Prince Albert Piercing Beaten to Death

The Prince Albert Piercing is the most common of all male genital piercings. Located just below the glands of the underside of the penis with the jewelry traveling into the urethra and then exiting out of the natural urethral opening. The piercing itself is very quick, not nearly as painful as one would imagine and heals quickly and easily.

The main motivation of the piercing is increasing sexual pleasure for the wear and their partner. Some men find the stimulation of the inside of the urethra and the movement of the jewelry pleasurable. I have had the piercing for well over 20 years and have had partners that enjoyed the added stimulation of the jewelry and others that didn't seem to notice at all. If anything the piercing has generated a number of questions and I've found that most are interested or excited by the idea.

Also with all genital piercings, it is about claiming ownership and customizing your body. 

History:

History and Background:

Prince Albert piercings often called, "PA"s are more than likely a modern invention. One history, that can be created to Doug Molly(Richard Simonton) inventive mind, is that the piercing was first invented and worn by Prince Albert. As the story goes because Victorian fashion involved extremely tight pants, that a "Dressing Ring" was used to avoid bulges by tying the piercing to the thigh. This urban legend also went on to say that Prince Albert wore the piercing to keep the foreskin retracted so that they penis smelled fresher and looked more appealing for Queen Victoria.  This story was adopted and used well into the late 1990s by Gauntlet and others without an ounce of proof beyond Molly's account published in Adventures of a Piercing Freak, in 1975. Molly would influence Gauntlet and Piercing Fans Quarterly International spreading this history.

Another urban legend was that the piercing was used as a form of Chasity by male harem slaves. Once again no documented proof but the basic jest of the story was that slaves were given a Prince Albert piercing and then a large diameter ring ranging in size from 4 to 6 inches was put in the piercing. Thus making it impossible for the slave to copulate with the female slaves. This seems highly unlikely because of the wide use of castration in cultures where harems were common.

In truth like most male genital piercings, it's history can be traced back to the Gay Subculture. The name and Prince Albert story can be traced to Molly. Well into the 2000s the history provided by Body & Genital Piercing in Brief was considered the correct history and background for most piercings. Mosty used to promote Gauntlet and the newly developing piercing industry. However, even in Molly's account, it was a fairly new piercing.

Placement, Marking, and Anatomy:

The piercing is pierced through the thin tissue on the underside of the penis through the "triangle" area. If you look at the underside of a circumcised penis or a penis with the foreskin pulled back, you will notice that there is a triangle with the bottom the glands creating the top two sides and the area where the foreskin is connected or where the foreskin was connected.

The piercing is placed in the center of the triangle or if the frenum is well pronounced or still intact to one side or the other. If the piercing has to be pierced to the side than it is usually placed on the side that the person "dresses" to. In other words, the side that the penis naturally hangs too. 

When marking the piercing, I will examine and feel the area. The key thing I will look for is a tendon-like line that often is dead center of the triangle. This is the Frenum tenon that connected the foreskin. If it is pronounced then it best to avoid piercing through it. I will then ask the client if they dress to one side or the other. If they are unsure, I simply will let the penis drop and it will usually lay to one side to determine the dressing side.I will then mark the piercing on the side they dress too. With those that are not circumcised, I first determine if it is possible(more on that further down) and then mark to the side of the Frenum tendon that they dress to.

Migration and Stretching:

Though the piercing is not prone to tearing or migration it will stretch on it own. The tissue is very thin and soft, so the weight of the jewelry and other factors will cause the piercing to stretch. In fact, it is not uncommon to be able to go from 12g to 6g within a year without using a taper pin or trying to at all to stretch the piercing. It is my experience that larger gauge jewelry not only makes the piercing more comfortable but more stimulating. The drawback is that this can cause the piercing to thin and tear under the weight of the jewelry and stress of normal sexual activities. Also, the piercing will get to a point where it will no longer shrink or close. The key is to find some balance between comfort and safety.

Foreskin and Uncircumcised Males :

There are a number of piercers that will completely refuse to perform a PA on anyone that is not circumcised. The reality is that, though often it is more difficult to do, there is really no reason that someone who is not circumcised will have issues with the piercing. However, like with all piercing is comes down to anatomy. If the foreskin is really tight and there is not going to be room for the ring, the piercing will be very uncomfortable and could cause the piercing to migrate. Also, you must consider that the jewelry may force the foreskin to be held back when the penis is flaccid. Many Uncircumsized men will find this uncomfortable as the sensitive glands are now exposed to contact with clothing.

The biggest factor is the amount of pressure the foreskin applies to the jewelry. With some, the foreskin is loose enough that the ring will fit inside the foreskin comfortably or the foreskin will stretch to make room for the jewelry. In time a curved barbell maybe the best option for long-term wear. 

Urinating and Sexual Activity:

Since you have a piece of jewelry that is in contact with the urine stream, it will affect aim and cause urine to collect on the jewelry and drip. It can often have the effect of putting your thumb over the end of a garden hose and instead of one steady stream, you have two or three. There is also the issue that if the piercing stretches you may leakage from the piercing itself. This can also affect ejaculation if the piercing began to stretch well beyond the thickness of the jewelry. Of course increasing the thickness or gauge of the jewelry can reduce this for a short but there is really no sollution that I have found.

I found early on that the best option was simply to seat to urinate. The bonus was that cleaning the toilet and the area around it isn't nearly as gross as it was when I stood to pee. When sitting is not an option or you are presented with a disgusting toilet, a urinal can easily handle the additional streams and I've found twisting the penis so that the piercing is on top reduces both the split stream issues and reduces the urine collecting on the jewelry. 

With sexual activity, the number one question I'm asked is if the jewelry will need to be removed? The answer is no but if your partner experiences discomfort, you may need to. You are more acceptable to STDs, so you should always practice safe sex when you are with a new partner. Also, you may find loose fitting condoms and large reservoir condoms allow additional room for the jewelry and are more comfortable. Especially during the healing period, you want to avoid ribbed or tight fitting condoms because they will cause pressure on the piercing to the point where it can be painful.

Chasity:

This option hadn't occurred to me until a couple that is involved in BDSM Female Domination relationship asked about the PA being used as a form of chastity. They originally asked about locking a PA ring with a Guiche(a piercing at the base of the scrotum). I quickly advised against the idea because of the damage to the piercing that could be caused when the penis is erect. The fact is that the tissue with both piercings is soft and with the PA thin, with enough pressure, the piercings could tear. The client ended up getting a PA anyway.

About a year later they contacted me asking about chastity devices that used PA piercings. This was a new one on me and I began to research them online and had an interesting ride down the rabbit hole. There are a number of devices on the market but the most common is a tube or tube-shaped cage that sides over the shaft of the penis and then a lockable ring-shaped or bar that then passes through the piercing. 

The two key issues that I expressed to them was that:

1. Long-term stress on the piercing could cause the piercing to migrate, tear or become damaged.
2. Of the devices, I saw the most common materials are plastic, stainless steel, silicone, leather, or a combination of one or two materials. The problem is even though I searched manufacture websites there was no clarification of the exact compound or alloy of the materials. The plastic made no mention of the material being made of dental acrylic or other material that has had long-term testing in the human body. The metal ones used vague terms like "durable surgical steel" or "stainless steel". From what I could tell most of these are manufactured in Asia and there simply could be no third party certification or mile certificates, but nowhere were words like "Implant Grade" or even 316l. The problem is that part of this device will be in your body and in your piercing. The device will have long-term contact with urine and for that reason needs to be durable. If you have any sensitivity to metals, I wouldn't advice wearing any of the metal devices. As for the other materials other, there is a strong risk that as the plastic erodes, the wearer could be exposed to chemicals and other compounds used in the making of the materials. I noticed that just about every one of them had the disclaimer, "For novelty use." Many not for long-term wear, especially inside a piercing.

Jewelry Size and Type:

The size of the jewelry should always be based on the anatomy of the client. Both the shape size and thickness of the area should be considered when choosing jewelry. Also their plans for the future.

There are issues that should be considered before choosing jewelry size and type:

1. The thickness of the jewelry will either increase or decrease damage to the piercing in the future. Also, a thicker gauge may increase the period of time the piercing can be left empty. It is a balancing act between a thickness that will not tear easily but you want the jewelry light enough to not add extra stress to the piercing during healing. Generally, I like to pierce at 12g or 10g. With larger gauges, you are making a larger piercing which means that there is more blood vessels that are going to be cut or nick. That means that the larger the gauge the more bleeding and the longer the bleeding will continue. Since there are more impact and trauma to the area with larger gauges, it means more inflammation and longer recovery time.

2. The width needs to be wide enough to not only pass comfortably through the piercing and out the natural urethra hole without causing pressure on the piercing when the penis is erect. Most commonly this is between 5/8 and 1 inch. 

3. The durability of the material is extremely important because of the corrosive nature of urine. This jewelry will always be in contact with urine. Soft metals such as Gold can become pitted and lose their shiny finish. Silver should never be worn in the area due to the risk of sliver poisoning. Plastic can deteriorate and also become pitted. Your best options are Implant Grade Surgical Stainless Steel with the ASTM certification code of F-138 and Titanium with the ASTM certification code of F-136. With anodized colored, titanium the color will be prone to fading over time.

Jewelry Styles:

With Prince Albert piercing the jewelry should be a circle or curved shaped piece of jewelry with no sharp points or edges. The three most common jewelry styles are Captive Bead Ring, Circular Barbell or Curved Barbell. It is my experience that Rings and Circular Barbells are the best options for healing the piercing because they tend to allow for extra space when the penis is erect and often are lighter. After the piercing is healed switching over to a curved barbell of the correct length when erect with a large ball on the front side can be an enjoyable option. However, it will add a bit of weight to the jewelry and possibly increase the speed at which the piercing stretches.

It is important to consider your partner when choosing jewelry. Remember this is a hard stiff unforgiving piece of metal and it can cause discomfort when it comes in contact with the cervix. During oral sexual activities, larger jewelry can cause choking, chipping teeth and other issues. The jewelry should be smooth without any points or sharp edges.

Prince's Wand is not very common and should be made custom to fit your anatomy. It is a 2-4 inch metal tube that is inserted into the urethra,  then a threaded hole is lined up with the piercing and a short threaded barbell is threaded into the tube. There are a number of different designs on the market with some having a threaded ball/plug at the end that has to be removed to urinate. Understand that you are inserting a metal tube inside your body and there can be a number of issues caused by this including infections, damage to the soft tissue of the urethra and other issues. I would suggest it for long-term wear and I highly suggest that the tube and jewelry is sterilized in an autoclave or hospital grade sterilizer before it is inserted.

For more detailed information on what Jewelry to buy go to my blog Post Healing Jewelry Guide

The Procedure:

• Consultation and paperwork.

• Evaluating the piercee's anatomy to ensure that the piercing can be done safely and to size the jewelry.

• Setup

• Disinfecting the piercing area with a surgical scrub

• Marking the piercing

• Reclining the piercee

• Warn up the Needle Receiving Tube(a hollow tube about 2 inches long and about 1/4 inch or less thick. Also known as an NRT) by rubbing it between my hands.

• Lubricate the tip of the NRT and insert it into the urethra

• Line up the tube with the piercing mark.

• Lining up the needle and distract the piercee(usually involves a breathing exercise).

• Injecting the piercing needle through the piercing area.

• Insert and closing the jewelry

• Stopping any bleeding and cleaning up the piercing area. With male genitals, I usually wrap the area in a clean piece of gauze, cover it with a glove and then tie it off with a rubber band. 

Hassles and Aftercare:

Though they heal rather quickly healing in two to three months, during the first couple of weeks they are prone to discoloration, redness, tenderness to the touch, bleeding, redness and swelling.

Basic aftercare will involve hot soaks or hot compresses with warm water and sea salt twice a day and cleaning the piercing in the shower twice daily. Also, you will need to take steps to reduce the likelihood of cross-contamination. For more details go to Basic Aftercare Instructions. 

Somethings to consider before getting the piercing and additional precautions:

• The piercing like all genital piercings can bleed off and on for up to 5 days. So you may want to consider wearing a pad or sanitary napkin for the first week. This will not only avoid blood stains but will reduce the moisture in the area and add cushioning during the tender phase.
• After cleaning with anti-bacterial soap, you should urinate to reduce the risks of a bacterial imbalance.

• With some men, urinating can be uncomfortable. This can be reduced by taking a large cup and filling it part way up with water and then inserting the tip of the penis into the water. Urinating into the water seems to reduce the pressure and discomfort.

• Sexual contact should be limited and genital at first while taking precautions against cross contamination. If it is painful to do something stop doing it. Also, make sure that you are using water-based lubricants and avoiding lubes or condoms that are scented, are flavors, a "warming effect", is "Longer Lasting" or have spermicide.

Pain:

The piercing can be intense but unlike other piercing, it is a quick pain and then nothing. Then there will be tenderness to the touch for about 2 weeks.

Risks & Concerns:

You are also more acceptable to Sexually Transmitted Diseases even after the piercing is healed. Whenever with a new partner, please practice safe sex until you both have been tested.

Conclusion:

There is a reason that the PA is the most common of all Male Genital Piercings, they are easy to heal, heal quickly and can increase sexual enjoyment. The change in how one urinates can be huge lifestyle change and hassle that is not going away and should be considered before getting the piercing.