Penis piercings are pretty popular but arguably the most popular is the Prince Albert. So what is a Prince Albert piercing and why do so many people have them?
Like most piercings, aesthetics is a big reason for getting a piercing. But with intimate piercings, you get to decide on the audience. This can give people a lot of power and ownership over their bodies. Aside from the visual advantage that the PA can give, it is one piercing that can also provide functionality for some people. During masturbation or sexual intercourse, the sensations for both the wearer and partner can be changed by the addition of a ring or curved barbell.
Currently, in 2022, ball closure rings (BCR) or curved barbells are most commonly worn in the PA. However, it’s unclear as to when this piercing first came to be. We know that ancient tribes all across the world have been piercing their genitals for a multitude of cultural and spiritual reasons since before we had the ability to document the procedure, but the origins of the PA are so far unclear. In the early 70s, Doug Malloy published the ‘Body Piercing in Brief’ flyer (illustrated by Jim Ward) for the Gauntlet. The flyer perpetuated the rumour that Prince Albert, Queen Victoria’s consort, was responsible for the naming of the PA piercing due to sporting one himself. Rogue did a whole blog about this myth which you can read HERE.
Wherever the piercing began, it is a classic genital piercing that has stood the test of time. At Rogue, we perform many Prince Albert piercings. So let’s have a look at the process, and what to expect from your piercing process!
The Consultation
We require an in-person consultation to be performed a minimum of 24 hours before any intimate piercing. This is to ensure you have all the information you need going into the procedure: the good, the bad and the exciting. It’s also to ensure that you are making this decision of your own free will, with informed consent. The 24 hour cooling-off period is in place to protect both our clients and our staff. You can read more about that here.
At the consultation, we will discuss your goals for this piercing. PA’s are performed at a minimum of 2.4mm (10g) thickness for stability, but can commonly be pierced at a higher gauge if the anatomy allows for it. We discuss that with you at the appointment. We want you to feel comfortable and open with us at the studio, as we will need to discuss both masturbation and sexual intercourse with you at the consultation so that you are aware of how this piercing will be effected during the healing stage. We want to make sure you feel easy discussing these topics with us in a safe and understanding environment. We will never kink shame! We just want to make sure you have all the information you need to get the most out of your Prince Albert experience.
We will also chat with you about how this piercing is performed and how to take care of it, which will be covered in this blog shortly! After a cup of tea and a piercing-related chat, we will head into the piercing room for an anatomy check. An anatomy check is vital for all intimate piercings, as no two people are ever the same. Some people are more anatomically suited to Prince Albert piercings than others, due to the size and shape of the glans, the size of the urethra, and the placement of the frenum and local surface blood vessels. We are unable to safely perform this anatomy check via photos, which is one of the many reasons why this consultation needs to be in person and not remote.
The people involved in the anatomy check will consist of two members of staff, plus any chaperone you’d like to bring. We will ask that you make the area available to us by removing/lowering the clothing, and we will give the tissue a quick check over to ensure you are suitable for the piercing you would like. If for any reason, the PA is not suitable for you, we will let you know the reason why, and discuss all of the safe alternatives that would work for you.
How to Prepare & What to Bring
- Make sure you have a good night sleep, and a good protein-rich meal beforehand.
- Have a shower the morning of your appointment, so you are clean and comfortable. You may also want to bring wet-wipes to freshen up with beforehand.
- Bring some water and/or a sugary drink with you.
- We recommend that you also bring a non-scented sanitary towel (for use after the piercing).
- Make sure you have not consumed alcohol/recreational drugs/blood thinning medication at least 24hours prior to the piercing appointment.
- Chaperones are always welcome but we politely ask that only one other person (alongside our two members of staff) is in the room at the time of the piercing. This is just to limit the amount of distractions and to maintain a calm, quiet atmosphere.
- Wear loose clothing that you feel comfortable in – Jogging bottoms, loose skirts or dresses etc. are ideal. Super tight, white jeans are not!
The Procedure
At present we have three piercers who perform Prince Albert piercings. The ‘traditional’ PA enters through the urethra and exits just below the glands of the penis, usually to one side of the frenulum. A ‘reverse’ PA, also enters through the urethra but exits through the top of the glands.
As those with the anatomy know, this is an area of the body that can change shape and size due to swelling caused by both natural blood flow (erections) and from the piercing itself, as such, the ring that we initially pierce with needs to be a little larger in diameter to accommodate for that. To be very clear, at no point should your piercer ask you to encourage an erection. In fact, quite the opposite! We need minimal blood flow in the area at the time of piercing. More on that later. We also need to make sure the gauge of the ring is thick enough to be stable in the tissue and not cause any damage. Your ring size will be decided with you at the consultation.
At the piercing appointment, as with the consultation, there will be two members of staff in the room and we do recommend you bring a chaperone as additional moral support if you want to. Firstly, you will be asked to lay on the piercing bed and remove any clothing that is obstructing access to the area such as underwear and trousers/jeans. We will then clean the area using skin prep solutions and provide you with a hand mirror so that you can see where we will be marking your piercing. Once you are happy with the marks, your piercer will change into sterile gloves and prepare to start the piercing. We encourage you to focus on your breathing, slow inhales and exhales to calm any nerves. It is very important to know that nothing will happen until you are ready. Once your piercer is lined up and ready to go, we will let you know to take a nice deep breath in and as you exhale slowly, your piercing will be over. We will calmly talk you through each step so that nothing will ever be a surprise to you. Once the jewellery is inserted and the procedure is over, we will provide you with a mirror to have a look at the piercing and check that you are happy with the outcome.
As we briefly mentioned previously, this is a high blood flow area and there may be some bleeding during and after the piercing. We will make sure any bleeding is cleaned and stemmed before you leave. We will also provide you with a sanitary towel (if you did not bring your own) and some sterile gauze to be used when needed once you get home. You may experience some bleeding (especially in a morning) for 5-7days after the initially piercing. This is nothing to be concerned about and can be cleaned easily with a quick shower. You can also expect to see a little bleeding when you urinate for the first few days. Of course, if you do have any concerns about bleeding at any stage, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us.
Prince Albert Aftercare
The Prince Albert piercing is one of the only piercings that we sometimes recommend making your own cleaning solution for. Although we will provide you with a sterile saline solution, it is recommended that you soak this piercing whilst cleaning to allow the saline solution to reach the inside of the piercing. If you prefer to purchase your saline solution, please look for one with as few additives and preservatives as possible that is 0.9% concentration.
If you do not purchase your cleaning solution, you will need non-iodised sea salt and boiled water.
- Add 3g of salt to 350ml of boiling water. This is roughly 1/4tsp to a 2/3 filled pint glass (with room to submerge!)
- Let the water cool to no hotter than bath temperature!
- Submerge your piercing into the warm water and let it soak for a couple of minutes to soften any build up on the inside and outside of the urethra.
- Pour away the water and gently remove away any remaining build up (crusties) with a clean piece of kitchen paper or non-woven gauze.
- We recommend you urinate after your clean, to flush out any build up on the inside of the piercing.
- Gently pat the area dry with clean kitchen paper.
You want to repeat this process up to 3 times per day for the first few weeks while you are healing. You may want to use the sterile saline spray instead of a soak during the middle of the day for your third optional clean. In this case, gently spray the piercing site and the jewellery with a small amount of the saline spray and leave for 30-60 seconds to soften any build up. Wipe away any buildup, and gently dab dry.
While you are healing, it is very important to refrain from sexual intercourse (including oral sex) and masturbation for 4 weeks. This is to prevent bacteria from entering the piercing site and to minimise irritation or trauma caused by movement of the jewellery.
During the healing process, you need to drink lots, and lots, and lots of water so that your urine is diluted. Frequent, hydrated urination will help remove any build up inside the urethra. It is very important to keep yourself hydrated as this will dilute the acidity in your urine and make the healing process much more comfortable.
When you’re ready to re-introduce sex and masturbation (at least 4 weeks after the initial piercing) please make sure that yours and your partner(s) hands are clean and that you are using condoms for the next 4 weeks. Even if it is with a regular partner(s), you need to ensure that you are not getting bacteria or foreign fluids into the piercing site. This does include oral sex. During sex or masturbation, it is important to listen to your body. If something doesn’t feel comfortable, it might not be the right time. Experimenting with positions and pace can help to alleviate some discomfort but it is more important that you give your body the right amount of time to heal. You have a whole life time to enjoy your new Prince Albert piercing, so don’t delay your healing time or cause damage to the piercing by rushing into sexual activities too soon.
Healing Times
Because this is such a high blood flow area, Prince Albert piercings (and genital piercings in general) tend to heal fairly quickly when compared to other areas of the body.
- 2 weeks – We recommend booking in for a check up on your piercing so we can ensure everything is going well and perform a downsize of your jewellery if required.
- 6-8 weeks – You should be around half-way healed, living your life as normal, be able to change the jewellery out yourself if required.
- 12 weeks – You can expect to be fully healed after roughly 12-14 weeks.
Stretching
Over time, you may find that gravity, lifestyle, and the weight of the jewellery has caused a slight stretch in the piercing channel. This is a natural part of the experience of the Prince Albert piercing.
Some people will want to intentionally increase the gauge (thickness) of their jewellery for a multitude of reasons. We recommend waiting at least 3 – 6 months from the initial piercing before you stretch, to ensure that the channel is stable enough to support thicker jewellery. The team at Rogue can hep you achieve your PA goals by stretching the piercing for you. If you are ever in any doubt, book in for an intimate consultation with a member of our team and we can assess the piercing, and stretch it for you to minimise any issues.