About the size and stretching of a Prince Albert curved barbell

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Tuesday January 13th, 2009 @ 10:51 PM

Filed under: Male Genital

Dear BMEzine,

I am eager to get myself a Prince Albert pierced and would like to use a curved barbell as piercing. In your FAQ I read:

“Initially the piercing is done with a ball closure ring which is 2mm thick with an internal diameter of approximately 13-18mm. After 2 months it’s best to increase the ring to one of 2.4mm thickness, this is far more comfortable during sex. Other forms of jewelery i.e. circular barbells, banana barbells, and prince wands may be worn.”

http://www.bmezine.com/pierce/articles/ptafter/pa.html

What I would like to know:

1) Does the thickness that is stated here also apply for curved barbells? If not, what would be the ideal curved barbell starter and final size?

2) Is it easy to switch between sorts of piercings without having to go through a whole procedure of stretching and caring or is it recommended to stick with one type of piercing?

3) How does the stretching of Prince Alberts in general and especially curved barbells work? I can imagine this might be a painful procedure.

I am asking all these question here because I feel safer to ask here than to a “random” piercer.

Thanks in advance,

- Al

The information contained in the F.A.Q., while accurate, could be a little misleading/outdated.

While captive bead rings are very common for PA piercings, there is no reason to not use a curved barbell or a circular barbell as well. In face, many men find a curved barbell to more comfortable during the healing as there is less jewelry to get knocked/moved about.

As for the sizing, 2mm, as mentioned in the F.A.Q. is only about a 12ga. In my opinion, a “good” piercer won’t be willing to do a PA on you any less than 10ga (2.4mm) and would likely encourage you to go with 8ga or perhaps even 6ga. The diameter, or length in the case of a curved barbell, would be determined by the piercer based upon what is going to fit your body the best.

When using a curved barbell, the length often has to be slightly longer than when using a captive bead ring or circular barbell. Curved barbells don’t tend to “drop” into the bottom of the urethra as much as CBR’s or CIBB’s and therefore require a bit of extra length. For example, if a 5/8″ diameter CBR would fit well, most likely you would need something closer to 3/4″ in a curved barbell.

As long as the jewelry is sized appropriately, you shouldn’t have any problems switching between different styles of jewelry.

Stretching a PA piercing is often very easy for man men. The tissue tends to be fairly loose in that part of the body so it often stretches easier. As you go up in size, you may find the stretches to be a bit tougher. However, the increased weight of the larger jewelry can also lead to easier stretches for some people.

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