Please note that although we have done our best to find information from unbiased and trans-positive sources, sometimes things can slip through. If you notice a source that is transphobic or some information that is incorrect, please let us know so we can correct and update our information. 

We will also update this page as more information and studies are done about the impacts of hormone replacement therapy on transgender people, but until such time a decent portion of the information about how HRT impacts healing, bodies, and piercings are based on cisgender individuals and the studies they were involved in. 

What is HRT? 

Hormone replacement therapy, commonly abbreviated to HRT or GAHT (gender-affirming hormone therapy),  "is the use of hormonal and non-hormonal medicines to achieve physical changes consistent with the patient's felt gender identity (binary or non-binary) as part of a gender-affirmative approach (Lopez, 2023)." For the purpose of this resource we are not including information regarding puberty blockers, as we are focusing on 18+ individuals seeking genital piercings. HRT can be used by people of all genders, including those who are transgender, non-binary, and gender diverse. 

The most common types of HRT are estrogen-based therapies and testosterone-based therapies. Estrogen-based therapies typically include estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone blockers, or any combination thereof (Trans Care BC, 2025).

Testosterone-based therapies are centred around testosterone and may include estrogen-blockers (Trans Care BC, 2025).  

Impacts of Estrogen-Based HRT on Piercings

 

Impacts of Testosterone-Based HRT on Piercings

One of the most significant impacts that testosterone plays on genital piercings, is that the use of testosterone typically includes the "enlarging of erectile tissue (clitoris) & genital tissue (labia) (TransCare BC, 2025)." This increase in tissue would allow someone to get certain vulva piercings that may not be possible in a person with different anatomy. For example, a triangle piercing requires a large amount of tissue around the clitoris for the piercing to be able to be performed. 

 

Reference List

Lopez, G. 2023,  https://sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2530018022001652

TransCare BC. 2025, https://www.transcarebc.ca/hormone-therapy/estrogen-based-hormones

TransCare BC. 2025, https://www.transcarebc.ca/hormone-therapy/testosterone-based-hormones