What A Prince Albert Piercing Could Do For Your Sex Life

You may already know how a clit piercing can spice up your love life, but what about the male equivalent? The Prince Albert piercing might sound exotic and even painful, but plenty of men enjoy having one, and their partners often do too! Here's a closer look at this distinctive body modification.

What Is A Prince Albert Piercing?

We've already covered clitoral piercings on the Love Curi. This time, we're tackling a popular male genital piercing: the Prince Albert. In practice, fewer than 2% of men actually have one [1].

The name traces back to Prince Albert, Queen Victoria's royal consort. As legend has it, he had his penis pierced so he could reposition it while wearing snug trousers (another theory suggests it was meant to straighten his penis [2]). Skinny jeans may have made a comeback, but nobody's using a Prince Albert to adjust things nowadays, or at least we hope not!

Related: Everything You Wanted to Know About a Clit Piercing

So what does a Prince Albert actually look like? It runs through the head of the penis. In the traditional version, it enters at the underside of the glans and exits through the urethra. Uncircumcised men can get this piercing too, with the jewelry's end sitting beneath the foreskin.

Learn how sex differs if he's uncircumcised.

The piercer inserts the needle first, then threads the jewelry through the new opening. They may apply numbing cream beforehand, or a guy might take ibuprofen to brace for the pain (never aspirin, which increases bleeding). An erection isn't required for this piercing.

Most men wear a captive bead ring, essentially a hoop, through their Prince Albert. A curved barbell is another common option.

There's also a variant called the reverse Prince Albert, which runs through the urethra and exits through the top of the penis head instead.

These piercings can boost pleasure for both the wearer and his partner, and some people simply love the aesthetic.

The Trouble With Genital Piercings

Every piercing demands proper aftercare. Have a professional perform it with a needle in a sanitary setting. Proper fit matters a great deal here, especially with a Prince Albert. Ill-fitting jewelry can shift and snag on underwear or jeans. While various jewelry types work in a penis piercing, piercers typically start with a curved or circular barbell, which stays in during healing since it's less intrusive than a Prince Albert wand.

Like any genital piercing, a Prince Albert runs through extremely sensitive skin in an area that often stays moist from sweat. Diligent hygiene during healing matters even more here than with many other piercings. Skip proper cleaning, and infection becomes a real risk, one nobody wants to deal with.

A sea salt soak or piercing aftercare spray helps keep things clean. Guys should soak twice daily and skip regular hand soap, which can dry out and irritate the piercing. Regular cleaning stays important even after healing to keep the PA from becoming smelly or infected.

Even without infection, a Prince Albert piercing demands some pain tolerance and willpower. As expected, the initial piercing hurts, and a dull ache may linger after the sharper pain fades.

Urinating becomes trickier, too. Guys have to adjust to a different stream, and some opt to sit while peeing during healing, when tissue around the piercing thickens. Some men continue sitting long after healing, and researchers actually recommend this [3].

Healing a penis piercing takes at least six weeks, sometimes several months. It can look healed well before it actually is, which is why waiting as long as possible before swapping starter jewelry is smart. Aim for six months as a rough benchmark. If jewelry needs changing sooner, guys should consult their piercer.

Jewelry Options

We've touched on a few jewelry choices already, but here's the full rundown for a Prince Albert.

• A circular barbell is a nearly-closed loop of a barbell.
• A captive bead ring closes around a bead sitting at its center.
• A curved barbell carries a slight curve, with usually just the ball ends visible in a PA.
• A Prince Albert wand was designed specifically for this piercing. It's a rod that sits inside the urethra with a "pin" and ball emerging from the PA hole, sometimes finished with decorative loops on the barbell ends. Wands aren't recommended for everyday wear since they can irritate, and sizing needs to match the piercing precisely.

Wait, What About Sex?

Sex mixes the bacteria of two different bodies and involves plenty of penile movement, neither of which is ideal for a healing Prince Albert. Guys with a fresh piercing should hold off on sex for 4-6 weeks, roughly the same window needed before switching jewelry. The longer he can wait, the better.

The same goes for masturbation. Sorry, guys. Jostling that jewelry around during healing isn't a good idea!

Even once healed, a condom can help prevent jewelry movement during sex and guard against bacteria that could cause infection. Either way, cleaning the piercing after sex or masturbation is a must.

Learn how to use a condom.

This waiting period is enough to deter plenty of guys who might otherwise love the look and handle the pain just fine. Some people simply can't go that long without sex!

Stretching? Seriously?

Stretching, or gauging, a piercing is a fairly common practice. Gauged earlobes are the classic example — the hole starts small and gradually expands to fit larger jewelry. The same idea applies to stretching a PA.

Gauging a Prince Albert can let a guy choose jewelry that delivers more sensation for himself and his partner. He might also simply enjoy the sense of control that comes with modifying his own body.

Healing needs to finish before stretching begins. Many guys start around 8 or 10 gauge, moving up one size at a time. After inserting new jewelry, wait roughly 1.5 times as long as the previous healing period before stretching again. So if the PA took three months to heal initially, wait about 4.5 months before the next size up.

One stretching method uses gauging tape, wrapped around the jewelry's shaft to gradually build up size until the next piece fits. Emu oil is also recommended to ease the stretching process.

What Does A Prince Albert Piercing Do For You?

If your partner has this male genital piercing, it could enhance sex for you, too. Some claim this piercing delivers more enjoyable orgasms for female partners. The theory is that the jewelry stimulates the G-spot during sex, much like a curved or hooked G-spot dildo would.

Curious about achieving a G-spot orgasm yourself? Read this! You can also learn how to use a dildo for maximum pleasure.

In reality, not every woman loves it when her partner has a Prince Albert. Some barely notice it, while others feel it but don't find it adds much, let alone extra orgasms. Position matters for many people, with doggy style being a favorite among women who do enjoy a partner's PA.

Discover 5 variations of doggy style.

If G-spot stimulation isn't especially pleasurable for you, you're unlikely to get much benefit from a partner's pierced penis. And if clitoral stimulation is what gets you to orgasm — which applies to plenty of women — a penis piercing probably won't be the thing that curls your toes.

Some women even find it uncomfortable. At least one study links genital piercings to bleeding after sex [4], while another documented a case of incontinence tied to a partner's genital piercing [5]. Find out other causes for bleeding during sex.

A Prince Albert piercing can genuinely enhance sex and plenty of people love how it looks, but it comes with real risks and complications, too. You might enjoy how a PA feels, but if your partner won't commit to proper aftercare, it's simply not worth pursuing.

October 31, 2020