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if you gauge your ears up to a zero gauge. how long will it...

<< Back to: rec.arts.bodyart: Piercing FAQ 2E--Genital Piercings & Their Suggested Jewelry

Answer by Aimee E.
Submitted on 5/18/2004
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shrug A friend of mine had his ears either at 0g or 00g [cannot remember which] and they shrank almost completely within weeks. Zoe, right now you are at a 20g or 18g. DO NOT even attempt to put a 12g in. If you do, you are taking a VERY big risk of tearing or causing a blow out in your lobes. Trust me, it ISN'T fun. Start at a 16g at the BIGGEST. From there wait at least 1-2 months between each stretch. Piercing studios do not charge much to stretch a piercing [at least not the ones here; they're only about between $5 and $10]. The cost of jewelry on the other hand, though, is a different matter. If you don't want to get it done professionally, get some first aid tape and add one revolution of tape on your earrings. Every couple of days add another revolution until you get to the next size. I realize that you may be impatient to stretch your ears, but trust me, it is better to wait and have it done properly than to jump into it and possibly do permanent damage to your ears.

Answer by steve-o
Submitted on 11/24/2004
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Ok I have something to say first off the right way to gauge your ears properly is to put heavy earring's in and play with them til they go to the next size on their own and so on that way the scar tissue in side the ear doesnt get to thick to heal.So just using weight will guage them or you can usa a taper or spike but can do more damage.Now on this subject of no return I know someone who had 2 1/2 inch gauges and left them out for 3 years and they went all the way back to an 8 you just have to do it right I am currently at 1/2 inch gauges in both ears and i have been working on them for about a year so I would just say do what you want you can take more time with it or do it fast and maybe cause problems but just go for it.PeAcE

Answer by Koval
Submitted on 12/4/2004
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don't go too fast like i did or you'll regret it. TRUST ME! i went WAY too fast. i put in safety pins then went to a 14 to 10 to 6 to 4 to 2 to 0 to 00 to 1/2" and finally to 5/8" so far. i only waited a few days in between. they prob. won't close up. if u want them to close up, don't go past 1/2" (or a 2 ga. to be on the safe side) if u take your time it'll be easier to go back due to less scar tissue. take it slow, it'll make your destiny that much sweet when u get there. i ignored it and now i'mhere for the rest of my life and i'monly 17. i know how you'll feel, i felt the same way. u think, "it'll never happen to me. not me. maybe you or that guy. but not me. i'llbe able to go back and close them up." but you won't!!

Answer by SMPLCTY
Submitted on 1/2/2005
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i dont know if you people post in here still or what not, but from what ive read there is a lot of ignorance. everybody has their own point of no return. ive had a frend at quite the large gauge and her ears did what one person said, if you forceyour ears to a larger siZe then take out the jewlrry, your ears will shrink a lot faster. my ears are currently at 1" and ui dont plan on going smaller. i think if you are going to go through the effort and pain of stretching them, only to know that you are going to take them out in a short while, whats the point, i feel that body modifications are a self expression and a stateof mind. you shouldnt let society make you stop in fear of not succeeding in the future.

Answer by ST1LLET0
Submitted on 1/2/2005
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To Zoe, I am an apprentice piercer. My ears are now at a mere 00g, but the trick is to rub neosporn or some other greasy anti-biotic onto the earing before you put it in, you should be able to easily put in a 10. Gauging hurts because of friction, not so much the stretching, that is one reason it is so easy to gauge a toungue, saliva acts as a lubricant, plus that, the neosporan should also help your piercing heal right, a good piecring shouldn't have much scar tissue, there are a lot of kids out there that have very bad looking gauges, mostly scar tissue, that makes it hard to gauge later, if your planning on going big, like my buddy with a 2 in. then you don't want to develop much scar tissue, I also recommend witch hazel as an anti-biotic, it is a great disinfectant and it won't turn it into a scar.

Answer by LAUREN.
Submitted on 3/15/2005
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zoe, you should definitely use a taper (one taper ranges from about 4-8 dollars) to get to a 12. if you go from a 20 to a 12 you are going to be in so much pain and you could permanently damage your earlobes. i just finished plugging my ears, they are at a 2, and it costed me about 60 dollars for everything i needed. plugging your ears really isn't all that cheap if you do it the correct way.. my ears have been at a 2 for about a week now, and i wasn't planning on closing them for at least a year. i was just wondering if anyone personally has had plugs at a 2 or 0 or even 00 for OVER a year and managed to have them close back to an 18 or 20 within time. i'm just nervous that they'll never shrink back to normal if i keep them stretched for too long..

Answer by Joe
Submitted on 4/26/2005
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Only about 2 of of you have actualy writen proper answers that will actualy help anyone. 1) the people going "ZOE SHOVE BIGGER JEWELLRY THROUGH" are pricks. you have no idea how much damage she could have done to her ears. she needs to go up 0.8mm to 1mm at a time using a taper. stretching should NOT hurt..so saying "TAKE THE PAIN" and "don't be scared" is just stupid. you should feel some stinging or burning once the taper is 3/4 of the way through, that is all. no ripping or bleeding otherwise you have just damaged your ear for life. Its not clever to just ram jewellry through a piercing. nor will it help you to get a perfect stretch. unless you really want stretch marks or scar tissue hanging out of your ear? 2) There is no real point of no return. there are only averages. it ranges from 8mm all the way up to 16mm...maybe even more. it depends on the person and their healing rate.

Answer by Annapolisguitar
Submitted on 4/27/2005
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hate to tell you all but it seems to me hardly any of you know what your talking about.im at 3/4 of an inch an it takes time but will go back down.the best way is to take it slow.the whole shoving it in an taking it like a man.or a strong women thing is way out of wack.If you try to put something bigger then it is supposed to go you could tear the skin which causes scar tissue.if it scars up like what happen to mine in the early process of gaging.When that happens it makes it hard to put any bigger.The best way i think is to put tape as they said above.it will help stretch it out little by little.it could be a long process but is worth it. as i said if you go to fast your ears could be shot. then it would make it almost impossible to heal back down.

Answer by QUIETMUMBLES
Submitted on 8/8/2005
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I STARTED WITH 18GAUGE 8YRS AGO AND ON THE AVERAGE HAVE JUMPED A SIZE EVERY SIX MONTH OR SO I'VE GOT THEM STRETCHED TO 5/8INCH AND GETTING READY TO GO TO 3/4. BUT I HAVE TAKEN THEM OUT AND PRACTICALLY HAD TO START ALL OVER. I STARTED DATING A GIRL WHO JUST COULDN'T STOMACH THE HUGE HOLE IN MY EAR SO I TOOK THEM OUT THE KEY TO GETTING THEM TO CLOSE UP IS #1 DON;T STRETCH TO FAST IF YOU BUST THE CARTILAGE YOUR SCREWED #2 WHEN YOU DECIDE YOU WANT THEM TO CLOSE UP TAKE THE NEXT SIZE UP AND JAM THEM BAD BOYS THROUGH LEAVE THEM IN FRO ABOUT 6-8 HOURS AND TAKE THEM OUT LET THEM BREATH AND THEY WILL SEEM TO GET INFECTED BUT THIS IS GOOD BECAUSE IT WILL CREATE LIKE A SCAB AND I GUARANTEE FROM EXPERIENCE THEY WILL CLOSE UP SO TIGHT IT'LL BE LIKE POPPING A CHERRY JUST TO GET SON 16'S OR 14'S THREW THOSE HOLES. I DROPPED THE GIRL WHO DIDN'T LIKE THE GAUGES AND HAD TO START FROM SCRATCH. THANK GOODNESS I HAVE SAVED EVERYSIZE AND LIKE I SAID I'M AT 5/8" RIGHT NOW. NO SIZE IS THE POINT OF NO RETURN AS LONG AS YOU STRETCH SLOWLY AND ALLOW YOU BODY TO ADJUST AND DON'T TRAUMATIZE YOU EARS #1 AND MOST IMPORTANT STRETCH SLOW, I HAVE SEEN SOME PEOPLE F*@K THEIR EARS UP.

Answer by Sarah
Submitted on 8/26/2005
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Yeah, if you use tape or even safety pins and paper clips, you can slowly work up and save dinero. I started with normal piercings, but the holes closed; I repierced them with large safety pins. I was still wearing normal earrings then, and I was around a sixteen gauge. I found some plastic-coated paper clips and put them in, and moved up to about a fourteen gauge. Those are great to start gauging with, by the by, because they don't get infected. Period. After that, I bought a ten gauge pair and those went in okay (of course, I'd been sticking random things through the holes all week, and they were a bit torn). Now it's about two months later or so and I just bought a pair of six gauge, which went in great. I think it might get easier after the initial jump. =) Just use small stuff, if you're starting out...you'd be surprised the number of things that work, like regular hardware nails (which, of course, must be oil-free and clean and suchlike so that you don't get infected).

Answer by ash fo rizzle
Submitted on 9/26/2005
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i have 9/16ths in both ears right now and a 10 gauge in my cartalage. ive met them close a bunch of times, you just need to take them out and then re strech them, then take them out, and so on and so on. it also depends on the person, it all varies. and to put the ear ring in, try putting some vasaline on your ear and the gauge and shove it in, it will hurt and bleed(thats how they normally react at first unless you wore long dangally earrings for a long period of time) if you still cant take the paint use the electrical tape trick, just roll a peice of tape on the earring and shove it in, and repeat everyday. before you know it, youll be able to get your gauges in! i hope i answered some of your questions, if you have any more you can contact me though aim at BluEyedRXBandit -Ashley

Answer by milenko
Submitted on 10/11/2005
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u guys are all right in all ways. everyones is different i took mine from an 18 to an 8 in like four or five days. then i went from an 8 to a 2 in two days now I'm at a 2/5 and my brothers is the same, but he went to jail for like 2 weeks and when he came out his ear was at an 8 again, now when i went for a month and a half i only went down one size everyone is different but if you really want it to heal painlessly take out your gauge and leave it alone it will eventually heal, or if you want it healed fast gauge it a size bigger then what u got then take the stick out hold a towel on it until it stops bleeding then leave it alone it'll scab up and eventually heal, it does leave a weird looking hole in all cases I've seen either way the hole looks different and will always be a little stretchy but thats all i got to say peace out all

Answer by the nuge
Submitted on 11/11/2005
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ok heres the deal. i got both of my ears done at a 14g, sadly due to my lack of patience i got both ears down to 7/16ths within one month. not only is this extremely painful but it is also extreamly dangerous. not only are you tearing your lobe by going up each gauge so quickly, you are also opening your ears up to a world of infections. big ears are something that requires dedication.now i will address the issues of shrinking back. guaging your ears is something that will stay with your for the rest of your life. everyones body is different so when stretching your ears you must accept the risk of the hole never closing even if you only do go down to about a 2g.

Answer by deedee
Submitted on 11/16/2005
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i started with an 18ga. then i started utting forgein objects in my lobes. like paper clips. that, was like...16ga and then i hopped down to a 10. yeah, just like that. all it took was a friend who had some good strength. we stood in her bathroom and POP! went the weasle. now im at 2's and i dont plan on getting bigger. it was honestly really easy to get where i am. it was realyl easy stratching my ears until i got to twos. word of advice, use tapered stuff. my 10s were not tapered. everything else afterwards, was. i even made my own tapers. like comb ends and stuff. what i did was take bigger tapers and only slide it in so much and have it in for like 5 mintues then stick the actual plug or item of the size you want and switch it really fast. as for my ears now, i take it out for like a minute, annd my 2's are already kinda hard to put it. my ears close up really fast. i estimate if i took them out for a day, i'd be back to like a 8 or 10 by the end of the day. butttt. im having one problem. my right ear has been itching like crazy and i found two huge lumps in em. i figured it was from the puss n crap so i cleaned it with peircing solution stuff. any idea whats causing this?

Answer by kirk
Submitted on 12/5/2005
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When you are just starting out stretching, this SUCKS to hear... but here goes: You can NOT skip gauges. It might work now but when you start getting into fractions (2ga to 0ga is the first jump in fractions) it'll start to catch up to you. If your size wont go in smoothly with lubricant, then it is not your size. Jumping sizes causes unneccesary stress to your lobes (the pressure of which will create tears) and cause your ear to bleed, blow out, and, worst of all, scar up. If you plan on going big, scars are a problem. They don't stretch nicely like the fatty tissue of your lobe. If you plan on going big (I'm at 1 and 1/4 ga right now), you need to do it slowly. It's taken me two years. If you don't think it's worth it to wait that long, then you probably won't have your gauges in for long anyway, so don't even bother stretching. The surgery is expensive ($4,000) and only has a 40% chance of giving your lobes a "normal" appearance. Think before you start stretching.... and for God's sake take it slow or you'll reach a point, probably between 000ga and 1/2ga, when the scar tissue that you've created will not stretch any more. -Kirk

Answer by somebodyovertherainbow
Submitted on 2/8/2006
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Hey, zoe, here's a nice little story for you: I got my ears pierced at the mall a few years ago. About 6 months ago, I decided to stretch my ears to a larger gauge. I tried to fit my friend's 16 in, and my ear hole bled. A damn 16. imagine what a 12 would have done? I went out and bought 18-4 gauges, and stuck the 18s in. I left them in for a week, and tried the 16s. they went in, and then the next day i put in 14s, and the next day the 12s. By this time they were hurting, so I left them in for a week. I got impatient and skipped 10 and went to and 8. I took them out for cleaning the next day, and was amazed at how much the ear lobe can bleed. Now i'mup to a 4, and I tried shrinking (out of curiosity) and couldn't go smaller than 8. If I were you, I would be patient.

Answer by jp
Submitted on 2/20/2006
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People That Need Help With Gauging peole say that you can't shrink after sertain sizes but i just had both my ears to 5'8s 2 sizes bigger then half inch 2 sizes lower then a inch and i just took one ear out cus it got peirced to low andi didn't want blow out blow out is when your ear lobe ripps so when you first pierce your ear make sure you pierce it perfect and not low or you will have to start over and i was at 5'8s and my gauged do 0 already in bout 5 hours showers really help shrinking gauges also, but skipping sizes are normal bleeding and getting crustys are normal and if its really sore it will go away bout a day or 2 so don't worry and you can jump sizes its normal it will hrut yes i jump from 2 to 7'16s and yes it hurt like hell but it was alot faster way to get big holes in my ears,i'vealways liked the way they look well theres abunch of anser read it if u need help.

Answer by meghann
Submitted on 3/8/2006
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i got my ears peirced wen i was 2 weeks old. i went from 18 to 12. then from 12 to about a 4. i used tappers and the process took less than 10 minutes, by my freind. it hurt but no the worse ive ever felt.but yeah, i was wondering if i did that right? there are some scabs and if i scrath em the bleed alot. one ear was has had the earing in for about 3 or 4 weeks i think. and now has very light scabs not even, and is alil gooie and the left ear has had the tapper in for about a week or 2. and its scaby and bleeds. did i cause permament damage to my ear? omg wat happened? can i fix it or is there anything i should do? or did i not do anything wrong? pplllzzz teeelllll mmmmeee!!!!