Stretching/gauging ear piercings

17

Sort By

Feb 6, 2013

Tyler V.

I'm at 0's and I believe it was the best decision of my life I love them:) there not to big not to small and I could also go back if I really want to. :)

Feb 6, 2013

Catherine W.

Without taking away from what Megan said, don't tape to stretch. Taping involves using PTFD or Teflon tape, which you can use to gradually increase the size of your jewellery. Only tape if your HEALED stretched lobes are supple enough. The tape is just as porous as plastic and organic materials so it can irritate the piercing and cause infection.

Feb 6, 2013

Catherine W.

The act of stretching is called stretching. The "gauge" is the size and measurement of the jewellery and fistula (the hole you're stretching).
I've stretched my lobes and because I'm probe to infections with my super sensitive ears I HAD to do it by the book. Even if you're not prone to problems, you're silly to do it any other way.
My rules, tips and advice:
1) Oil your lobes. I used emu oil, but if you're vegan use jojoba oil. Massage your lobes at least once a day with a small amount and this keeps them supple and makes them less likely to dry out and split.
2) use tapers and plugs to stretch. You can buy stretching kits for next to nothing at www.bodyartforms.com, I never went anywhere else for my supplies and jewellery.
3) only stretch one size at a time. If it hurts or you feel some resistance, don't force it. Up the oil massages and try a few days later after a hot bath or shower when the skin is soft.
4) only use stainless steel or titanium to stretch. They are non-porous which means they can't absorb bacteria and they will slide through more easily.
5) TAPERS ARE NOT JEWELLERY. Yes, some people seem to think they are, but they are for stretching. Stay away from any taper made of wood, plastic, shell, horn or any other non-metallic material.
6) keep plastic or organic jewellery well out of a freshly stretched piercing. They are porous so you run the risk of causing inflammation and infection. ONLY wear glass, stainless steel or titanium in a fresh stretch.
7) regardless of what anyone else says, never use alcohol based products to clean the piercing site, with or without jewellery. It will dry it out no end. Use sea salt soaks, you can find the water to salt ratio on a google search.
8) if at any time your stretched piercings feel irritated or start becoming inflamed, don't be afraid to go down a size. Change to clean stainless steel jewellery and baby your lobes with sea salt soaks and oil massages. You can always stretch up again later.
Hope this helps! Trust me, www.bodyartforms.comis amazing. Lots of jewellery and products and heaps of information!

Feb 6, 2013

Whitney D.

This is what I did to stretch mine (up to a point): I had these earrings (in the pic) and at first would unconsciously play with them, slowly pushing them farther & farther until I got to the thickest part. It is EXTREMELY addicting! I said I'd stop at like a 4, but am at 00's now... Oh well!

Feb 6, 2013

Whitney D.

This is what I did to stretch mine (up to a point): I had these earrings (in the pic) and at first would unconsciously play with them, slowly pushing them farther & farther until I got to the thickest part. It is EXTREMELY addicting! I said I'd stop at like a 4, but am at 00's now... Oh well!

Dec 31, 2012

Sarah R.

natural material helps with the lymph that creates that smell. I dunno about your gauging sizes cos here in the UK we pretty much go by mm. I'm at 20mm at the Moment and I never planned going past 5mm originally! so bear in mind that it can get addictive! I just used tapers and o rings and regularly massaged them with bio oil to keep them supple. don't rush it or force it. no bleeding. if you start to bleed go back a gauge and wait til you heal to avoid blow outs. be prepared for blow outs even if you go slow and everything seems ok cos I've seen them happen randomly when people have been settled at a size for ages and I don't mean just getting an unsightly bulge, I mean full on split lobe. oh and last thing, be prepared for people to be fucking rude., like the poster Grace above me. grace... bit of a misnomer...

Dec 30, 2012

Elysia S.

They don't smell if you keep them clean. 

Dec 30, 2012

Sarah B.

They smell! Yuck!

Dec 30, 2012

Sierra C.

A lot of spelling errors( thanks a lot auto correct...not), sorry my bad!(:

Dec 30, 2012

Sierra C.

I used I have me ears gauged( I went through an emo phase a few years back, ha) I really like the look of it. I'm honestly thinking about doing it again, the only reason I took em out was because my mom said I could either have gauged ears it a piercing... But not both. Buy anyways, I basically just got advice from the people at hot topic(my mom was the manager, so everyone was obligated to be nice to me:p) oh and my mom did it with me too. I started off with the smallest number and just worked my way up. I rushed it a lot though, at some points I pushed my ears to the brink, probably not the best idea btw. I agree with Leslie, just take your time and do research on the Internet/ talk to people who have them. 

Dec 30, 2012

Alexis W.

Mine is currently at a 00 but I had mine up to an inch about 4 years ago and then I took them out for about 2 years but they never fully healed since I went big so I ended up putting them in at the size they had healed to which was about a 2 so I started going a little bigger because 2 seemed to small and I've been at a 00 for about a year now. My best advice is that if you go past a 0 then you for sure want gauges forever because someone told me once you go past there they never will fully grow back to normal.and that's exactly what happened to me. Also when your stretching them listen to everyone telling you to wait til it's fully healed to go up. Don't force it. I used to wait about a month or two just to be safe. Good luck :) 

Dec 30, 2012

Elysia S.

I was at 7/16 but just recently downsized to 0. Jojoba oil is great. you can clean your ears with it massage. Vitamin E oils is good too:) I will probably only go to 1/2 though. I haven't used tapers or even tape since I first got to 0. :)

Dec 30, 2012

Grace P.

ew

Dec 30, 2012

Grace P.

ew

I'm at a 0 now, and I swore I wasn't going to go over a 4. Oops. xD However, I have very tiny earlobes, like, nothing to them. I have baby ears. I do not plan on going above 0 just because I have almost no earlobe left! And I'm totally happy at the size that I'm at.
My boyfriends ears are at 1-1/4th right now!
Vitamin E oil is also great for your skin/earlobes!

Dec 27, 2012

Paola R.

I say go for it!!! the bigger the better, I find big holes soo pretty on girls thats what motivated me.

Dec 27, 2012

Megan M.

Make sure it's something you want to do. Your ears may or may not stretch back. I have family that stretched to an inch and took her out and they completely healed back and closed up, while I have a friend who stretched to a 4 and her ears won't shrink back past an 8. So your ears may or may not be able to heal. I'd recommend to tape them once you can. Tape really helps because you can ease your way up to bigger sizes without as much pain or hurting your ears. Wait one to two months between each size at the least. Clean them every day or two or they get gross. And careful, they get addicting. I told myself I'd only stretch to a 0. And somehow I ended up at half an inch which is 3 sizes bigger than a 0 xD and I still want to keep stretching! 

I was at a 7/16 gauge, basically enough to put a padlock and a pencil through it.

I enjoyed having them because I could mix edge with girly, and I had these cute gold bling gauges that got me so many compliments over crazed comments. I always wait a month to go up, or for at least the swelling and throbbing to stop. If it still hurt, then I would wait. I have blown out my ears a couple of times, it was excreting puss and blood, it was terrible. But a simple solution for that is to just let it breathe. I would put a smaller gauge in and let it heal. I've recently taken my gauges out and they have only reduced to the size of maybe... A 2 or 4.
I can wear regular earrings, but with a special backing to hold it in place.
Think about it carefully.

Dec 27, 2012

Paola R.

Im at an 1-1/4" right now going to 1-5/8" and my husband is at 2".

First and foremost take your time with it. Don't rush stretching no matter how small it might seem. Thats how you get blow outs. I stretched using tapers until about 00 after that use PTFE tape you find it at home depot for $1.

Also, keep your ears clean, wash them with water every day or they will begin smelling. Keep your ears lubricated with A&D ointment which will help with healing. Use oils like jojoba oil and massage your ears at night to motivate circulation.
Stretching your ears is no joke and you shouls take good care of them.

GOOD LUCK!

Aug 9, 2012

Ashley C.

I went all the way up to 6, everytime I'd wash my face or shower i'd take them out. I don't recommend just stuffing it into your piercing, I did that and believe me it was painful and it started bleeding ! 

Aug 9, 2012

Kelly G.

I've got 4, 6, and 8 gauge. My advice is listen to your ears. I wanted to go to 0-2-4 but my lobes weren't having it. That and bactine. That stuff is great for healing piercings. When I stretched mine I just spritzed that on them twice a day. 

That's such a good tip thank you for sharing! I have read about using tape online but wasn't sure. I ordered a whole set of tapers on ebay so I have all the sizes all the way up to 00 After actually seeing the size of the gauges I may go a little bigger than I originally planned I might start taping!

Jul 24, 2012

Briana M.

im at a zero right now an plan on stopping at 00, honestly the best way to stretch is to use tape. just wrap tape around the plug, just a little at a time and theres no pain at all, although i found that if you take your plugs out every couple sizes and go down just one size and then heal and back up to the next size, your ears will go smaller when you decide to take them out for good, ive been stretching and going back to normal an stretching again for about 7 years now

Jul 23, 2012

Magan R.

It was big haha I was almost at an inch but I really don't recommend going over the small sizes 

Yeah I have been cleaning them twice a day and they seem to have healed fine I just wanted to make sure there wasn't other important information that I might be missing! Thanks for the help!

@Magan- WOW that sounds like a pretty big gauge! I think I am going to take mine down to a 6 and see how I like it from there I already know I am not going anything lower than a 4. Thanks for responding you guys have been so helpful! =]

LeeAnn B.

Bay Area, California