How Permanent Are Gauges?

Jan 3, 2016

Brandi N.

I've really been wanting to get gauges and I've talked to some people that have them. they should be a sizing chart and I thought the biggest I would ever go is a 6. how does that look realistically? they also said that if I took them out then they could grow back but some people say they don't. I don't want to do them myself, I want them professionally done. would this make a difference? any opinions and recommendations would be helpful!

Jan 3, 2016

Brandi N.

sorry, ***showed me

Jan 3, 2016

Jade M.

I had them about two years ago. A 6g isn't that big that size will shrink but it won't grow all the way back up. I was up to a size 7/16 and they shrunk back to around a 4 I think. They are high maintenance because if you don't clean them everyday they will smell. I hope this helped:)

Jan 3, 2016

Brandi N.

It did, thank you so much! how long did it take for them to grow back to that size? and are they worth it in your opinion?

Jan 4, 2016

Lara C.

I went to a 2 or 6mm and after like 6 months my ear lobe was almost perfectly closed up and I was wearing regular earrings. I think it depends on the person and their skin.

Jan 4, 2016

Alyx T.

Generally from what I've seen in my friends and people in the piercing shop I frequent, most skin can be stretched to an inch before it doesn't shrink back. Bigger means longer before it stretches back. And of course it depends on how well you stretch it (waiting before it heals each time and keeping it moisturized) and how well you take care of it afterwards.

Jan 4, 2016

Haley G.

I was at a 00g/10mm and and took mine out for 3 months and they had closed back to a
6g/4mm in that time,
Most say 00g is the point of no return and you ears won't ever grow back to normal but I think it just varies person to person! (:

Jan 4, 2016

Shaye M.

I stretched my ears to 22mm, had them like that for a couple of years, took them out for a year and I could wear earrings as long As they had a flat plastic back on them. I've gone back to 10mm now though. :)

Jan 4, 2016

Shaye M.

But they're different for everyone, most people say don't go passed 10mm if you want them to go back completely.

Jan 4, 2016

Kailey L.

It depends on the person, but usually anything less than 00g will shrink back to the 16-20 range. Just make sure you inquire about the method used before getting it done. Some shops will remove skin (how they think that's a good idea, I don't know), and make sure they don't attempt to jump sizes. If they do either of these things, you risk them not shrinking back or having a blowout. Maybe I'm in the minority, but I feel like this is one body mod I really only trust myself to do.

Jan 5, 2016

Jenna B.

I agree with Kailey, in a lot of ways it's better to do this yourself since you have full control over how fast you go. I had mine up to a 00 twice and they were the perfect cute girly size for me and shrank back within 2 or 3 months. If you do go to a shop make sure they use tapers to go up sizes and never skip sizes.

Jan 26, 2016

Jade M.

It took around 6 months. I don't think they are worth it because you can't wear cute earrings like a normal piercing. You have a more limited selection with plugs