How to safely stretch your ears?

Answer 1

1. do not stretch with any type of acrylic material, metal is reccomended. because the plastic makes your gauges smell extremly bad and aren't as sterile which can lead to infections.

2. start with the smallest size. i started with an 18, but i hear that there are 24's out there. im not sure though. if your going from a normal ear hole, then an 18 or 12 should be fine.

3. skipping IS bad. i skipped many sizes, luckily i had no blow outs from this. BUT i did have a blow out in the bigger sizes because i shoved the taper in too fast and it ended up swelling, hurting, and looking abnormal. the best thing to do when you have a blow out is to downsize 1 or 2 sizes. to let your lobe's swelling go down and become normal again.

4. if you have a blowout. soak it twice a day (morning and night) in salt water. the swelling and pain will go down, and once you can't feel the pain anymore, you can stop soaking it.

5. if your plugs smell. it is normal for plugs to smell, but just clean them maybe once or twice every 2 weeks. to avoid the bad smell. you can wipe them off with wet naps (whatever you call them) and clean the hole. then you can put them back in.

good luck :]

(i have plugs so i know these things)

reptarqueen89edit--

I have stretched lobes as well, and I never had a problem with acrylic plugs. They had a smell, but you can solve that with just taking them out when you are in the shower and washing them ( I recommend Dove body wash or shampoo, it doesn't leave soap scum on your body), but only when they are healed.

AND NEVER SKIP SIZES. I've never done it, but I've seen blowouts and they are nasty. I think skipping kinda takes the fun out of it. Once you get to the size you want and you don't want to go bigger, you'll miss the time you had stretching. When I stretched, I used tapers or pinchers every time, just because it was my preference. You can get combo packs at hot topic with tapers or pinchers with matching plugs. They are mostly acrylic, I liked them but if you get an allergic reaction change to metal, or glass plugs. Also I used baby oil, or vitamin E gel to help with the stretch. It can get kinda frustrating when you are trying to get a taper in, and your hands are sweaty and slipping, so baby oil or vitamin e makes this process easy. I recommend vitamin E because its helps restore cell regrowth and it's a vitamin, so whats not to love about it :D. This isn't recommended, but I found things that were around the house that were round and about the same size and I used them to play with my ears, like a skinny crayola marker, or an eyeliner just to play with the hole. I also massage my lobes with lotion to get blood flowing, and plus it feels good.

I'm at 3/4 of an inch and I've never had a problem and they are big and pretty :D good luck!

Answer 2

Well let's look at this is some detail. If you want to do a proper stretch ( this is a stretch that will allow you to minimize the tearing and allow you to back down without any real long term damage ) you should talk to your professional body piercer and get onto a stretching program.

Some shops offer this to clients (mine does) and it allows you to get jewellery at a reduced rate and they give you help doing each stretch so you don't damage the tissue. There are stretching kits you can purchase but more often than not these lead to torn tissue and screwed up piercings.

The largest size you can work up to without permanent damage is "0" gauge and sometimes "00" gauge. You want to start at what ever gage you are at now and work your way up one gauge at a time once every 30 days, no faster regardless of how fast you think your tissue can stretch.

Cleaning the piercings must be done daily to ensure a clean safe stretch, this also helps soften the tissue and allow the stretch to occur naturally. Be sure to use good quality jewellery, junk jewellery (there is lots of it out there) will cause sensitivity issues and sometimes can cause small cuts due to poor surface finishing.

How big you want to go is ultimately up to you but once you are over "00" gauge it's a no turning back issue. Over that gauge you will need surgical intervention to repair the lobes, so think about it carefully before you commit. There is the option of piercing with a larger gauge but again once that is done the piercing will not shrink any smaller that the gauge you were pierced with.

Answer 3

Go out and buy the actual tapers for your ears. I don't recommend doing it any other way, because you increase your chances of ripping, and ultimately infecting your holes, which in turn gets really nasty and after they're ripped, you pretty much can't go any bigger, unless you're willing to risk ripping your ears again. Trust me, its worth the little bit of money to get the real deal. :D

Answer 4

Try to stick with gauging products. You can find these at Hot Topic or other similar stores, or pretty much anywhere you can buy jewelry for abstract piercings (piercings other than your standard ear piercing). I might also recommend calling your local tattoo parlor. They may have gauging materials or know where to look locally. Just remember, take it slow, and enjoy your bigger ear holes. :)

Answer 5

See a professional body piercer working in a licensed and inspected facility.

Answer 6

yes. because it is connected to your skin