body time to mend any small tears brought on by the final stretch, and the fistula can strengthen.
To facilitate the stretching of a Prince Albert piercing, you may do a few things. First of all, avoid going up more than one size at once. Using the tape approach to raise your jewelry's size gradually will make stretching go more smoothly. Buy a roll of stretching tape and wrap it around your jewelry once every two weeks or so until you can wear jewelry that is one full size larger than what you have been wearing without discomfort. Alternatively, using a piercing taper, you can go up one full size at a time. Get a threaded taper that is the same size as the piercing you want to stretch, screw your new jewelry onto one end, lubricate the end of the taper with a single drop of water, and slowly slide the taper through the piercing until the new jewelry is entirely through. After that, remove the taper from the jewelry and replace it with the other end or opposing ball. If the thread patterns are compatible, you can occasionally even screw your new jewelry right onto your old jewelry and use it to force the old jewelry out. This can make jewelry changes even more straightforward than with a taper, especially for PA piercings, where the jewelry must first be placed into the top or bottom piercing hole and then turned almost 90 degrees.
Regular application of emu oil in the weeks preceding a stretch is also beneficial. Emu oil improves the skin's inherent suppleness, making it more straightforward to put on jewelry that is a full size larger than you have been wearing. For best results, use a tiny bit of emu oil on the area around your piercing a few times a day for a week or two before a stretch.
LEARN MORE ABOUT PRINCE ALBERT PIERCINGS
We provide more resources about Prince Albert's piercings, from photographs of Prince Albert to in-depth essays about PA piercings to jewelry and more. If you want to purchase new PA jewelry or need additional information about Prince Albert piercings, the following resources may be of most use to you:
Images of Prince Albert, Pictures of reverse PA piercings, and Prince Albert piercings that our online community members have uploaded are all over our gallery. You must be 18 or older and logged into your Painful Pleasures account to see this mature content. For information on creating an account, uploading pictures of your Prince Albert piercing, and other tasks, visit our How to Use the Gallery page.
The history of Prince Albert piercings, their evolution over time, and the sexual efficacy of PA piercings are all covered in the article Prince Albert Piercing History - Our History of Body Piercings.
The Fundamentals of Genital Piercings for Men and Women The ever-popular Prince Albert piercing is only one of the many varieties of male and female genital piercings thoroughly explained in this article. For more information regarding Prince Albert piercings in particular, jump straight to the Q&A "What are the most popular types of male genital piercings and why?" In addition, this article addresses common queries regarding male genital piercing aftercare, including how long it takes to heal, when to start having sex again, and where to locate more genital piercing information in our vast collection of tattoo, piercing, body jewelry, and shop safety articles.
Body Mod Forum: A wealth of helpful information about a range of body mods, including PA piercings, can be found in our forum. In addition to finding more helpful Prince Albert piercing information there, you can read about the experiences other members of our online community have shared and ask questions of other forum users and our professional moderators. Please be aware that you must log in to your Painful Pleasures account to post in the forum and communicate with other community members via our message center. See our How to Use the Forum post for valuable hints and suggestions.
