Stretching/gauging ear piercings

Jul 22, 2012

LeeAnn B.

I have recently decided to stretch/gauge the higher of the two of my ear piercings, I started with 14 gauge and in a few weeks will stretch to a 12gauge. Does anyone else have gauged ears? If so, what worked for you? What are things I should know or do? I have already researched online the basics and just was curious if there is any info I am missing?

Jul 22, 2012

Leslie W.

I am at a 4 gauge right now and I learned how to do it off the internet too. Basically, just take your time with it. People aren't kidding when they say to wait until your ears heal to move up to a new size. The first size that I started noticing pain was going to a 10 gauge. And you dont have to wait weeks until you get to a size 10. Just take them in and out every day, clean them, and push them in through the front and the back once they have stopped hurting. This is to prevent blow outs. Using lube while stretching my ears helped alot and doing it after i showered! And make sure not to buy double flared plugs until your ears are fully healed as they are harder to get in. Just stick to ones where the back comes off until you get to about a size 2. All and all, your ears will tell you when to go to the next size and you'll understand what i mean when you get to a bigger size. 

Jul 22, 2012

Magan R.

I have mine gauged and I have made it all the way up to a 3/4 gauge which is big I must say that the easiest way for me to get them up to that point was to wear heavier gauges and it will naturally loosen to the next size and it becomes easier the bigger you go. The hard things is once you start it's nearly impossible to go back. You can go back to a smaller size gauge but not back to a normal size piercing after a certain point. I took mine out for 6 months and they only shrank back down to a 0 gauge. So my advice is to make 100% sure that what you want before you do it. 

Jul 23, 2012

LeeAnn B.

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! =]

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 

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 28, 2012

LeeAnn B.

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!

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. 

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 ! 

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!

Dec 27, 2012

Kimberly Rose B.

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

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! 

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 30, 2012

Victoria D.

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 30, 2012

Grace P.

ew

Dec 30, 2012

Grace P.

ew

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

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

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

Sierra C.

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

Dec 30, 2012

Sarah B.

They smell! Yuck!

Dec 30, 2012

Elysia S.

They don't smell if you keep them clean. 

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...