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Im stretching my ears gradually with plugs, I went from an...

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

Answer by vita
Submitted on 11/4/2003
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i stretched my ears from regular size to a ten and it was no problem because i had my regular sizes for years and years and they just become so loose. it's OK to skip gages just as long as you put neosporin and antibacterial (preferably Dial) soap on it 3 times daily. Also, take the gages out, clean inside to get rid of germs and "crusties" (from blood or whatever) and play around with them (like twisting them and pulling on them stretches them even more so you're ready for the next size. Just because they hurt doesn't mean there's something wrong. Keep working with them--broken skin will always heal as long as you have the right material (metal works the best for me, at any rate) and keep them clean. Letting blood or puss build up is not only bad, but disgusting! Puss is a good sign (it means your ears are healing) but clean it off!

Answer by Jenni
Submitted on 11/26/2003
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well im happy you have your opinion but to bash on others? anyway,went from 18 to 14, 14 to 12, 12 to 10, and then now to an 8. if any questions about safety pins, they are i think 14. bleeding is way normal and so is puss. my ears pussed for awhile but thats a good sign of healing. im wanting to eventually go to 00's. but i wouldnt recommend skipping. doing so causes rips. i tried to go from an 14 to an 8 and it ripped. it hurt for awhile. another thing is that if you go to quickly, it will cause thinning. youll have differnt thin spots which again cause rips and uneven holes. im 14 and the parents flipped when they saw the holes. if i go any bigger, they said theyd rip 'em out. how old are all of you so i can present some things to them so i can go bigger. thank ya

Answer by poison3dpen
Submitted on 11/27/2003
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All of you must have some serious luck to not have your ears falling off or have huge blowout on the backs of your holes. Stretching is a very beautiful thing when done right (read: slowly and carefully/correctly), and I myself have 2 gauge holes in both ears at the moment. I'll post my routine for all to see, I just hope some of you follow it and do things correctly. I started with gunned holes, gotten before I can remember, and finally decided that I wanted to wear earrings, just not the kind my mom was always trying to get me to put in for church. I purchased a couple 16 gauge circular barbells and stuck them in my completely healed holes painlessly. This should be normal- 18-14 is a simple stretch from icky poor quality gun jewelry. After a little over two months, I decided I wanted them a bit bigger, and put in 14 gauge circular barbells that I had bought in Austria and weren't being used. Again, after over a month, I went to my piercer and tapered to 12 gauge. Two weeks later, 10 gauge, and similarly 8 and 6 gauge. Tired of spending almost $50 each time I stretched and having to make the drive to have it done, I went to www.bodymodern.com and spent only $38.90 on 5 sets of plugs (4,2,0,00,000) and 4 tapers (4,2,0,00). This brings me up to 2 gauge, and I now plan on waiting about another month to go to 0 gauge. My stretches have NEVER hurt, I've barely even felt pressure, basically thinking to myself "That's it?" Yes, it takes longer- but I've never bled, never had redness that lasted more than a couple hours right after stretching, never had trouble with them shrinking up if I take them out for a bit (in fact, sleeping with them out does wonders for thinning lobes), and most importantly I don't have scar tissue built up, which means I won't have problems stretching as far as I want. The thing is: if you're serious about doing this and keeping your lobes this way, the "closing up factor" and the speed at which you get to your desired size shouldn't matter. When I get to my 000's, and maybe someday 1/2" or so, I'll know that my lobes are perfectly healthy and that I got there the right way. I think there's far more to brag about in that than by being able to say "Yeah, I just put all these tapers through last night and my ear is all swollen and won't stop bleeding when I take my 00 gauge plug out, because buying all those sizes in between 14 and 00 would've sucked. I can't wait to do the other ear tomorrow."

Answer by lipringFL
Submitted on 11/28/2003
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hey guys, my name is josh, and i just wanted to agree with poison-stretching the way most of you are saying is extremely dangerous for the health of your lobes. you should wait at least 1 month between EVERY stretch, and should never experience pain or bleeding. thats right-stretching should NOT cause bleeding. also, putting household items in your lobes (ie: golf tees) is really not a good idea. if they are painted wood, then the chances of some of the paint rubbing off (even a tiny bit is really bad) are pretty high. if theyre plastic, theyre pretty inappropriate for piercings b/c plastic is pourous. i understand that alot of you may want to stretch really big, really fast, but the truth is that its an awful idea. look at it this way: id be willing to bet that 90% of the posters here will take out their large gauge plugs in probably 1-2 years. the faster you stretch, the less your ears will close. just be smart about it guys, and treat your lobes well. josh

Answer by GeRaLd
Submitted on 12/12/2003
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Hey i'm15 and i have been messing around with diffrent piercings my parents wontlet me get it done so i do it myself without them saying anything and i started with just a safteypin in both ears then a 14g,6,4,0 i know i skipped a lot with the 14 to 6 but really it wasn't that bad just suck it up and push it through it wont go at first but if u push hard it slides in but it gets really brused.... i also did 2 more holds next to them and have them at a 4 right now ... also did an industreal and it is only like a 10g barbell but really its kewl everyone at my skool thinks its stupid for me to do that and stuff but my friend has like 1/2in plugs and he even thinks its crazy but i think its fine so oh well...

Answer by sunshine
Submitted on 12/15/2003
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Ark! Don't make them bleed - go slow. I have gone from 20(?) whatever normal earrings are, to 10 in about a month with just curved barbells and plugs, but when I took my last set of plugs out one bled a little - I think I just need to be more careful to turn the plugs a little more, I think the one was stuck to the plug/ring. It is fine now. I am also stretching another hole and have a question, I went form 20 to the barbells (14 or 16?) and now I have a tiny scab over each ring. I just did it last night - they are VERY old piercings and I haven't had trouble with them in YEARS. Could it be because they were so healed that it caused trauma that way? Hmmmmmmm? Thanks.

Answer by Justin
Submitted on 1/9/2004
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yeah i have stretched my ears to a 00 and the other one looks kinda reatarted cause its like a 0 so it looks kind dumb so yeah and u can skip gages cause i went from a closed hole to 8 and then to a 0 and then to a 00 so yeah it kinda hurts for awhile and then u just have to learn to live with the pain for like 3-4days so yea just live with it and its pretty cool if u wanna be all alone till people actually get used to it and yea people freak out for a while and then they just get used to it and don't care anymore but people who just say the its just stupid are really the stupid ones so yea cause they don't know that some people just do it just to be different and some people just do it just to be cool so yea laters

Answer by Shaggy420
Submitted on 1/15/2004
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I think that anyone who stretches their ears by "skipping around" is going about stretching in a completely retarted fasion. Granted, going out and buying tapers or having a professional stretch your ears is expensive and not needed. Just buy an earring or plug in the next largest guage and squeeze it in. You should feel some pressure and a little stinging pain yes but not bleeding. Puss may be a sign of healing but you shouldn't need to heal your ears. No ripping should occur. Just a "STRETCH." Play with your ears a lot and it will make it easier to stretch. I went from a 20 to a 16, then went 14,12,10, and now I have 8g plugs in my left ear. I've stretched them all myself, and have spent maybe 50 bucks on earrings. They usually sell stretching packs for like 14 bucks at Hot Topic. Its not really that expensive. Just do it right for gods sake.

Answer by patriotic sickness
Submitted on 1/29/2004
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hey, i just started to gage my ears a couple of months ago. i started at an 18G and then went down to a 10G, i don't know if that's a bad way to start though, because of all the stories on here, everyone goes down to a 14G and then on from there. also, my outlook on skipping sizes, there's nothing wrong with that, but hey, that's just me. right now, my first two piercings are at a 6G and I'mplanning to stretch the first one down to a 2G or 0G. my question is, is it safe to stretch multiple holes in the same ear? because right now, i have 4 piercings in each ear that I'dlike to stretch. right now from bottom to top they're at a 6G, 6G, 12/14G and 14/16G. because I'veheard that if you gage multiple holes in the same ear, the skin between 'em will break, so it's just one big slit in your ear. another question... once you gage your ears, and you don't want them big anymore, is it possible for them to go back to an 18G, or even a 10G again, because a 10G isn't really that big. because I'monly 13, and my mother's a freak about all of this. so i just need something to reassure her. if any of you have any answers, email me at pyrodevil4life@yahoo.com thanks!

Answer by rachel k w
Submitted on 2/4/2004
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ok, so heres my story. i started off with a normal size pierced ear a long time ago. then about 2 years ago i decided to stretch to a 14g. i had those for a while then i just put 10g jewelery in with no problem, and the same with 8g. then i got a 4g taper and did that with a little pain but no bleeding. same with 2g and 0g. then for 00g i didn't feel like spending any money on a taper and since its not that much of a stretch i just put a layer of electrical tape on every day until the 00 went right in. this only took me a few days. i left those in for a few months then decided i wanted to go bigger. so i bought a pair of 00 tunnels with a 7/16 flare. i just kinda put those in carefully but with a little force as not to rip them with a little lubrication and they just went right in. they burned kinda for like 5 minutes. now today i have decided to go bigger to half inch. so again i am doing the electrical tape thing. i suggest you stretch slowly and always use tapers. the bigger you go the more of a stretch it is for each size. going from 2g-0g was probably the worst for me so far and i used a taper. no bleeding and just a little swelling. also tapers are hard to find in just a normal novelty store for bigger gages. that is why i use tape. plus its cheaper. just clean your ears every day. i do it in the shower so its easier to take out and put in.i use anti bacterial soap. also about keiloids, i had one on my cartilage and i went to my friend who is a piercer and he cauterized it . which means he took a piercing needle and took a small torch thing , heated it up and then poked the keloid a few times and it deflated it and then the dead skin just falls off in a day or two. ever since then i have never had a keloid. and it didn't hurt either. the end.

Answer by Blair
Submitted on 2/8/2004
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Hey there.. Well i just have a question really..i had in a 4 g and i waited about 3 weeks each time i went up and it was fine no bleeding, or discomfort of any kind. i went a purchased some 2 g's and they were plugs=/, the plastic cheap ones (it is rather expensive gaging your ears)..but anyways i had my 4's in for about a month, and when i put my 2's in it was like the inside of my hole was ripped? I know it didn't just happen then but it doesn't hurt that much or anything and i did everything right like i was supposed to. i wash my ears everyday, put peroxide on them, then lube them up with some neosporin..I just don't know if this is a bad thing or what i should do..I am going to purchase some different 2's but i am going to wait a while before going to 0's..really all i need is some help on the ripage..cause i don't know how to deal with that since i am no professional about piercing. I do not want to take them out at all tho, so if it is possible to avoid that i would like that a lot. Any advice from non-complete idiots i would appreciate it thanks! =)

Answer by katwoman
Submitted on 2/15/2004
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i have a question for either severity 420,lipringFL josh, or w.s. i know that we should go slow and not skip gauges. i was at a 2g i put in back in dec. i seen a chart some wear of the length of time you should heal before going to the next gauge and i should have waited untill march to go to a 0g put they felt good so i did it about 4 days ago about a month to early and my left one tore what i thought was just a little so i thought it would be ok to leave it in and let it heal. but now the whole inside of the hole is open i think i dont know how that happened i have soaked them in salt water every day and cleaned them with antiB soap. even though i dont realy eant to take it out i know i probably should so what i was wondering is should i go back to the 2g in that one, take it out completly, or somthing else? i really dont want ugly holes that wont shrink if i ever want them to so could you give me some advice. and to the other people that are doing it way to fast try looking for pictures of other people who realy screwed thers up there are a bunch of different sites that have pics look for the one they call the butt hole effect

Answer by Crimsontears
Submitted on 3/9/2004
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I first saw someone i know gauging their ears around January. I decided i should do the same.; But I did it the cheap way. I used electrical tape and slowly put more and my 18 g earring it bled and it was sore but then it would heal a bit but i was stupid and stretched them too fast. Once I was at four i borrowed some tunnels from my buddy and put them in .(before that i had a 4 g taper in one ear and a 6 g in the other) so in other words i hadn't spent any money on my ears yet. The other day I went and paid for some 2 g tunnels 50$. I stretched one of the ears using my tape fashion to 2 and put the earring in that stretch hurt the most. Now I am stretching the other ear . it hurts like crap. I always recommend some sort of lube to help get the earring through..i used vegetable oil. any questions or comments email me at poisoned_prophecy@hotmail.com

Answer by mudhoney
Submitted on 3/10/2004
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I pierced my ears when I was in sixth grade. I didn't start gauging them until my sophomore year in high school, I had some bad experiences doing so, they would get cut then they would have to heal, then I would start again it was a really big loop. I think I just tried to do everything too fast, so I stopped at about an 8 gauge in my junior year. When I was a senior I decided it was time to do what I wanted to do (gauge them nice and big). I never used any 'professional' plugs, instead I incorporated any everyday object that would fit in my ear. When I got to the size of a highlighter, it was difficult to find progressively bigger things to stick in, so I used my pure genius (Actually later I found out I did not start this, but I like to think I did.) I wrapped tape around the highlighters (Oh, just to clarify, I heated up a carpenters knife and cut the highlighters down to a smaller, more convenient size.) It was so much easier with the tape, I believe it made everything go a little bit faster, you can wrap a thin piece of tape around the highlighter each day. I finally found these Hotel Shampoo's which had a really cool cap/lid on them. I put those in and decided that I would stay there. Well ... I could keep that promise to myself, I soon found myself wrapping them with tape until they got to 31/32 (roughly) I told my family that I would not go more than an inch, so I decided that I would fork our $60.00, and get some nice bone carved plugs. Yesterday, I received my plugs and I put them in with ease (well the right one I had to force, it still hurts a little.) I have decided to leave my ears like this 1". I love them. Stretching is very addictive!!!

Answer by paperclip
Submitted on 3/12/2004
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for you people that are worried about your ears not getting smaller after you take your plugs or whatever out...DONT WORRY!! they will get smaller, it just takes time! i started about 2 years ago from 18,8,4,2,0 (there was a bit of bleeding and puss and that crap but just stick it out they will heal) i had 0's in for a long time then decided to go back to a 8, it took a little while, but they did. after a while i missed the huge holes in my ears, so i started going up again 8,4,0 going from a 4 to a 0 pretty painful and lots of bleeding but after a week they were just fine, so now I'm at a 0 again but soon going to 00 and maybe bigger... easymacjunky@hotmail.com if any questions

Answer by aniuga
Submitted on 4/13/2004
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00 gauge is just slightly larger than the diameter of a cigarette. When you begin stretching past a 2 gauge, it is a good idea to wait 2-3 months between stretching to minimize the risk of ripping. the bottoms of your lobes begin to thin out, and it takes time- a long time- for them to completely heal.-- next gauge to stretch up to would be a 0 gauge. If you skip, in addition to ripping, there is a good chance of developing keloid scars or a blowout (the area around the hole pops out, not very attractive) If your ear is hurting, your body is telling you something. take it slow, don't skip gauges and let them rest and heal in between. if you want larger plugs that badly, take time to do it correctly. no use in rushing it and taking the risk of screwing yourself up. also, bleeding is NOT normal for stretching, if you do it the right way, your ear really is stretching, not ripping. Hope this helps.

Answer by nichols
Submitted on 4/27/2004
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my ears are at a 00 gage. I have had them for about a year. my friends and i decided to take straws cut them all the way up then cut them into pieces about an inch long. Take one piece roll it as tight as you can and keep adding more around the one before. keeping the straws as tight as possible. until they are about as big as your gage now. put them in your ears. once in roll up more straws and place them in one at a time until you can feel a little pain.(as close to the center of the straws as possible) make sure you keep them in the center of your ears they are easy to push out. keep putting more and more straws into your ears as you can stand the slight pain, until you are at a size you want to be at. My friend went from a 12 gage to a 2 gage in one day with no bleeding and minimal swelling. Hemp oil also helps with the stretching and healing process. If you plan on continuing to stretch your ears by going gage by gage i would suggest getting hemp oil. every time you clean your plugs and ears rub some of the oil on both, this will help your ears be more elastic like.

Answer by the answer
Submitted on 4/28/2004
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i think every body should stop asking cuz the answer is probably already there and you can figure it out yourself...But I bought 12 guage horse-shoes...put those in from regualr size...cuz the screw parts smaller. Then i shoved in 10g plugs...not a little bloody and a really sharp pain inside when i moved em around...they kinda healed. Then i shoved in these plastic things i found (like an 8g) a couple a days they werent really healed but i wanted these 6g plugs in...so i shoved em in..it hurt alot and there was alot of blood, u get really used to that. i didnt mess w/em for a whil...then they healed...i think now im gonna go 2 4g and thats it...IM INVINCIBLE TO MUTILATION! I dont feel like you can do ne thing that wont heal...but 4 sum that may be opposite...yeeey!!

Answer by Dave
Submitted on 5/1/2004
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Sup how is everyone doing, ok i been stretching my ears for some time know. I know alot about it. I am at a 00G know. I know some tips on how to do it, I been through it all. I went from a normal size hole, and that is a 20G. Here are some gauges i went from. (20G-16G-12G-8G-4G-00G. You should do it the right way, but some people like to go bigger faster like me. I think of it this way, faster you go bigger, then no pain later. So if you need any help a all about gauging or need some good sites to go to for cheap prices you can contact me at Indysk8er87@aol.com, Trust me i know what i am talking about, been there done that. I have 1 question, how long do you have to keep a 00G in for it to never close. If anyone knows let me know. Thanks

Answer by bob marley
Submitted on 5/2/2004
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i'v done a lot of gauging. .. iv been all the way to a 000g and it still went back to bout a 14 or 16. . . then i out a 4 in. . . thats what i got now and itz rly loose so im gettin a 0r. .. a word f advise. . . never use copper.. . i sed a 22 bullet shell. . . it was bout a 4 g. .. it turned black on the inside of the hole and woodnt stop pussing. . . then i took that out poured alcohol on it and washed it of. . it looked normal. . but still was pusy. . . so i left it out. . the next day. . . . i put a stainless steel claw in(4g) and now itz fine. . . if ur gunna use sumthin that isnt an earing. . use plastic or sum kinda glass. . or jus buy sumthin. . . a good place to buy earrings is http://www.bodyartforms.com/index.asp. . . yup. . hope this helps u dumb asses. . . peace

Answer by cacoman
Submitted on 5/3/2004
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Hey guys, i started out at 14g (this is a good number to start with although i guess you can start at any size) and for the beginnings of my stretchings i made my own tapers with wood, i used toothpicks to go to 12g and then i used some wooden sticks and i used sandpaper to get them to the next gauge always getting them smaller at one end and larger at the end. I got to 8g like this but i really don't recommend it, acrylic tapers work better. I bought the 6,4,2,0 made of acrylic on Ebay for a very good price and you can find tons of plugs and tunnels there cheap. Right now I'm at 0g and that was the worst of them cause i did it really fast from 2g to 0g even though i read lots about not going fast! Guys don't rush! it is really bad and hurts, i had my ears swollen for 3 days! Well right now i have a month and a half with them and i want to go to 000g but i am not really sure because of the shrinking thing. Well just as advice, buy tapers which are great for stretching and take your time to stretch at least 3 weeks between them. Stretching is very addictive believe me!

Answer by cacoman
Submitted on 5/3/2004
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How to stretch your lobes: ************************ always do it on a well and fully healed piercing -First get some tapers of the gauge you would like to stretch to (acrylic or metal device that is thin in one end and thicker on the other, obviously to make the stretch) -take a good warm shower and massage your lobes while in the shower or just take some warm water in a glass and soak your lobes for 5 -10 mins each for a couple of times and massaging. -get some lubricant (Dial Liquid Soap is also good)and apply some to you first lobe and some more to the taper, just enough for it to be slippery but not to much. -here comes the good part** start by putting the thin part of the taper (for dummies) in the lobe until you feel some resistance (usually on the middle of the taper) now take a deep breath and start to push the taper slowly while exhaling (you will feel a burning sensation, hot) until you get to the thick end of the taper. Clean the excess lubricant. -Repeat with the next lobe. And thats it! there you have your stretch! If you plan on skipping gauges at least do it not to drastically maybe from 8g to 4g but not 8g to 0g and at least wait 3 - 4 weeks to heal something but better to fully heal!! I don't recommend it but hey its your lobes! if your lobe starts to bleed you have just ripped it! I recommend taking the taper out and go back to your normal jewelry or taper and wait for it to heal and try again. DON'T PANIC it happens! Some may want to leave it to heal and you can but it can get infected very easily or not even heal right for many many days, so again its your lobes. AFTERCARE: ******** -A great and simple healing product is salt water, just take some water and add some salt (not to much or it can burn your skin) just like ocean water and soak your lobes for some minutes each for a couple of times, do this about 4 times a day. -clean you jewelry or taper always, don't stick it in dirty or with you hands dirty if you don't clean your lobes or jewelry it i can smell like cheese, not good** -Its good to play with the taper, move it around, from the front to the back, etc. OK so i think that is a simple and easy way to make a stretch so stretch on!!

Answer by Kappy
Submitted on 5/12/2004
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okay...I've been a piercer for about 3 years and thussly have had many holes in me of many different gauges (about 15 different piercings total). I've got a ten gauge septum, a 14 gauge nipple, and quite a few ear piercings currently. I started with my lobes at 14, then went to 8, which works for my ears, but not for most people..I had had the 14's for quite a while and tugged on/played with them often, so that made the stretch easier. then from 8 to 6, to a drinking straw (appx. 4) then to 2, zero and 00. the trick is to wait at least 3 weeks between gauges. If the plugs are tight enough that you can't rotate the plug, it's not ready to be stretched. It's not supposed to bleed. If it does that means that you ripped it and I wouldn't suggest going any further after that or problems will arise. it's not hard to gauge yourself at home and it is my preference to do so. tapers and professionals works better, but I like doing it myself...if you twist the plug as you put it in slowly it shouldn't be hard to stretch. my ears will go back down to normal or at most 14, but like I said, due to my family background and ethnicities, it is easier for me to taper than some people. everybody's body is different. also just for the information of those reading, it is very common for one ear to be tighter and harder to stretch than the other one. although saying this makes me a hipocrite, skipping steps is usually a bad idea. if you've had the piercing for a long time, you might be able to skip one or two, but when you get to the bigger gauges, don't skip...try to make it easier to gauge by adding some of your smaller rings of smaller gauges into the same hole before you gauge up...when going from two to 0 I put my 8 gauge ring in with the 2 gauge hole and that made it easier to make the progression.

Answer by Dave
Submitted on 5/15/2004
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Sup how is everyone doing, ok i been stretching my ears for some time know. I know alot about it. I am at a 1/2" know. I know some tips on how to do it, I been through it all. I went from a normal size hole, and that is a 20G. Here are some gauges i went from. (20G-16G-12G-8G-4G-0-00G-1/2". You should do it the right way, but some people like to go bigger faster like me. I think of it this way, faster you go bigger, then no pain later. So if you need any help a all about gauging or need some good sites to go to for cheap prices you can contact me at Indysk8er87@aol.com, Trust me i know what i am talking about, been there done that. I have 1 question, how long do you have to keep a 1/2" in for it to never close. If anyone knows let me know. Thanks

Answer by brittany
Submitted on 5/17/2004
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i have been stretching my ears for a few years... seriously for about a year. i started when i was a freshman with some 14 hoops i bought at pacific sunwear. i stayed with that gauge for 6 or 7 months because i was a volleyball player and i had to take my earrings out for games. since i'veseriously started gauging, i started from a 16/14 to a 12. then 10, 8, 4, 2, and now i'mat a zero. i did skip 6, but from what i'veheard it's one of the easiest to skip. i don't recommend skipping, and to all of you who think it's okay to bleed, it isn't. i have never bled while stretching, and the pain is always gone (minus a little soreness) within a few hours. i have done all my stretching myself and i recommend it because only you know how bad something hurts. only you know what your body is telling you. i recommend gauging, but i don't recommend rushing. if you plan on stretching your ears, you should be planning on keeping them for a long time, and therefore it shouldn't matter if it takes you about 6 months to get to your desired gauge. check with a piercing professional to see what their opinion is on your stretching and your type of ear.

Answer by converge
Submitted on 5/23/2004
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Hey, i've been stretching for about a year now. I started at a 14g and then to a 10 then a 6, 4, 2 and then 3 weeks ago i stretched to a 0. I do all the stretching myself and i used a taper. So i put in my 0g glass tunnels and my ears were pretty sore but not to bad. Then 2 days later, one of my ears started to get really swollen and it started to hurt alot. My ear felt like it was going to explode. I really didn't want to have to take out the tunnel but the pain was unbearable so i removed it. Immediatly after i removed it, my ear began to bleed a pretty good amount. I looked in the mirror and the hole was practicaly closed. i thought that it was just because it was so swollen and that once the swelling went down, the hole would be back to atleast a 2 or a 4g. After 2 days, the swelling had gone down a pretty good amount so i tried to put in a 4g plug and it wasnt even close to fitting. the 6g couldnt even fit. now my ear is at about a 8g which doesn't make me very happy at all. i tried to stretch it the other day but once i took the taper out, it got really swollen and i couldn't fit the 6g plug in. my ear is like really sensitive now. i dont know what to do to get back to a 0 when my ear is getting irritated so easily. does anyone have any idea of why this had happened in the first place and also i would like your opinion on how to stretch it back. i have been playing alot with a loop in it trying to stretch it and using a taper but once i remove the taper and try and put in the plug my ear gets to swollen and i cant fit anything in it. please help me and give me some ideas of what i should do and some stretching techniques that you think might help me. Thanks

Answer by -DI-DaGGer
Submitted on 5/27/2004
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ok well i must say that everyone who just shoves it in and rips it is stupid i mean i did that the first time because i just wanted it in there and everything.....i really wish that i hadn't had done it and everything.....well i have one question ok i went from 20 to 16 then to 4 and then to 0 and when i went to 4 i ripped the hole and everything but it looked fine....but now i have 0 and when i wore my plug to sleep last night it slipped out a little bit and it was bleeding...i mean this might be because some one hit it but i was jsut wondering if it is ok.....it is swollen and everything and a little red but it isn't that bad.....yes it is bleeding a little i mean if i take the plug out and i don't think that it is pussing but i was wondering how bad it is

Answer by lastnvmbr
Submitted on 6/1/2004
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ok fourgunsonknife what you wanna do is get a sewing needle that is about 16 gauge (about the size of a regular earing. take that and a cork or a potatoe if youre that cheap the cork is to put on the back of your ear so when you put the needle through it doesnt stab in to your neck you can also use it to pull the needle through as your replacing the needle with an earing...make sure everything is clean...your hands the needle and the earing...look up after care instructions on the internet...have fun...and oh by the way for all of you talking about skipping gauges and stretching to fast its ok when youre in smaller gauges but dont try doing it when you get up to 1/2 inch or so....i just had a blow out at 5/8 inch and believe me its not pretty....good luck

Answer by Stini
Submitted on 6/12/2004
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Ok. When I first got my ears pierced, the right one bled a bit but the piercer told me to clean it, put neosporin on it and leave the earring in. I did and it was fine. About a year or 2 later, I started gauging them. They had both been doing fine until a few days ago. I never skipped gauges or anything and I was at an 8. I got 6s and put them in and it hurt a little but that soon went a way. A day or two later, they were bleeding. Since the earrings were plastic, I didn't want an infection so I took them out. They have scabbed a bunch and don't bleed nearly as much so I was wondering if I should put my 8ga metal plugs in to and just keep cleaning my ears and wait until they heal to go back to a 6

Answer by lemonhead55
Submitted on 6/17/2004
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ok i guess i didn't start off doing this whole gaugeing thing right, have had my ears pierced since i was little so i was just fooling around one day with some old earing hoops and i pushed the fat end around and woopps i had a gauge i asked my friend about what size she thought it was she said about a 12 so i kept it in then about a mounth later i actually went out and bought a pair of 10 gauges and then 8's and now i have a six.. my point is is that even though i did this the way i was saposed to and i followed the rules waiting a mounth or so inbetween gauges my ears still bleed from a 8 to a 6. this is the only time i have ever had trouble and i think i am content with the size maybe go to a 4 but i doubt it.

Answer by Savior
Submitted on 6/18/2004
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I am at 00's and have been at this for a about a little over a year now. I actually started with some 14's i had shoved in my ear about 4 summers ago when i was 15. I didnt start stretching my ears thought until early 2002 when i went from a 14 to an 8. i went this way doing it every other gauge with my piercer who used needles rather than a taper. I went 8, 4, 2, 0, 00. I was too stoked then to ask any of the questions some of you guys are asking i simply stretched however i agree with some of the more senseless kids on here that there should NOT be any bleeding or a whole lot of swelling between stretches. You should stretch your ears at a guage every other month for it to be done correctly. Also i took my 00's out last july and left them out until this past february and they didnt close to a complete 18 or 20 guage but to a 10 or 12 which is more than i could have asked for and it was only a small hole and looked nothing like a cats butt haha seriously for those worried about how it will close take your time with it and when they are ready to go do the reverse in gauges (ex go 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, etc.) while taking vitamin e and aloe tot he ears will do wonders. also kids using acrylic be VERY careful. they are only to be used temporarily and should be replaced with regular jewelry.

Answer by PLUGGINAWAY
Submitted on 7/2/2004
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If your not in a hurry, just wear the taper for a few days. Or just over night. If your gonna put a ring in it, do it right after you take the taper out. Put the ring in but dont wiggle it around alot because you my just wandder around in there and start to bleed. It sounds more complicated than it is. I got peirced on june 15th at a 14ga. On the 25th, I put in 12ga pincers no prob, didnt even feel it, about three days later I went and bought some 8ga pincers and put those through with no bleeding, just a little discomfort. 2 days later I put 6ga talons in, it was sore but not too bad, later that night I put little plugs in but when I did the o-ring channel on the plug made me bleed. Now, last night I put in the same kind of talons but a 4ga. Minor discomfort and no blood.

Answer by James
Submitted on 7/9/2004
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People tend to make a big deal about stretching. I've read "safe stretching" guides that recommend 1, 2, 3, even up to 4 months between single gauges. For me, and people I have talked to, this simply is not the case. I started stretching about a week and a half ago. Keep in mind that when I started stretching, I had normal piercings for about 10 months, so everything was fully healed. I started off with 14, and below is the schedule I used between stretches. I started out by putting the 14g in, and it didn't hurt at all. 14 to 12 - 6 days (this one was smooth, and no pain) 12 to 10 - 2 days (this one was probably rushed, and ended up hurting quite a bit.) 10 to 8 - 4 days (this one seemed like the right amount of time, and there wasn't much pain). I'm currently at 8g, and have been for a couple days now. I tried to stretch to 6 this morning, but I couldn't get the plug to go through my right ear. I haven't used any sort of tapers or anything of the sort, and everything seems to be fine. My ears bled a little at 10g, and the holes are still quite red, but nothing very painful. If you're smart, you'll just listen to your body. A good test for whether you're ready to stretch to the next size or not is whether your ear hurts when you pull down on the plug. If it hurts even a little, then you probably shouldn't stretch.

Answer by funny boy (named by my friends)
Submitted on 7/18/2004
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im a foreign exchange student from iceland. i need help. i have a 4.0 grade average so i thought id stretch my ear to a 14 gage. grade gage heheheh it rhymes ( u dont have to tell me im funny i already know)i dont have my ear pierced tho hehe. i was thinkin bout using a 16 gage taper ( i think) first just to stretch it then ill try to shove a 14 gage in. ( the hole looks a lil too big ( i know ) but ima do it so i look different from everyone else. a 14 gage is a pretty big stretc so please give me advice on how to put a 14 in. im so scared but im so fartin tough that i know in my heart and my gigantic brain i can do it. solute , edwin aka funny boy hehe

Answer by ^Rennaps
Submitted on 7/18/2004
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Fernando - you stretched what I'm guessing is a gunned piercing after a day? WHY? Of course it's going to hurt! If you're not happy with the size, put your old jewellery back in (preferably after taking to to be autoclaved) and stop worrying. Can I just take a moment to frown? There seem to be a lot of silly, misinformed people on here. I urge you to RESEARCH at least a few months before starting to stretch - then you won't get so worried about things and get in a flap. Plus it'll stop you doing such stupid things! Funny Boy - do it for you. Not to look "different". Have a hot shower, soak your ear with sea salt solution (1/4 tsp sea salt to 1/2" boiled water, let it cool) use, lube, and relax. Don't "shove" the jewellery in. You'll tear your lobe and be back here wondering what the hell happened. Ok people. Bleeding is NOT good. Blowouts are NOT good. Stretching a fresh piercing is NOT good. Not doing research before starting to change your body is NOT good. Doing it to impress other people is VERY NOT good.

Answer by Ashley
Submitted on 7/18/2004
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i think all of you really need to think about how your ears are going to look in the future. i started stretching my ears when i was 14 (i am 21 now). back then, i would shove nails, pens, straws, etc... basically anything that would stretch my ear through my ear. my ears bled sometimes, but i didnt care, because i was more concerned with how they looked. about 3 months ago or more i started shrinking my ears down from 7/16. when they got to a 4g i took the plugs out totally. my left ear is closing fine (but will most likely never totally close considering how long i had plugs). my left hole is closing also, but there is a piece of skin next to the hole that looks disgusting because i think at one point while stretching it years ago i blew it out. my only advice to all of you is to think about how your ears are going to look years from now. you're not always going to like plugs. & plugs certainly wont make you look "different" because so many people have them now. don't skip gauges. let a piercer stretch your ears for you with a taper because they know what they're doing. if my ears stay this way i am thinking about getting plastic surgery to fix them. but that's what i get for being 14 & making decisions without thinking how it would affect me in the longrun...

Answer by bikini
Submitted on 7/18/2004
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Hint: bleeding NOT good, sign off blowout, which you will regret hardcore. If there is bleeding take out your jewlery and let your ears heal.And the healing process can take from a month to alot longer. If you are not smart and do not depart your jewlery your ears will look very ugly, its bad enough you have big gaping holes in your ears but do you really want you ears to be big and full of scar tissue?NO. Another thing, no offense but guage 14, 12,10,8 seriously that isnt even considered stretching, thats bull, now the actual stretching is the big stuff like an inch and over like mine are. And mine will not shrink. But in my opinion anything from a 000g will shrink tremendously.ok im out peace <3

Answer by indysk8er87
Submitted on 8/8/2004
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Aloha, how is everyone doing, this isn't the first time i posted something. Ok i been stretching my ears for long period of time know. I know alot about it. I am at a 1/2" know. I know some tips on how to do it, I been through it all. I went from a normal size hole, and that is a 20G. Here are some gauges i went from. (20G-16G-12G-8G-4G-0-00G-1/2". You should do it the right way, i found out the hard way though, when i did my gauging, it kepted bleeding, thats not normal at all, and it took a long time to heal properly, but some people like to go bigger faster. I did that, nothing really happened, but i was really lucky. skipping gauges is a bad idea, you will end up with gross sore ears. Stretching your ears isnt about, "how fast you can get that size", its.It is about the patience of it from the aspect. Some of your people who think they are hardcore gets there ears done with, example 2 gauge, see if something does not happen with there holes. I have alot of experience with gauge your ears, i help so many people, its not even funnie, i learned a couple years back, its really bad to skip gauges, so on your be half, don't skip gauges do it the right way, so you can really enjoy them, and that pride.So if you need any help at all about gauging or need some good sites to go to for cheap prices earrings you can contact me at Indysk8er87@aol.com, Trust me i know what i am talking about, been there done that. I have 1 question, how long do you have to keep a 1/2", in for it to never close. If anyone knows please let me know. Here all Size chart for people to start gauging with 20g 18g 16g 14g 12g 10g 8g 6g 4g 2g 0g 00g 000g 1/2" 9/16" 5/8" 11/16" 3/4" 13/16" 7/8" 15/16" 1" Thanks

Answer by jonas
Submitted on 8/11/2004
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tips: 1. use stainless steel tapers; dont ever guage with plastic ones you can get an infection easier 2. use rubbing alcohol to clean you hands, tapers, plugs etc. 3. always soak you new tapers/plugs for aleast 5 miutes in rubbing alcohol 4. i would strongly suggest not skipping guages if you've had previous problems with your ears i.e. infections or arent tolerant of pain 5. if you want to move a bit faster then skip 2-3 guage sizes at a time. going to fast risks infection keloids and other gross problems. 6. if you rip your ear i suggest taking out the guage and letting it completely heal before attempting again. if you leave it in keloids can form around the piercing and that's not attractive. also the more it would puss, and sometimes it smells pretty gross. 7. guage after a warm shower, it softens the ear lobe up so itd be easier to push the taper through 8. if you're planning on wanting your ear to go back to its original size i suggest guaging gradually and size by size 9. wait atleast 2-3 weeks between guage sizes 10. dont go to the next guage if your ear is tender, sensitive, infected, bleeding, swollen, pussing, or realeasing a strange odor. that means you're going way to fast and your ear needs to heal! 11. if you want a beautiful healthy guage follow what im telling you! [ash]

Answer by screwface
Submitted on 8/17/2004
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Okay, I started with an 18g - 16g, whatever they pierced it with. Well I had those for around 6 years. I went to 14g, it was tough getting through my ear, but no bleeding, no discomfort after it was in. I had them in for a year before going straight to 10g, again, no discomfort or bleeding. DO NOT SKIP MORE THAN 1 GAUGE SIZE! Going from 14 to 10 is okay, when using a taper, but make sure it is well lubed and clean. NEVER EVER GO FROM 14g to like an 8g or a 6g... Unless you are doing dermal punches or scalpelling. Which are very expensive, but most shops do them. I have done all of mine on my own, but never experienced bleeding or tearing, if you do, go see an f'ingdoctor...

Answer by Chris
Submitted on 8/20/2004
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For about hmmm prolly the last month Ive been stretching my ear lobes. First off....LET THIS BE A WARNING it is extremley addictive....But anyway, I got mine peirced at a 20g and once the healed I stetched them straight to a 14. I know its not smart but skipping gauges that early on doesnt really matter. After that I skipped 12g and went to 10g. After that i found skipping can get alittle sketchy. But ya then instead of buying new plugs everyweek I just taped the jewlery by putting one revolution of medical tape around my 10g every like 3 days. At that rate its like stretching a gauge a week (depending on the thickness of the tape) and it is alot healthier for you ears. When I first started stretching I only wanted a 10g or 8g......now i have in 2's and am not planning on stopping anytime soon..extremley addicting..specially when they look so pretty....So ya happy steatching.

Answer by YelLoWcarD luVeR
Submitted on 9/7/2004
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hey everyone!! i have been gaging my ears too and i started with normal size holes (18g) and then my friend gave me sum 14g and i put them in no problem cuz i had had my ears pierced for years, so ne wayz then i kept the 14g 's in for a while and then started using household items i was creative and safe about it tho, then i bought 10g plugs and had them in for a while but then one fell out so i had put like three or four paper clips in that had that plastic like coating on them and they were fine and later i added another paperclip , and i just wore those for a while but i wanted to move on so i was looking around for earing but there were no good places to get some to since my ear holes were getting funny shaped cuz the paperclips didn't make it round it was like flower shaped so i had skinny golf tees in and my dad FREAKED so now i can't gage ne more but i really really want to still and i got mad but my dad kept talking about how bad it is and that when i get old i will have huge disgusting holes and even tho i tried explaining to him that they close up right away and that minea ren't even big compared to may people he wouldn't listen but all i do is take normal earings that have a ball at the end and i wear them but i stick the ball in my hole and it looks normal and my dad doesn't notice and then at night when i sleep i put the golf tees in so i am about at a 6g i guess.. so does anyone have ne thing i can tell my dad to change his mind b cuz i stil really want to continue gaging!!:-( PLEASE HELP!!:-) ps.. I NEVER expierened ne pain , bleeding or discomfort!! i did it gradually over time!

Answer by HollyWood Hunta
Submitted on 9/21/2004
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I have come to the conclusion that guaging is an addiction, In the beginning I was going to go to 16 then I decided 10, then 8 then 6 now I'm at 4 and I am planning on going to 00 or maybe even 000, I have to make myself stop there though, Because I really don't want to go any bigger than that. Its just every time I put a bigger size in I'm like wow this is huge, then the following days after wards I'll be playing with it and thinking, wow this is really small, which in turn causes me to go bigger. Words of advice to newcomers, listen to these people when they say go slow, I can relate to being poor and not being able to afford plugs, I am unemployed and never have more than 3$ at a time which I use for cigarette money anyways, I have stuck many things through my ears, and somethings, there's nothing wrong with, but be careful with foreign objects and use common sense, raw copper wiring is a no-no, bullets are a no-no "lead poisoning" I stuck everything from steel sadder wire to nails in my ears getting to 10 guage, not the smartest thing ever, if i wasn't an idiot I would have thought about straws, my ears got infected twice going to 6 guage, the first time because I used that copper wiring I mentioned, the second time because I used someone else's plugs and didn't clean them properly (yes, i know, spare me),I went to the mall yesterday and bought some 4 guage inexpensively made plugs, which probably cost about 10 cents to produce, but somehow its ok to charge me $16.50, I won't pay that much again for plugs that i am only going to have in a week maximum, I have just decided to use straws until I get to my desired size in which time I will invest in a nice pair. The point of this is you better believe that after 2 infections I am very cautious about what I put in my ears, but If you just use your head and don't start sticking anything you can find in your ears, you can guage safely and effectively without giving Uncle Sam your college fund. Clean everything you put in your ears religiously, I'm talking wash it in dial, then let it soak in alcohol for a couple minutes, EVERYTHING, even straws, trust me its worth it,If you get an infection, you have to leave it out for a couple days, thus, making the hole go back to normal size, thus having you start all over, also don't rush guaging, I had a friend who just recently blew out the back of one of his ears, its not pretty. Welp, I hope my advice helped, I will return to let everyone know how the straws worked out, happy guaging.

Answer by bob marley
Submitted on 9/21/2004
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iv been gauging off and on for like a year or 2. . . i'v had my hole to an inch and 1/2. i had a lil mishap with a cracked film canister. . and i had to start all over. . in about 3 weeks it had shrank to a 0. . 2 weeks later. . it was about a 8. . i waited 3 mor weeks and nuthin happened. . but it was healed. . so i started back again. . once my ear had been that big. . it stretched rly easily. . . i went from 8 to 0 to 1/2 to inch. . in like 2 weeks. . . itz all bettet now. . and i guess im rly lucky. . kuz my ear hasnt fallen off yet. . i rarely disinfect my earrings. . and ill put random objects in it all the time (like 7 pens. .lol). . but DONT DO THIS. . im the most lucky at this stuff. . iv only had 1 infection. and it was rly bad. . i had a 22 shell fro a bullet in it. . and it was copper or w/e. . and the inside of my hole turned green and i had black puss. . it was so nasty. . after that. . iv never had 1 infection. . . i'v had like 8 blowouts though. . . . the best way to let ur hole close is. . strecth it maybe a few sizes in 1 day. . it will probably b painfull. . but it will almost deffinetly close. . if u rip it a lil then it will heal faster. . and preperation H works rly well. . if ur gauging and u have a lot of pain in ur ear. . make some warm salt water. . and soak it in that. . that should feel rly good. . . hope all this random $H!t helps. . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . grow it.. roll it.. smoke it.. choke it.. toke it. . .

Answer by blahblahblah
Submitted on 10/5/2004
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I skipped gages while i was doing my ear and guess what no ugly lobes here wow what a weird idea that's crazy isn't it. I also never used tapers just shoved the next one in go ahead call me an ass I know you want to but its OK because i have the same results as everyone else in less time. I have to also agree with someone Else post that you have to listen to your body it will tell you what you can and can not handle Yes you also might experience some discomfort some more then other because everyone is different with the amount of pain they can handle. My friend is a piercer and he also has skipped gages when your on the small gages it doesn't really matter, when you get to the big ones though its not a good idea. Oh and yes your ear does bleed when you gage sometimes because you aren't just always stretching the skin sometimes the skin cant stretch and has to rip. Oh and I might add that i have never heard of anyone getting a 20 or a 22 piercing done the standard is 18.

Answer by banana
Submitted on 10/19/2004
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When i was younger, i guess between 12 and 14 i went a 12 to a 6 back to a 10 and so on. I finally stopped. Then when i was 16, i went to a 12, then 10, then 8, then 6. I took those out for a school dance to please my mom. The closed to about a 12 by the end of the night, so i gave up for a while. I am 18 now, and i am pretty serious about my ears now. Any one who says its ok to skip and bleed, and puss is ok is so wrong. I regret doing what i did when i was younger. I have my ears at 4 now, and im doing it slowly and carefully, no bleeding or tearing this time, but i have so much scar tissue from before its harder to do everything, and the pain is so bad sometimes. Just be careful, most of the people on here dont know what they are talking about. Be careful, if this is something you really want and want to make a life long commitment to having larger than average holes do it, if not dont, its not worth the risk of possibly losing your earlobes. Thing about infections, like gangrene, and even or staph. Not fun things to have, and not being careful can potentially lead to these things.

Answer by LuCkeM
Submitted on 10/20/2004
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Hi, I went from a regular ear piercing size to a 6g then to a 2g. then I let them close. About two months ago i went from whatever size my ear closed up to, to a 6g then to a 4g then to a 2g and then to a 0g in less then one week. I dont think the pain was that bad. I stretched my ears in the shower and I found it helpful by putting neosporin(sp?)on the taper,there isnt as much friction so it slides right in.And in about one week I am gonna go to a 00g IM SO EXCITED!!! O ya and for thoes of you who write and say you have no money e-bay has super cheap tapers and earings you should buy from l_and_h_general_store That is who I buy all my stuff from its a freat deal and awesome product. I hope my answer will be helpful to someone out there C ya! p.s. I will write again when I stretch my ears to a 00g

Answer by M
Submitted on 11/27/2004
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I have 16g and I'm gonna do it gradually too, because that won't hurt at all and they won't bleed..I used to have 18g, and when I stretched it to a 16g, I just took the earing I had in out, and slopped Neosporin (not Vaseline!) on my earlobe and the earring, then slowly slid it in, and it didn't even feel like it was stretching because it was so painless. I would recommend doing it gradually gauge by gauge with Neosporin, because that way your lobes won't split or bleed and the Neosporin is an antibacterial so your lobes won't get infected and it also lubricates it for easier sliding. I'm only going to a 10 gauge tho..I'm thirteen and my mom won't let me go farther for awhile. I want to eventually get to a 6, just to keep it simple so it wont look too stretched if I wanna wear regular earrings. And leave the earing in for at least two weeks as you are stretching so it will heal to that size and wont hurt when you do the next gauge up. Splitting isn't good..your lobe will become weaker and might rip through if your plug is heavy (I've seen this happen to my friend, it was NOT pretty and she had to get them stitched up and she's not piercing hers EVER again it hurt her so bad.) So just be careful with your ears..your body is a temple ;D M

Answer by danny
Submitted on 1/5/2005
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you should get tapers to a 2ga if you want to get them that small when I first gauged my ears in 4th grade I whent fron 16ga to 8ga in my science class then a month later I streched them to a 6ga then another moth to a 4ga. streching when I was that young it hurt. but I had to take them out later in 5th grade. In 7th grade I streched them the same way i did before. it did not hurt at all. im in 9th grade now and I have a 7/16 every body stares and no body has pulled them, yet. but, my friend gauged his ears to 7/16 to and a wana be gangaster pulled his and he kicked his ass. he went to the office after that and got a towel for the blood and it was bad. the kid got his ass kicked many times after that from the same thing.

Answer by StrykerX
Submitted on 1/7/2005
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A couple notes about stretching for all of you with questions. Make sure that the piercing you are going to stretch was pierced properly in the first place. Go to a professional piercer and have them pierce you at a 14 (they can also pierce you larger with a bigger needle or a punch but it is more permanent and won't shrink back as much), and don't get it done at the mall with a piercing gun; it will heal slow and be hard to stretch. Make sure your piercing is centered; an off-center piercing is more likely to thin out and split at large gages. Use A PIERCING TAPER! I have read multiple posts of people sticking golf tees and knitting needles in their ears. Use a Stainless Steel or Acrylic Taper, and put some anti-microbial soap on it as a lubricant (don't use oil-based lubes on acrylic, like Vaseline, it will dissolve it). Using a taper will make your stretch ten times easier. Absolutely do not try and force blunt jewelry through your piercing, you will traumatize your piercing and make get blowout on the back of your ear. Go slow with the taper, it could take a couple hours to work it all the way through. Once it is at the end, butt the jewelry to the flat side of the taper and gradually work it into place. DON'T SKIP GAGES; this is the easiest way to screw up your ears. You will split the fistula in your piercing and cause scarring and migration. You may also get thinning, blowout, or scarring. TAKE YOUR TIME and wait for your piercing to heal before attempting to stretch again. Usually 6-12 weeks depending on how fast you heal, longer at bigger gages. Very slight bleeding or bruising is normal. Your ears will probably be tender for 3-7 days after you stretch. You may get crusties for a week or two. Keep your piercings clean with a good anti-microbial soap like Satin or Provone and you will be fine. Some of the problems that can arise from improper stretching are: Blowout - This is where the fistula on the inside of the piercing is pushed out the back of the piercing. This results in a discolored lip of skin around the back of your piercing. If you catch this early enough, immediately downsize your jewelry and your body should reabsorb it. If you wait to long it will heal like that and you will need to go to a piercer to have it cut or tied off. Thinning Lobes - Lobe thinning can result from stretching too fast or too large. The lobe will not be round, but will look flat under the piercing in early stages. If the thinning progresses your lobes could thin to the point that the skin dies (necrosis) and they split in half! If you see thinning it can be fixed, downsize your jewelry and let it heal, then stretch again. Repeated re-stretching will grow more tissue and fill in the lobe. Keloids - Keloids are over-healing the body begins to grow scar tissue and doesn't stop. The result is a large knob of tissue in the place of the healing. This deformation is permanent and surgery is required to remove it. Cartilage and lobe piercings are prone to keloids, especially when over-stretched. Also, some African-Americans seem to be especially susceptible to keloids. The best way to stretch is to have a professional piercer do it, but if you want to do it yourself you can, just use the proper equipment. If you need tapers, jewelry, anti-microbial soap or other supplies, you can find them at your local piercers or online. A good site for equipment is www.BodyArtForms.com If you want more information, try www.BMEzine.com

Answer by Steve
Submitted on 1/8/2005
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I have 00's in my ears, and i screwed up some of the guaging process. i went from a 6 to a 0, which is NOT a smart idea. before that i went from a 14 to a 6, which pushed out cartalige. then guaging to a zero, i pushed out more. i went to guage to 00 and realized i had already been at 00(from pushing out so much). from pushing out that stuff, my doctor says my ears will never heal up completely, if i take out my 00's the hole may over several years shrink down to maybe a 6, but never lower. i also killed the nerves in my ears, so i litteraly feel nothing in my ear lobes(meaning i can guage as large as i want) so moral of the story is: dont guage too big too fast, take it slow. in guaging too fast it hurt A LOT(try imagineing someone stabbing ear ear 24 hours a day for 2 weeks)

Answer by Corrie006
Submitted on 1/12/2005
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Some of you are crazy. Gauging is not suposed to cause any bleeding and only hurt and are a bit red for a few hours if even that. Some of you are not going to want these someday and you're not going to be able to get back down to a normal size w/o surgery because you went to fast. I personally know because I tried to start with a forteen and my ears got infected big time. Now that I have waited for them to heal, I started again with 16's waited two weeks and went to a 14, then a 12. Now I'm ready for 10's and my ears don't hurt, aren't red, and aren't bleeding. It won't kill you to wait at least two weeks before going to the next size. Think about your ears or you'll end up paying later.

Answer by newFayth
Submitted on 1/14/2005
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i've started gauging me ears in one of the best seasons (spring) cause your tissue in your ears relazes and you have an easier, maybe shorter time to stretch. in the winter months it is almost impossible to stretch. if you rub your ears and pull on them then that will speed the healing process. skipping gauges is ok for 22-10. cause.......taht's not really a stretch. but below 10 to 5 inches you need to be carefull and take your time...or your ears will look like CAT ANUS"S<<<<for real =( but that's if you take them out for good. my gauges are at 1/2 and inch and they have never been ripped....small amounds of bleeding form sleeping on them the night after stretching but nothing serious...just the soft tissue expanding and its quite sensative for the first few days....clean them as much as you can and you can't go wrong....cause the STINK if you don't... there's some help for some noob's to gauging and i've been there...what? what? what will happen? but this should help O))))) PEACE OUT ALL

Answer by Stretch_that_motha
Submitted on 1/14/2005
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Ok, when stretching you can only stretch as quickly as your body will allow. Actually you can stretch faster but the risk of a blow out, keloid, or other undesired effect. It is not natural for your ear to bleed when stretching. Ripping your ear will damage it. Damaging your ears is bad. Jumping stretchs is not reccommended but again, everyone is different. If you encounter a blow out the best cure for it is to downsize the piercing and then restretch correctly. Another thing a blow out is not ejecting a pieced of skin. Its when you stretch to fast and the fistua (the actual name for a pierced hole) rolls out and creates an ugly disc on the stretch. A cat butt effect mosty occurs when you are closing a big stretch. When I say big stretch I mean one that is past the bodys natural healing limit. From what I have read from BMEzine.com (the site for body modification) is 00ga. If you want to help increase healing time rub lotion that is fortified with vitamin E, which helps regenerate cell growth. Currently after strething for a year and a half I have perfect 7/8th lobes with no blow outs or any unsightly damage. Also my 4 ga septum has healed quite nicely

Answer by beckals
Submitted on 1/22/2005
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I had my ears pierced at a standard 20 gauge piercing gun size for about 12 years. I started my gauging by going from a 20 to a 14 which wasn't hard at all. I then went from a 14 to an 8 gauge, and that kind of hurt. I'm now trying to go to a 2 gauge, but I figured out that it gets harder to skip gauges when you get to the bigger sizes. My ears have never bled, but they do tend to swell up when I gauge them. I think it's natural though. And as far as household items that can double as earrings... regular earrings are 20g, safety pins are 20g, paper clips are 18g, and I just found out that standard straws are 2 gauges. Lol. Something that helps gauge your ears is to use lotion or neosporin on the rings. It helps them slide easier. I hope at least some of this has helped you with your gauging issues, and have a lovely day.

Answer by Sara Bailey
Submitted on 1/29/2005
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Well, I don't now what ur talkin about when you say that it's alright for your ears to bleed when gauging......CAUSE IT'S NOT!!! I'm sure that someone has heard about what's called a funnel effect. It's when you go from one gauge to another that is way too big for the existing holes, and the force that you use to get that humongous gauge in forces the tissue in the ear to be pushed back wards, causing this extremely unsightly funnel effect. That is sickly to look at and is not beautiful in any way, shape or form. Not to mention the horrible scar tissue. Now it is fine to skip gauges but only if you can get them in without having to practically rip your head off, which sounds a lot like what some of you are doing. Now you don't have to take my advice, there's no way I can make you, so you just go ahead and rip and tear your lobes. And when one of you end up with this deformed ear email me...just so i can say i told you so.....although i don't expect you'd want to share it with me, just because i've warned you.

Answer by Lucky*
Submitted on 1/29/2005
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Wow Steve, that's not very smart man, you are guaging your ears way too fast! each size you go to, you should wait ATLEAST 3 weeks before resizing, even then that is too fast, the premium healing time is 4-6 weeks. are your ears bleeding a lot? have they bled before? if so. . .that means you ripped your ears, and this will cause scar tissue along with other problems, so now stretching is just gonna be that much harder! let you 6g's heal for a long time, probably 4 weeks, and keep them clean and healthy! they you should buy 4g tapers, and do the same thing, then 2g's, and eventually 0g's! have fun with that. . .and remember. .let you ears heal! or you'll end up ripping your ear really badly and are going to have to downsize, or. . .you will get a blowout, and those are nasty and painful!

Answer by Lucky*
Submitted on 1/29/2005
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ATTENTION ANYONE WHO WANTS TO OR IS STRETCHING THEIR EARS! -Hello there! I'm a body piercer and have my ears stretched twice on both sides to 5/8"(bottom) and 00g(top). I cannot stress enough how important waiting for your ears to heal is! every time you resize your ears, you should wait atleast 4 weeks until you stretch them again! Reasons for waiting this long-1)you won't have any rips or tears in your ears, which means you won't have any scar tissue 2)you won't have any blowouts 3)if you wait this long, chances are that your earrings are starting to fit loosely, and this means that your next stretch should be fairly easy, and less painful! 4)if you keep your ears clean, healthy, and in good shape(i.e. no scar tissue, no blowouts, no rips) then in the future if you want to downsize, they will downsize faster and look cleaner, without a bunch of scars or bumps.

Answer by liz
Submitted on 2/1/2005
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yes your ears will close up. i currently have 1/2" gauge plugs and my right ear got infected so i took out my plug. in about 2 days it closed back up to about around a 10 gauge. luckily it healed up, and i got it back from a 10 to a 00. the pain wasn't even as bad as when i first stretched it. it was actually rather easy. and to those that are skipping sizes, you could easily blow out your ear. i almost blew out my ear stretching from a 00 to a 1/2". that was the stupidest decision i ever made while stretching my lobes and luckily i was smart enough to take them out to heal after i soaked up an entire napkin full of blood from just one ear. you shouldn't be so proud of the fact that you skipped gauges because that could be the most idiotic thing you can do. it's just asking for an infection or for your ear to blow out on you. i don't think you want to go around with your ear all scabby and people continuously asking what happened to your ear. i'vebeen stretching my ears for a good...maybe 2 years now and i'mgetting rather sick of them. i'vebeen thinking of just taking them out for good, but not for sure just yet. my mind tells me that i want to stretch them out, but buddha ears? no thanks.

Answer by ___Kandie
Submitted on 2/21/2005
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Wow, like people before have said, you guys are really screwing up your ears. If you want to gauge them, do it slowly. You have your whole life ahead of you to get those big beautiful lobes. If you intend on stretching them, why get it gunned to begin with? Why not spend a few extra bucks and get it done at a decent (14 or so) gauge by a professional piercer at a <i>clean, reputible</i> piercing parlor? Again, go SLOW. play with your CBR's, or plugs, whatever. Use a taper, or better yet, get it tapered professionally. If you -must- do it yourself, and do it now, make sure you clean everything. On that note, don't try to clean acrylic with alcohol. It will shatter. Wash your hands. And for gods sake don't stretch with neosporin. Use a water based lubricant, that way it can wash off if you have to much on. Don't clean your freshly pierced/stretched holes with alochol or peroxide either. It's bad for them. Use a sea salt solution (similar to saline for contacts) But again, take it VERY SLOW. And as one other person said, if you need help.. www.bmezine.com They have quite a bit of free stuff you can look at and learn from, just be careful.

Answer by matt
Submitted on 2/26/2005
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I pierced my own ears myself and went straight up to a 10. Those are the easiest to get in and you don't even need a taper or anything to stretch it. You just have to push it through. After i had 10's for like 4-5 days i went to 8's. I just popped them right through also. I had them for about 1 week and i decided to go up but nobody i knew had 6's but they did have 4's and a taper for it also so I skipped 6's and it hurt a little bit but it didn't bleed at all. I had the 6's for about a week and a half then one day at school some friends dared me to stick a pencil through my ear (0 gauge size) so i went ahead and did it and it hurt a little bit and it didn't bleed at all so then i decided to go up to 0's. I had 0's for a week and a couple days and my friend that has 00's persuaded me to go up so I went to hot topic and bought 00's. I found a taper-like pen that was smooth and gradually went up that was perfect 00 size and so now I'm at 00's. My left ear is all healed up but my right one is still getting there. And I think i might have ripped my right ear in the back a little bit but its not a huge rip. So I went from not having piercings to having 00's in probably 2 months. I was wondering if I were to take them out in a year if they would still grow back cuz everyone has different opinions. If someone can get me true proof for an answer that would be great. Thanks

Answer by Allie
Submitted on 2/28/2005
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I am troubled. I tried 3 days ago to go from 14g to 12g. I was a wimp and only put the ring in about half way making it go to probably 13g. So the stoppers in the back of my ear were too big and wouldn't stay, so I used regular clear backings from regular earrings. Well they were a little sore the first day, I cleaned it with peroxide then the next morning they hurt SO bad it was unbarable, I took them out now they are scabbing and healing. So my question is did they get infected because of the cheapo backings I used or was I too much a wimp? Also, I wanted to go slow that's why I pushed the stretchers half way, should I tough it and shove them in all the way to a 12g? HELP!!! PLEASE

Answer by chris
Submitted on 3/1/2005
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I started out my obsession about a year ago, 11 months actually. I was pierced at a 0 gauge, yes thats right a 0 gauge. It was a custom job and the piercer who did it is amazing, I love you Christy!!! Since then I have moved up from a 0 to 00 to 1/4 to 1/2 to 3/4 and I am now on a 7/8. I am obsessed with stretching my ears but I think I have to stop here, professional reasons. Anyways the reason I mention this is so that everyone knows that EVERYONE is different. My g/f had 1/4 plugs in 6 months ago and took them out. the hole closed to about the size of a dot. It looks like a normal earring hole. I however took out my 1/4 plugs one time for almost 3 weeks and didn't get any closure at all. The best way to know is to find out for yourself and for god sakes leave the stretching to the professionals. It's not worth the pain and agony of an infection. Oh also the way that i stretched was by buying every single size plug and stepping up by 1 size every week. just be sure to have advil on hand if you plan to use tapers.

Answer by wutupfoo
Submitted on 5/9/2005
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Umm guys, it is NOT NORMAL for bleeding to occur. I have started out from the standard 16g stud peircing, (with the gun, i did it when it was trendy for guys to only do the left ear)well, i used a tooth pick to get it to a 14, then put a 14g single hoop in there. months later, i realized, wtf, people have huge holes, ima do that, so i went to a 12g horse shoe, then 10g single hoop. after i did the 10, i got my right ear pierced, thanks to metro, 10g peircing with identical hoop was 32 dollars, then a month later, went to an 8, 2 days later a 6, then a week later a 4, then a week after 2g holes, then a 0 2 weeks later, then 00 2 days later, well, to make a long story short, i am at a 1 and 1/4 inch hole, but i have never had bleeding or blow outs, go a size at a time, AND TAKE OYUR TIME it will be fine...

Answer by Stellarizemyeyes
Submitted on 5/11/2005
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Um... i have zero gueages... i think i want to go past 00 though... i want to know the reasoning everyone gauges their ears?...i know people do it just because its a trend or whatever..but i actually have a personal/spiritual reason for doing it... i "metaphorically" believe that by gauging my ears... i am opening up my mind/hearing which enables me to hear more of the worlds perspectives on life...or it makes me more able to intake information...its not that i literally believe it..its just having them shows that i am an open person to talk to and will listen intently to anyones views... because if we just listen to people instead of talking all the time..we will learn more... anywho... haha does anyones ears smell of the exact scent of ass?...mine do... lol... check out my myspace... http://www.myspace.com/12665924

Answer by currAnxx
Submitted on 6/1/2005
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Hey guys, I got my ears pierced when I was 12 (I'm 15 now.) When I was 13, I wore eyebrow rings in my holes and then moved to bellybutton rings. On my 15th birthday I bought an 8g for my right ear. It wouldn't go in at first, so I put it in as far as i could with the rings around it. The next day the hole was a bit bigger but the stretcher wouldn't go on. After putting Triple Action Polysporin all over it it went in. I did this right before bed. When I woke up there was a bit of (skin?) at the back but it came off right away. At first it was hard to turn it or take it out, but everyday I took it out, cleaned my ear with the anti-bacterial liquid I got then I had my helix piercing and I put more Polysporin on it. I waited about 2 weeks to stretch it again. I bought a 6 from a piercing kiosk and it went in really easily. I also bought a plug and I still cleaned it (the plug) and my hole daily. The left ear was a bit harder to do, but it finally went in. Unfortunately it got pulled out and I lost the O-ring and the hole ripped a bit. I went to Cedar point and my stretcher fell out and the hole closed completely because it wasn't healed. I'm going to a 4 this Friday, after having the 6 in for about a month and I'm going to redo my left ear - slowly and safely - like I did my right. Moral of the story - don't be stupid. take your time. If you stretch them really fast with unsanitary objects and you don't clean the hole, then your ears probably should fall off. Much love, currAnxx

Answer by ElTrentz
Submitted on 6/8/2005
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on my left ear i went from a 10 to a 0, and on my right i went from a 16 to a 0, it didnt hurt that bad or bleed a lot until after, i just had a head ache for the day, i did both in like 10 minutes lol, that was a head rush, talk about sweating from pain. but ive had them for half a year now, and they are fine, i plan on goin 2 sizes bigger, because theres more plugs,tunnels and other jewelry that i like that only comes in sizes 0 or bigger and they look better bigger, i plan on keeping them forever, my jobs gonna be guitar building, so i dont have to worry, im 17 now, and will start my job as a luthier(guitar building) in about 2 years, i was just wondering if anyone thats experienced with stretching knows if buffalo etched jewelry is comfortable, cause they have cool designs, but they are possibally uncomfortable, thanks, lou

Answer by Robert
Submitted on 6/14/2005
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Your should not skip sizes and you want to let your ear get used to a size before moving to a large one. In most cases you can do this every 3 weeks or so (from my experience) until you get past 00 size. I have been leaving mine until they loosen up enough to fall out with a slight touch before going to the next size. In less than a year I have gone from 10 gauge, double pierce on each ear to 9/16" fronts and 00 backs on both ears with zero issues. Keep your ears clear and soak in warm water and sea salts to sooth for a few days after you gauge them up. It will keep them clean and make them feel much better. Don't share jewelry with your friends either, gross!! My 2 cents Robert

Answer by Nicole
Submitted on 6/28/2005
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Why would you gauge so fast? There are so many risks! Not only that but why would you want to go through all that pain just to have beautiful ears? I am an extreemly impatient person but still am slowly gauging. I started when I was 16 yrs old. I had gotten my first piercing when I was 5, so I figured that it would be safe to stretch (it was). I started with 16's and moved on to 14's. Then when I went to get 12's, that's where I made my mistake. I purchased a pack of gauges from a store in the mall (there were 3 pairs- 14,12,10). Apparently I had forgotten about the 10's. So I went and put in the 12's. They were great and didn't have any issues. I then figured they must've made a mistake. I then put in the 10's and my ears started to bleed. That's when I tried to suck it up but it just didn't work. I put the 12's back in for awhile. Then after that I just got sick of the earrings falling out (they were just metal bars with the black bands on both ends). Several months later I went to put in my 16's and they wouldn't even fit! So I put my 18's back in. Just three weeks ago I stretched to the 16's (which burned- didn't bleed) and just about a week or so ago I stretched to 14's. I'm not rushing on the gauging. I'm just listening to my body. So it has been going great lately and I hope to eventually get to a 4 or 2..? I just want to let everyone know that gauging quickly isn't the answer. For me, my stretching/gauging has never hurt (except the time explained above about accidentally putting in 10's). A gauge should never hurt or bleed. The worst that should happen is swelling, a burning sensation or a slight pain (but not bad enough to take aspirin/Tylenol!)

Answer by Jenna
Submitted on 7/5/2005
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I decided one random day to gage my ears. I started from having my ears pierced when I was little, bought a taper to a size 8, like 2 weeks later forced a 6 plug in there (IT HURT) and then a week later forced 4ga plug. I had them for like 6 months n loved them! They tend to smell bad though n got lazy of cleaning so I let them close. I could wear regular earrings but dangly ones pulled down a little on the holes. I'm going off to college in the fall and want to go back, but this time to a 2ga. I started with the taper again and found that my ears shrunk to about a size 10 (not too bad, better than I thought, and got to prove to mom they WOULD shrink back lol). I'm not going to force plugs in to get bigger, buying a taper I think is the best way to gaging bigger... do it slowly, comfortable and PLAY with it...dont let them bleed is the only real advise I can give, scar tissue will form and they will shrink less than if u let the skin s t r e t c h!! Good Luck to me and anyone who wants to gage their ears!

Answer by Shaly
Submitted on 7/8/2005
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I've had my ears peirced for about 5 years and probably about a month ago I decided I wanted to stretch them. I first went to a 14. One ear went in really easy, the other one was slightly more difficult but there wasn't too much irritation. Unfortunately, the jewelry was plastic instead of steel because I simply don't have the money for steel jewelry, so I was just careful to clean it often and it seemed to heal just fine without any scarring, etc. Then last week I went to an 8, using a taper. It didn't rip or bleed at all, it was just a slight amount of pressure and already seems completely healed as there is no pus on my jewelry, etc. I was a little bit worried about skipping so many gauges, but my body seemed ok with it. Despite them seeming healed I think I'm going to wait a few more weeks before stretching anymore and only go up one size at a time now that I'm getting to larger sizes. I'm also hoping I can actually afford steel jewelry next time. I don't want any nasty scarring so I'm trying to be at least semi careful. I may not be doing everything super carefully, but my ears aren't bruised or bleeding and I'm not sticking golf tees through my ears, so I guess I'm doing better than a lot of people on here.

Answer by Matt
Submitted on 7/8/2005
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I had my left ear pierced in 6th grade, then in my freshman year went up to a 10g, then an 8 after a few days, then a 6 after a while, then a 4 cause my friend bought me one. Then the next year I pierced my right ear with a safety pin in 4th period the next day went to a 10, that night to an 8, the next day to a 4, then 5 days later a 2, in both ears, less than a week in my right. Then a while later I put both to a zero where they are now, all of them hurt and swelled and bled, sure it hurts but pull yourself together, pain is a normal part of life. It kinda sucks though because I wanted to go to a 4, then ended up at a 2, now at 0's and every time I get new ones they look small, and I just like making them bigger. I like the look and feel but it never feels like I'm finished. When should I stop? I'm only 16 and if I keep them in for a while, say 20'ish and want to get a job, will they go back after that long if I want a real job? My friend who gauges could go fast cause his ears were stretchy and mine were tight everyt ime, then again I kept using plugs not pointed ends, do you think my ears being tight like that will affect the growing back either?

Answer by Missy
Submitted on 7/13/2005
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hey i have been reading all your messages and i wanted to tell you about my ears well i started out with a 14 like you guys did about a years ago and then i started doubling my earings at the end i had 20 earings in my ears and my holes were the size of dimes. so i bought my plug and it felt better it didnt bleed anymore and in my other ear i have my plug in my first hole and in my second and have a 10 and then a 14 i guess i;m starting my old ways again cause only have 3 holes i did it my self it hurt for a little while. but i think that no one should be doing what i did. my ears were so effected by it i would take them out and i would curse my head off cause they would bleed so much. so good luck with your ears. ==Missy,rock on man

Answer by lexx
Submitted on 7/13/2005
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Okay alot are wrong here and many of you are bull******** by saying you went from an 8 to a 0 or your 12 and you have 0's in.Your ears will eventually close up it all depends on the weight of your plug, the size of it, how healthy you are plays a big factor also. If you skip gauges you have less of a chance in them closing or if you had a dermal punch.Most pierce studios dont do dermal punches because of the fact that your ears will never close up again.If your ears have gotten infected then take your plugs or earings out let them heal before you continue strretching.Also if you are gauging down you might want to put in the smaller gauges for ex. 00-0-2-4-6-8-10-12-14 etc.That is the best way and if you are not happy with that then there are many doctors that will sow it then give you some wrinkle and scar cream.After it is healed you can get them re pierced if you would like to do so.Hope this helps also check out our studios website www.pierceology.com

Answer by Lexx
Submitted on 7/13/2005
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This is just a follow up on some of the dumb things i heard people say.Bleeding isnt good and puss isnt either it means your ears arnt fully healed enough yet.Dont bother reading the people that say ive skipped gauges like 16 to a 6 that is impossible with out scalpelling your ears which there is no way to make it go back to normal.Oh and whoever said when you stretch it pops skin out thats NOT true it simple tears micro cells in the skin to fit the plug in.Dont listen to the people on this site when they say that stupid stuff.Also no piercer is aloud to taper or stretch your lobes unless they are healed takes about 3 months to fully heal.DONT PLAY WITH A VIRGIN PIERCED EARLOBE this will cause infections and most mall booths say too dont listen to them at all!Salt soakes heal your ear faster if you use them right.And for the people who dont know anything about piercings go to our studios site www.piercology.com or go to www.bmezine.com they wouth give loads of information. Hope it helps, Lexx from piercology in columbus Ohio

Answer by Pashleigh
Submitted on 7/26/2005
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i havent had any problems with stretching my ears until now. well my left ear lobe had always been a bit harder to stretch but its been okay. i have had 0's in for quite a while. i bought 00's and my right ear stretched fine but my left one just wouldnt go. my ear was hurting a little from trying to force it. so i got a taper and put that in for a few hours. thought i could just slip my 00 plugs in. but when i removed the taper i saw that i ripped my ear. so i thought that i'd just push the 00 in, which wasnt working. i put neosporin on my 0 plug and put it back in. does any one know if maybe i should let my left lobe close up and pierce it a little higher (the original pierce on my left was lower than on my right) idk if that'd make it easier to stretch or just be a pain in the ass. any one have any input on what i should do?

Answer by Ash
Submitted on 8/12/2005
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Hey, I'm 15, and have been stretching my ears for a while. Currently I'm at 14mm, but I really don't recommend skipping gauges, however smaller gauges are okay to skip.. Just BE CAREFUL.. and wait at LEAST a week in between stretches. Make sure you use PLENTY of lube, and clean them as often as you can!. My ears tend to bleed when I stretch, but if you downsize a mm or so when they do bleed, they'll stretch better, and your lobes will be much thicker. The best way to stretch is with tapers, as just forcing a bigger plug or tunnel in doesn't help, as they're blunt, and can cause thinning, and all sorts of bad news. The most important thing is to LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. Just because your friends ears healed in a few days, doesn't mean you will. If you want to save money, wrap your tunnels with some Teflon (plumbers) tape. It'll only set you back about $0.60 cents a roll, and saves you buying plugs for every size up to your desired gauge. Massaging your lobes is EXTREMELY beneficial for you!.. Use a little oil (be careful which type) and rub your lobes without the jewellery in, for about 15mins every night, and your lobes will stretch much easier. Never stretch your ears by just adding more and more sleepers or CBR'sin at a time, or using weights. This WILL ruin the shape of your ear hole, and weights especially can cause nasty tears in the lobe. Lobes will close up until you get to about 12mm.. but remember, it also depends a great deal on how fast you heal, and your skin, so just make sure you know your body, and listen to what it tells you!

Answer by Dylan
Submitted on 8/22/2005
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Just to quiet all of the rumors and the myths on this page about the subject that you have to stretch gauge by gauge. I was stretched from an 8 to a 00 and if you have a properly trained piercing artist you can use a taper and stretch up to 6 sizes at a time, until your ears go past 1" where the variable of tearing the lobe open becomes an issue... Use Tea Tree oil and Jojoba oil to keep the skin supple as well as the soap your piercer prescribes you. Yes bleeding is normal when you jump gages, and will stop quickly with pressure of a tissue (just go home and watch a movie and keep the tissue with applied pressure on your ear) and, voila you have a beautiful new body candy to sport. Happy trails everyone...

Answer by Nikki Horror
Submitted on 8/23/2005
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Hey all, I'm stretching my ears and I've learned a few things through the process... Wait at least 3 weeks to a month in between each stretch before moving up to the next size. Never any sooner! Guaging your ears involves inserting a foreign object into your body, which it has to get used to. The tissue around your ears gets traumatized every time you stretch. Give it time to heal!!! Your earlobes should NEVER bleed or become bruised. Rushing it is NOT worh it in the end. Doing it the RIGHt way goes faster than you think. Every day, take out your plugs gently and clean your ears, o-rings, and plugs with Bactine (in the white and green bottle) and a cotton ball. Bactine doesnt have as much alcohol as other products and quickens the healing process. When you and your ears are ready for the next size up, you'll be able to tell because they'll slide right out the next time you try to clean them. When they start to do this, wait another week until they're perfectly healed up. Once they are healed, your new plugs still won't go right in. (How aggrivating!) Before you try to put the new plugs in, leave the old ones in and stick 2 18g earrings NEXT TO the plugs in each ear. Leave this setup in overnight(at least 8 hours). Time will ensure that swelling has gone down (it's practically impossible to insert a new plug when your ear is swollen)and the earrings will have stretched your ear to the next size! In the morning, take everything out and clean it all REALLY well. Put some skin-sensitive soap (just a little!) on your ear lobe. GENTLY wiggle the new plug into place. In a couple hours your ear will have formed to the new plug and you can take it out and clean it and your ear with the bactine. Hope this helps! <3Nikki

Answer by aiden
Submitted on 9/4/2005
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most of you are stretching way too fast. i'd hate to see your ears. skipping sizes is not a good idea. it can cause rips and tears. when you rip/tear your ear, it causes a lot of pain, and it lowers your chances of getting your ear back to a normal size if you ever decide to stop stretching. i think most of you are using a method called "dead stretching", which is just forcing a plug through without a taper/lube/anything. this is not good. use a taper, and lube it up. you can also you a method called "taping". you add a layer of tape around your plug once every few days. this takes a while, but it will keep your lobes way healthier than shoving a plug in them. i'm currently at a 2g, and it've been stretching upwards of a year. i can say that i've never had a blowout, bleeding or pain. when you stretch, it's not supposed to be horribly painful. it's not supposed to bleed, either. take your stretching slowly. it's not about finishing the "race" first. it's about patience. i'd rather have healthy lobes that took years to get, rather than unhealthy, bad looking, smelly, bleeding lobes that took me a month. take your time with stretching. you'll kick yourself later if you don't.

Answer by huh!
Submitted on 9/30/2005
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HOLY!!! Some of you children are very naive.. Shoving big object in you're ears really fast can cause "Blowouts" Meaning nasty keilods, and having to most likely have surgery to remove them. Streaching takes time(YES even if you want to have those hot 1" plugs in you're ears right now). I've been streaching my ears for a couple years now, and I'm at 1/2". Call me a wimp, but really I'm just listening to my body. When it hurts alot, I stop, wait for it to heal completely and then continue(or not depedning on if I'm happy with the size at the moment). Bleeding IS not a good sign, You're body is telling you it doesnt like it! As for closing up when you're older, it really depends on you're body. I've heard stories where 7/16" have closed up and stories where there were problems closing up as small as 6 gauge. Make sure you know that you wont regret what You're doing later. I started at a standard (18/20??) And went to 14. It was easy most likely becuase I'd had the peircings since I was a small child and they were pretty loose... I then went to 12. Then 10- Then 6 - Then 4 - Then 2, Then 0 -- Then 00 -- Then 7'16, and at this point I started slowly raping electrical tape around these plugs, until I eventually got to where I am now 1/2". For now I am very happy with the selection of plugs around my city for this size of gauge, and I am not sure of weather I will streach them again or not. All I can say to you naive streachers, is beware of the consiquences you are dealing with. Good luck streaching. x Peace-Love-Freedom

Answer by Stretching help.
Submitted on 10/15/2005
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Okay; so, I had me ears pierced on the bottom for as long as I can remember. I've worn 14 gauge horseshoes for like 2 years, and then I found out about stretching. I thought it was just about the coolest thing ever. So, I started out with some 12 gauge plugs; they were quite hard to get in, and after about 2 weeks, I got 10 and 8 gauge earrings. So, I put the 10 gauge in one ear, and it slid in with no pressure! So I wanted to see the difference if I put the 8 gauge in the other, and well, it slid in easily too. So I took the 10 gauge out of the other one and changed it to an 8. Beleive me, I knew if I would have had to put pressure to get the 8's in skipping the 10's I would have not done it, but since it went in easily I didn't see any harm. So, now, attempt 2. My friend bought 6 gauge stretchers... She's only at a 12 and lent me hers greatfully. I'm trying so hard to get them in, I've tried everything, and they won't even go in barely half way! I don't know what's wrong, But I feel a strong burning sensation, but it doesn't look like most do, So I'm trying not to stress my ear to much because I do not want to cause a tear or blowout. I really need some help with the 6 gauge! PLEASE help me if you have any information that may help me! I plan on going to 2, and I know after a while I may want my holes to close up to wear normal earrings.(When I'm older.) Also, does the style of earring help. I found the horseshoes went through easier then stretchers/tapers. Please help anyone! Add me to msn or e-mail me if you want to help me! Jill_MacDonald_2@hotmail.com

Answer by blaze
Submitted on 10/17/2005
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wussup poeple. right now im at 5/8's and im stretching to 3/4 inch next. i started from 12 then i went to 6, from there i went to 2, and then 0, then 00, then 7/16, and now i just went to 5/8. ide have to say that the easiest way to stretch is to either use a taper, or pop um in right after you get out of the shower while your ears are still wet. if you know they are about to split when you are stretching them you have to make one of two decisions. either you can keep going untell they are all the way in there and just let them heal after about 3-4 days, or you can stop. and wait a few days, then try it again with a different technique. & for all you poeple that say your ears wont close up after 00' you are wrong, i had half inch plugs in and i took um out and in about 3 months they were 14 guage again. anyways anyone have any questions jus hitt me up at anewnlitenmnt420@yahoo.com peace- blaze

Answer by hollow
Submitted on 10/30/2005
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The truth is, you should always taper and never skip gauges. Sure some might brag about stretching their ear out to a 0 gauge in less than a month but in the end they will be regretting it. All it takes is a little patience, and in return you save yourself the trouble of the pain and risks of stretching to fast. I speak from experience when I say that it is a bad idea. I stretched both of my ears out to 00 and in that time I was skipping gauges and not using a taper. Not a smart idea at all Below is a whole different topic, it explains the methods that I used to get my ear back to normal, read on if you wish. After a few months I decided to take them out and they would not close. They shrunk down to about a 4 gauge so I ended up just leaving those in until I found out about a little trick. Now this is ONLY for those who are sure that their ears will not close the rest of the way on their own. I actually figured this out on accident. I decided that I would stretch my lobes back out again so I went into the old jewelry box and found the 2 gauges. I only left them in for about a week until I wanted bigger. I went back and got the 0 gauges and put them in. My ears bled and hurt a lot but I was used to that. I finally came to my senses the next day and realized how stupid that I was being, so I took them out to just let them heal back to a 4 gauge and be content with that. To my surprise they healed much more, all of the way in fact. I was actually very happy but still very surprised. About 2 weeks later they were both completed closed with no scabs. There was still a problem though, the scarring. I say there was still a problem because that problem doesn't exist anymore. I found out about something called "Cocoa Butter". It is a lotion used to treat permanent scars, usually for things such as stretch marks after a woman gives birth. That along with some Vitamin E tablets, which I took orally and cut open to use directly on my ear lobes, rid my ears of and scars. Here I was thinking that I would have to deal with holes in my ears until I could save up for the surgery, when this simple and effective solution came along. So all in all it is simple, if you are down to your last resorts on trying to get your stretched ears to close, taper them about 1-2 gauges bigger than your ear is now and don't put and jewelry in them. Let them heal completely then begin to apply Vitamin E and Cocoa Butter (or anything that you might have in mind, I have heard Emu Oil works just as well) to them and watch the scars disappear. I hope this has helped, just wanted to share my thoughts and experiences. I plan on piercing my ears again and maybe even spacing them out again, but I will definitely use the safe and slow process this time, the risks just aren't worth it.

Answer by Mir
Submitted on 11/12/2005
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Alrighty, I decided to gauge my ears (For the first time) about a year ago. I started with a 12, it kind of hurt but it's all good. Then I went to a 10 then an 8. I stopped there, and let them go back to a 14 or so. Then I put them back into 8's but I also did it with my 2nd piercing in my ears. Then I decided I wanted 6's for my main hole. Got some pentagrams off eBay, and when I was putting them in (they were tapered, but a the the wrong ends to stay in, yeah big mistake) my right ear tore, so I had to have a 6 in one year, and an 8 in the other. I could not get this other 6 in for the life of me. I ended up skipping from 8 or 4 in one ear without a problem. I am currently at 2's but going to 0's and stopping (hopefully, it's addicting!)I have 6's in my 2nd holes, and I have a 14 in my cartilage. Happy gaging!

Answer by d-rock
Submitted on 11/14/2005
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I'm at 1" now after about 6 months of gauging starting at a 14. from experience with me and my friends one of whom has inch and half it is normal for your ears to bleed when you stretch with tapers only stretch with tapers up until 00 because you don't want to build up to much scar tissue from ripping them- it will make it harder to stretch. after 00 just tug on them everyday and twist them around and if you can wrap electrical tape around your plugs to make them the size in between because nobody wants to buy brand new 20$ earings every time they go up a size. never stretch into most wood plugs because it will dry out your ears and could get pretty ugly they will be almost impossible to twist and hard to take out. and last but not least if you decide to go very big say 3/4 or 1" don't put the plugs in until you have tugged on them and stretched them out enough for a pretty smooth fit because it is much easier in the bigger sizes to blow out your ears which is where the inside skin touching the bottom of the plug actually gets twisted out the back and is really nasty and is very hard to get healed.

Answer by Marlee
Submitted on 11/20/2005
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when i gauged my ear's i went from normal to 12,8,4,0 in 2 month and the only time i bled was from a 4 to a 0 because i didn't have a taper if you tapper your ear's you will be fine just don't go from like a normal percing to a 00 my friend did it and it blew out his ear it looked like gut's where hang out of his ear and actually it depend'son the person's type of skin i didn't have my plug's in for a week and they didn't grow over my ear's probably wont but if you want them to grow over what was the point of doing them in the first place? to be a hardass i stretched my septum parents found out i had it and had to take it out but my hole is still there so it really just depends

Answer by matt n.
Submitted on 11/21/2005
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noone in my town sells 12g. so i went slow from walmart gun peircings, completely healed. to a 14g with some vaseline , no pain at all. let that heal. when i oculdnt find 12g, i just used 3 assorted sized wood nails (new in box) .cleaned them w/ peroxide and alchohol. cut off about 1/2inch from the tip and they went in real nice and just held them in with rubber bands from some 10g's. the tapered tips make it so much easier, and they say metal heals better than plastic. this way instead of a big stretch from 14 to 10g. i have 3 different sizes between. i guess i don't see the need for discomfort and bleeding and scaring. when i'm done my lobes will go right back to normal without complication. im in no race. conclusion: if you're poor, go to lowes. nails are sold by gauge. a 14g nail is the same size and material as 14g jewelwry. just cut off the excess length with wire cutters. someone tell me if this is a bad idea.

Answer by Andi
Submitted on 11/30/2005
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Okay guys..... I'm not a professional piercer, however, I have taken several anatomy classes, physiology, and have been a fan of piercing since I was 15 (and I'm 26 now). Now: for my advice. If you are stretching your lobes quickly- ie from a 14 to a 10 then a 6 then a 2 in 3 weeks, your body will tear. Tearing is not good. Stretching is the idea here. Contrary to what many people here seem to think, pain when you are stretching isn't good. Pain is your body's indicator that something is wrong. If you have been at a...say 8 g for about 3 months (one month minimum to heal- I'd advise at least 2-3), and then go to a 6 and repeat, your stretches should go flawlessly and easily. If you go quickly, your ear will tear and then re-heal (unless it gets too infected, in which case you may have to have surgery to correct your mistake.). This means that stretching too fast means it's not just bad for your body, but will likely make it nearly impossible to get your ears back down to a normal size should you ever wish to. If you stretch down slowly, you can size back up the same way- I've had a friend go from being 1/2" to an 8 g in about a year- but then, she tapered down slowly. So- I really advise that you DON'T use a taper bar to go from a 12 to a 6 or an 8 to a 2....even if it's done in a shop, many piercers don't know how to stretch properly. Their job is to poke holes in your body- not expand them...usually. There's a good guy over at Body Manipulations in Berkeley- give 'em a call and ask if you have questions- they specialize in stretching. (No, I don't work for any of these companies, I've just been doing this a while) If your ears hurt very badly after you've stretched, and they are bleeding, you need to go back down a gauge or two and take care of your ears. Make sure they are TOTALLY healed before you attempt the stretch again. Whether you're healing or not, I advise washing the piercing with Dr. Bronners (great stuff!) and then rubbing in some vitamin E oil or collodial silver. Both are excellent for healing. The C silver has healed me of many an infection. Salt water soaks are also good. Once you've reached the desired size, it's best to take your jewelry out overnight so that your skin retains it's elasticity. When you are ready to stretch properly, the best method is to get a taper bar (most are pretty inexpensive), sterilize it, and then slowly stretch your piercing. After the stretch is complete, you can slide the jewelry right on in like an extention of the taper bar. If you're encountering alot of resistance, DONT force it! Get yourself a set of talons and slowly use them to stretch up. This could take a few weeks, and yeah, you'll look a little wierd- but just think how bad you'd look with red blisters and pustules all over your lobes (or wherever you're stretching!) Not to mention how crappy you'd feel. This is supposed to make you feel good about yourself- it's not self-mutilation- it's celebration! Also- some people are fortunate enough to have resiliant bodies so they can bounce back from shoving a 2g taper into a 12 g hole. They are the EXCEPTION- RARE at that. NOT the rule. Don't risk it. Any other questions, feel free to ask me at MrcnBty@aol.com. Again- I'm not a professional, but I've been doing this a while. THE MOST IMPORTANT THING: When you pierce, stretch, or otherwise modify your body, you are a part of a legacy that stretched back at least 4000 years in the history of mankind.(More for tattooing) Don't undertake it lightly. Look up what your body mod means and incorporate it into your life. It's all very well to look 'kewl' when you're 16, but when you're 45, you need to be able to go out in public and be proud too. Best of luck to all! -Andi

Answer by Sarah Calcagno
Submitted on 12/29/2005
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i started a long time ago already pierced ears at i think a 14 or a 12, which was really really easy... after letting it get back to normal..... i started again... trying to fit a 10g into a size 16 hole,... it kinda hurt... i was worried i couldnt get it in all the way... after slow twirl pulling forward movements on my spike surgical steel needle i got it through... and then it got infected... so i stopped the peroxide and switched to salt water,... warm up water and add salt, clean hands soak the stretcher for a bit, clean off the stuff and used a q tip to clean ear... i also used ice for about 30 min, i dk if it helped :\|... but infection is almost gone at the moment.. i hope to get to a size 6.... or about a dime size.. my mom thinks ill never get a job, and such but w/e i really dont care it will close. and all will be good if need be,... its about closing cultural gaps, and expressing yourself with as many accesories as possible :P i wouldnt skip more than a gage, depending on your ear, and if your a regular earing wearerr... yea.. i hope it helped... and i hope my mom leaves me alone about it!

Answer by AuStEn RoSe
Submitted on 1/21/2006
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my ears are at a 7/16 on the bottom and a 4 on top.. i don't know if this will help anyone but im a professional body piercer.. its best if you dont skip guages and the recomended time to wait between guages is 3 to 4 weeks.. stretching them any faster then that can tear them and assuming you only stretch to a two or smaller they will shrink back to normal size.. however when you tear your ears and let them shrink they end up looking like a cats butt hole.. trust me my ex boyfriend tore both of his in one ear and now he has two cat butt holes in one ear.. its not pretty.. for all of you who skipped guages and bled that means you tore them.. i wish you the best but you might not want to let them shrink because i gurantee you they will look funny.

Answer by x-Al-x
Submitted on 1/26/2006
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hey, well, i just like to tell my story, i got my ears pierced when i was like 10, and i decided last autumn, after seeing my frend who had it done to do it, even though my mum won't let me! (hehe rebel I know!) well anyway, i went with my boyfriend and had my normal earring hole stretched to 8ga, really fast I know. I was being a brave lil' girl, and cringed my way through it. The pain went in about 5 hours. I waited 2 weeks, and then had it done to 4ga. Skipping a size, bad girl. It hurt like hell, agony, I would say, but it was worth it, its never torn or bled, it gets a bit smelly and its sticky for the first week or so, but definately worth it. I want to do one myself, but im a wuss, so i go to a piercers and he does it with a taper. Don't worry about skipping sizes if its small, its when you get big its the problem. I'm waiting until my sister leaves home, and then im going to 2ga! YAY!! but i think i'll leave it at that, i want it to go back to normal, if i ever stop being rebelious, i don't wanna walk down the aisle with a plug in, not exactly elegant. But all those who want it, get it, you only live once! lovies -x- p.s. my mum still hasnt noticed, 6 months later!

Answer by CBZ
Submitted on 2/12/2006
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Like everyone smart said before me, DO NOT SKIP GAUGES! IT'S NOT COOL! IT'S NOT TRENDY - IT'S ONLY HURTING YOURSELF. AND IT'S DISCUSTING IF IT SWELLS UP AND GETS INFECTED - which it's likely to happen. It ISN'T supposed to hurt, it SHOULD be gradual. That is the fun about it. I started with 10's from normal pierced ears, but they had been pierced for about 12 years before that. I'd suggest starting with a smaller gauge like 16, 14, or even 12. The 10's hurt me a little bit and it took time for the one ear to heal. I moving up to the next gauge took 2 weeks for me and it was painless. THE WAY IT SHOULD BE. I'd reccomend waiting two weeks. If there is any redness or hurting, listen to your body and wait another week. It is unnessicary to strech your ears that fast. Not only is it unnessicary, it's stupid, too.

Answer by Twitchy
Submitted on 3/2/2006
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I currently have an 8g in each ear, a 14g above the 8g in my right ear, and a 12g above the 8g in my left ear. I have had no bleeding, bruising, or pain with my stretches. I started out with the standard crappy 20 many many years ago. I have been progressing slowly with my "stretching" due to school. (Not allowed to have two earings in each ear for my clinicals) I've been going along this way ~ 18-16-14-12-10-8 I bought a lot of 100 plugs from e-bay (14-00) for about $30. I haven't used tapers. I change each hole up a size about every month. I would suggest doing it this way for people who are worried about pain and healing. I wash my hands, disinfect the plug, put a tiny amount of antibacterial ointment for lube and slide it in. Nothing to it. Doesn't even sting. It aggravates me having to wait so long to reach my goal (0 in the lower holes and 2 in the upper holes), It seems like i'llnever get there, i'malways tempted to go bigger and faster but right i have to do it small and slow because of school. (Yuck) probably for the best anyways.

Answer by Kickin'Wing
Submitted on 3/8/2006
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hey guys. i started off with a 16 then. i waited about 2 months then went to 14s. after than i got really impatient and went to a 10 then to an 8 withing tow or three days later. Not having much knowledge in the art of ear stretching, i tried to shove in a 6g double-sided flare. bad idea. it busted out the backside of my ear out and blood was everywhere. it hurt so bad that i was just like screw this i cant take it. so i took them out the next day and i put my eights back in. had them in for a few weeks. i was bored with them now and i wanted to go bigger again. so i go and get a set of tapers. 6g 4g 2g were the sizes. as soon as i got home i stretched my ears out first with the 6g taper then with the 4g taper so i could get the ends in. I still have them in today. taking them out everyday to clean them of course. now here is my question. i still want to go bigger. maybe to a 2g or 0g, but the fear is in the back of my head that they will never grow back to a hardly noticible size, for i look forward to having a professional job as an electrical engineer and im afraid that i will never be able to get a job with big holes in my ears. so if i go bigger will they grow back when i am done done with them? please reply

Answer by syrup
Submitted on 3/10/2006
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My ears have never bled in the stretching experience. I advice using good sterile metal , splurge a little , go to your local flea market , mall , piercing shop wherever and buy good jewelry. I suggest you do a little research also, anytime you are modifying your body you need to find out what you're getting into before it's too late. McDonald straws are 0s and many people make the mistake of using them as a easy stretcher but what many of you may not know is that plastic is porous and holds bacteria and can cause your ear to infect very easily, that goes for all plastics. Go slow over time so that your ears with return to normal size if you chose to do that later on in life, meaning months. Use stretchers to save your ears from blowing out , and don't rush it , take your time and save the pain. I never did this and I just kept stretching as fast as i could to get the results I wanted faster , and I'm satisfied but I've seen many freinds do the sme things as me and have horrible results.

Answer by allison
Submitted on 3/18/2006
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ok so ive been stretching for awhile now and never had a big problem if i had a problem id look up info to fix it and now here i am being a dumbass im at 00g and i tried to go to about a 5/8g the other day. heres why im a dumbass i tried to use a sharpie for a tapper but i forgot to disinfect it it hurt too bad and the earrings wouldnt fit so i put the 00g back in now about 2 days later its still pussing and bleeding and i took out the earring to clean it and i cant get it back in i refuse to take them out untill they get back to normal (it took me way to many months of sacrifice to get where i am) so i just stuck some 2g in. here are my qs what should i clean/disinfect my ears and earrings with? what should i do now with my bleeding pusing swollen ear? thanks! peace and love.

Answer by Marissa
Submitted on 3/19/2006
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90% of you are stupid as hell. Its not a game of who can suck it up its about the fact that you obviously arent mature enough to WAIT till your ears heal to stretch them,which is atleast a month inbetween and you should NOT skip sizes no matter what.It'll form scar tissue and one day if you idiots decide to grow up or just dont want them anymore your going to be stuck with ugly cat ass earlobes.And as for them closing up it depends on YOUR body no one can answer that question some people have gone from sizes like 7/8" to smaller than 10g but some people as small as 2g wont close up.By the way its called stretching not "gauging" and the jewlery isnt called "gauges" either theyre tunnels/plugs/tapers/etc. I hope all of you who stretched fasts ears rip in half you all deserve it. Esp. the kid who went from nothing to 1" in a month.

Answer by Ta2uedJen
Submitted on 3/21/2006
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Wow Just wow is what I have to ay to tthe following post: stretched my ears from regular size to a ten and it was no problem because i had my regular sizes for years and years and they just become so loose. it's OK to skip gages just as long as you put neosporin and antibacterial (preferably Dial) soap on it 3 times daily. Also, take the gages out, clean inside to get rid of germs and "crusties" (from blood or whatever) and play around with them (like twisting them and pulling on them stretches them even more so you're ready for the next size. Just because they hurt doesn't mean there's something wrong. Keep working with them--broken skin will always heal as long as you have the right material (metal works the best for me, at any rate) and keep them clean. Letting blood or puss build up is not only bad, but disgusting! Puss is a good sign (it means your ears are healing) but clean it off! First of all puss is not a good sign, it means its infected. LYMPH on the other hand is a sign of a healing piercing. If your ear has blood and puss go to the damn doctor. You shouldnt be using Dial thats way way to harsh. Use a mild soap. Or do sea salt soaks they work wonders. Neosporin is also horrible to use to heal due to trapping bacteria. Broken sink dosent always heal. If you use the aftercare you suggest then look for some problems down the road. You cant just use metal in your ears. U need to make sure its good quality jewelery. Skipping gauges isnt reccomened but you all seem to think its ok just because you havent had problems. But trust me when you get that cat ass affect then what? YUCK! Arrgss seriously people some of you are just asking for trouble.You all want good adivce check out www.tribalectic.com or BME.com

Answer by Call me Kris Klassic
Submitted on 4/3/2006
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Ok guys....I was just checking out this site and decided that I could post my experience here as well. As of right now, I am sitting at 3/4. I only have 2 sizes left to go before the inch. (7/8, 15/16). The gauging process has never once hurt my ears, and as long as done the correct way, will be amazing and a conversation piece for all that you meet. Basically, all you have to do is listen to your body. It will tell you when it is ok to gauge. If you gauge before the piercing is healed, then you will risk LOSING THAT PIERCING! This is no joke, I have seen tongues split in half because someone wasn't satisfied with the 0 that they had in it. But anyways. On to the gauging process. I prefer to gauge right after a nice, hot shower. This way the lobes are soft and relaxed. The gauge goes in much easier this way, and I quit using tapers after I discovered this method. This helps cut back on the cost of gauging by eliminating the tapers completely. BY ALL MEANS I AM NOT DOWNING THE TAPER IN ANY WAY, SHAPE OR FORM!! IF IT WORKS FOR YOU, USE THEM!! I have gone from 0 to 3/4 without a taper, just with the shower method. All you do is take a shower. Hot water for about 30 minutes should do. No special attention to the earlobes needs to be made with the water, just take a shower like you normally would, except this time make it last 30 minutes. Right after you get out of the shower, take your new gauges (only ONE SIZE at a time) and slowly and carefully work it into the ear. Yes it does take some pressure. Yes it takes some work. But it will all be worth it in a few months. Take care of those ears, or whatever your gauging, and you should be just fine. Hope this helps you guys out, I know no one was there to show me how, so I get a chance to help someone out with it now. Take it easy, take it slow.

Answer by [rick.
Submitted on 4/13/2006
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I just want to say one thing. If you are comfortable with stretching your ears fast paced then do it. But, stretching them extremely fast when your using your taper is stupid.My ears are 2g's now i'llgive you my process: I first had my mother do my ears with a gun (she is licensed) and I had 18s, after a period of months I decide lets stretch them so i took them to 14s. And then a little later on like probably a month I braught them up to 10s.I left them in for about... 8 monthes (due to my job wouldn't let me have bigger). I then stretched my ears to 6s. One day later...I took a hot shower, right after I got out I then took my taper (10g-2g) and I went from a 6 to a 2. My ear bled a little not alot. They don't hurt at all. Just like any other piercing. Thier not blown out. Thier not ripped. They look nice. But, I do suggest after you get past all of the smaller gauges that you should take it slow! Happy Gauging!

Answer by smokey
Submitted on 5/27/2006
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LISTEN!!!!..... i have 0gauges in right now, and had them for a while. im 15 and got my ears pierced w/ a 18 gauge w/ intention of stretching them. i got them pierced waited 2 days and went to a 12 gauge....then a 10..then 8..then 6..when i got to 4 it was a big jump, hurt to bad. so i did it the smart way: ELECTRICAL TAPE!!! it didnt hurt at all!!! take out ur plug, wrap a layer of tape around it, wait for it to heal like a day, then wrap another layer untill its the size of the nxt gauge...IT DIDNT HURT AT ALL OR EVEN BLEED!!! it ur gonna stretch, do it smart if it bleeds a little its ok, but if they bruse and/or bleed everytime u take them out and go back to the last gauge, wait for it to heal some, then try again w/ electrical tape!

Answer by CheckItOut
Submitted on 6/20/2006
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Ok here's the deal... I'm a third year medical student, and a licensed piercer, and I have five lip rings, my septum, both eyebrows, and the earl (or bridge... whatever you wanna call it) of my nose, and my ears pierced. I have the middle of my lip gauged out to an 8, my septum to a 2, and my ears are 7/8 inch (after about a year... I pierced at 6 gauge!). I fully expect all of them to close up if I ever choose to take them out. Here's why: Skin is really elastic. In other words, if you pull on a rubber band, it snaps back, right? However, rubber bands have their limits, no? If you stretch a rubber band very very hard and suddenly, it has a much higher chance of snapping, meanwhile, if you slowly pull on both ends evenly you can reach a point beyond if you were to just tug it really hard. The key is going slow. Skipping gauges is ok from time to time, but you gotta be careful with it. Here's why: The larger your gauges get, the heavier your earrings get. The weight will help the ear stretch. It is a gradual thing, yes, but its worth the wait. Always use some sort of anti bacterial lubricant (like bacitracin ointment) to insert a taper or new jewelry. NEVER EVER EVER EVER USE VASELINE. Vaseline does NOT have any bacteria killing agent, and will rot in your ear and leave it open to infection. If you notice any bleeding, take extra care to keep the area clean to ensure that crust buildup is kept to a minimum and clean it off often. NEVER PICK OFF CRUST! It can re-open the wound and cause scarring or just take longer to heal. Always stretch with non-porous materials, like metal and acrylic. Organic stuff like wood is ok after the piercing has healed/recovered, but will most likely allow for infection if used to gauge. NEVER use peroxide on piercings. Ever. I don't care if your piercing expert is in love with it, it's not good for open wounds. Peroxide is intened for surface wounds, like scratches and scrapes. Rubbing alcohol is recommended, as well as anti-bacterial soap. Unscented. Gauging doesn't particularly hurt bad, and you can do it at home with the proper equipment. Skipping gauges can cause scar tissue, which will not shrink. In my experience, if tended to properly, most people can hit an inch before they have complications with them closing again. Not recommending you push your limits, but if you really desire to, now you know. Just make sure its something you're ready to commit to. Have fun gauging, kiddos.

Answer by cati
Submitted on 7/6/2006
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i stretched my ears multiple times, the results change for everyone, the first time i went to a 14 automatically... then took them out, the second time i went from 14, 12, 10, to 8, in a matter of a month... then the third time i went from a 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, in a month, and the third time i went from a 12, 6, 4, 2 in a week... the 2 made it bleed. after each time my holes closed back up in a matter of a week or more back to its original peircing which was an 18. so gauging is very fun yet addicting. I'm stopping at a 2. my ears are very sore only when i touch them and are stiff and i can see them swelling, but its only been a bit over a day, and i am leaving these in until they feel completely normal. im rubbing alcohol on them and putting neosporin on them... they should heal up in a few days. so i can put my double flared 2s in... i now have clear plastic tapers in my ear, which works better when your trying to heal your ears but with keeping the same gauge... so it'll be less painful getting them back in after cleaning

Answer by tamara.
Submitted on 7/20/2006
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PLEASE PEOPLE. take it slow! when you stretch your ears too fast you tear the skin tissue on the inside of your ear and it will fold out to the outside, creating a blowout. and the only way to get rid of a blowout is to completely start over. Now, i had my ears stretched to an inch, and i took them out for 3 months, and i wasn't able to even stick a pen through. They will grow over, as long as you give them time. If you get vitamin E, or even any moisturizing lotion and massage your earlobes with it, it can help you to stretch, and close the holes. it helps create more skin cells, so it's easier to stretch or heal the hole. If your ears are bleeding , they aren't ready to be that size yet. clean them and take it down a size. Pain is normal, but bruising and bleeding means you're on your way to blowing out your hole. I'ma certified piercer, so I hope that i can be of help.

Answer by liz
Submitted on 7/21/2006
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Ok, first of all bleeding is NOT normal. And skipping sizes after a 16 is NOT a good thing. It will cause pain and bleeding in most ears, although some people are different. I suggest taking your questions elsewhere, preferably somewhere professional, with people who know what they are talking about. I just went from an 8 to a 6 about 5 minutes ago with only about 30 seconds of pain. I was using the hoop earings, and it hurt extremely putting them in. Now after getting plugs i relized that it shouldent hurt that much. so i recomend after a 10 to use plugs. But, also, i recomend not litstening to me, listen to the professionals that do this for a living. They won't mind you asking. www.myspace.com/pyncponnie

Answer by Lovelie
Submitted on 8/3/2006
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I have only read a few of these entries but I would like to type my experience that may answer some questions. I am a girl, 16, and decided to gauge my ears. I have had the standard size 18G in for years and I came across gauging to bigger sizes and was instantly amazed. My first experience involved me and a friend in a bathroom for 30 minutes, while we shoved a 99 cent knitting rod into my ears instead of a taper. It worked fine and I had a 10G now. I was told that you could instantly take them out and clean them, but that was bad advice. I took them out the day later and cleaned them with sea salt, neosporine and witchhazel, the best things to use, but getting them back into the hole was painful and made my ears swell. They finally healed a few weeks later and I didn't want to go the knitting rod route again so I went into a local tattoo shop that gauged ears for free. I didn't have to be 18 or anything, so it was win win. I went from a 10G to a 6G and it healed fine and didn't even hurt the next day. I went in 2 weeks later and went from a 6G to a 2G and it hurt.....I would recommend going size by size once you get up to the 6G. They are still a little sore and bled a little but they are healing up fine. As for if they will shrink back or not, I have no idea. I think if you decided to gauge your ears you should be able to be content with them knowing you are going to be 80 and wearing them!

Answer by Morgan
Submitted on 8/7/2006
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to clarify some things. it's okay to start at a 14.. it may hurt but that's normal. It's okay to jump sizes.. until you get to about 0g. if you jump sizes after hitting 0g.. then you have a greater chance of having a blowout. Blowouts can also occur if you gauge too soon. If you use a taper to stretch your ears SHOULD NEVER bleed. If they do, you should downsize and let your ears heal before gauging again. Sea Salt soaks are great for fresh stretches. and Massaging your ear will allow better blood flow and will allow more stretching. Yes you're ears will shrink back down if you leave your gauges out long enough. It takes up to 5 years to go down in sizes, and there's a chance that after hitting 2g that you will have a harder time being a normal size. Gauging is not to be taken lightly.

Answer by liam
Submitted on 8/24/2006
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I had my ears pierced at an 18 and bought tapers which brought them up to an 8. A week or two later, after it was healed, I put in size 6 plugs. I'm currently trying to get 4's in, they're kind of like plugs I guess it's just a one piece type thing, but I'm having no luck and it wont seem to fit. I'm temtped to buy a taper for a 4, but most of the people on here seem to have been able to go from a smaller size I had to a bigger size then i want. Any advice on how to get these through? I'm kind of new at this and dont want to mess it up. and to the girl who asked about gauging up after getting her ears done, start with 16, let your ears heal up, and then go to the next size.

Answer by Britt
Submitted on 9/1/2006
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No offense to anyone on here but the way some of you destroy your ears is not healthy. I have 9/16 inch gages(take a chap-stick cap and thats how big my holes are.) and just want to spread some healthy ways to gage ears and take care of them. First of all stretching every week and every other hour is a NO!!! What happens to your ear when you do that is your killing tissue. After years or even days after doing that your ear will split into 2 lobes. Your are not giving your body time to grow new skin to accommodate the holes and are doing nothing but harming your self. Here is what it looks like when you stretch to fast: <a href="http://www.bmezine.com/pierce/01-ear/A60318/high/bmegl243878.jpg"></a> When you do it the safe way (going up 1 size every six weeks wash 2 times a day with dial anti bacterial soap) you only damage the tissues. When you over do it you kill it. You are old enough to know that once something dies it NEVER COMES BACK. Your body dose not replace tissue only skin. You also have to remember that once you go to a 2 your ears will might not ever be normal again. Surgery to fix that is $500. Also think of job. When your a teen you think "Oh I'm going to be a rock star or skater or something and my ears wont matter". No. You are 1 out of thousands of people who want that samething. Have a back up idea and remember that in our country Gaged ears, tattoos, and piercing are not acceptable in a real job.I am in no way trying to get you to re-think what you are doing. I do it and I think everyone should have a way to express them selves. But remember things like this are a life style. If you want people to judge you and you can handle it by all means go for it. I do it everyday. These types on things are frowned apon like homosexuality. Regardless if you think homosexuality is wrong or right you need to see that tons of people are going to look at your ears and find you just as nasty as they find gay people. Can you handle that? Are you honestly going to be able to apply for a job and be the best person for it and be turned down because your ears are gaged and walk away happy and comfortable with your looks? Think about that if you said yes with all faith in your heart then here are some tips to help out with your ears. Gage only 1 size up every 6 weeks. Clean twice a day with Dial anti-bacterial soap. When gaging never use anything other than sent and water based lube. Things like Vaseline can case infection. When anything bigger than a 2 gage needs a taper. You can by them at hottopic for about $5 or at a tattoo/piercing parlor. Only metal when your ears are healing. Plastic and other things have tiny pores that can trap germs and can not be cleaned properly. If you but metal plugs make sure the O-rings are away from your ear because that can case itching and infection. If you trust your self enough its best to leave then O-rings off. If you still have itching you might be allergic to nickle which is in even stainless steal. Do not let anyone tell you other wise. The nickle is mixed with the steal in small amounts and will bother you when you get the earings wet or sweat. Metals that you can use are Titanium, Niobium and Platinum. These are a little more pricey but well worth your health. After healing is done and you are no longer going to gage use PURE tea tree oil to help scar tissue fade and soften your holes. Make sure you clean the ear daily because dead skin cells build up and make your holes smell like a dead cat. The larger the gage the more skin the more stink. Please spare your friends the horror of your stink. Gook Luck and please keep your gaging healthy!!!!

Answer by names chris emo chrs
Submitted on 9/5/2006
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k sup people i went from a 14 to a 10 in 5 min it wasent that bad cuz i have had the 14's in for like 14 years i got them perirced when i was 2 later that night i got a taper that goes from a 10 to a 4 i did that in 2 days then the other ear in like a day n a half well i thougth i was gonna leave the 4's n for a while but i was like hey ill just go to a 2 well the 2 taper fell right threw n went on the ground so the 2's were ez a week later i went from a 2 to 0's on both ears then a week later i went to a 00 i half to do my other ear tonight then a a couple of weeks ima go to 7/16 i might go to 1/2 idk cuz im worried about them not closin up if they close up to like 12 or 10 or 14's that will be great any one go n e answers?

Answer by names chris emo chrs
Submitted on 9/5/2006
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k sup people i went from a 14 to a 10 in 5 min it wasent that bad cuz i have had the 14's in for like 14 years i got them perirced when i was 2 later that night i got a taper that goes from a 10 to a 4 i did that in 2 days then the other ear in like a day n a half well i thougth i was gonna leave the 4's n for a while but i was like hey ill just go to a 2 well the 2 taper fell right threw n went on the ground so the 2's were ez a week later i went from a 2 to 0's on both ears then a week later i went to a 00 i half to do my other ear tonight then a a couple of weeks ima go to 7/16 i might go to 1/2 idk cuz im worried about them not closin up if they close up to like 12 or 10 or 14's that will be great any one go n e answers?

Answer by ruiner
Submitted on 9/6/2006
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i've read about half of this page and i haven't seen my problem on here as of yet. in one day i went from 14 to 4. it was all good and they healed nicely. a few days ago i put in some 2 gauge flares. the left ear did fine but the right bled quite a bit. not that i'm worried about the bleeding, of course that's natural if you're ripping your skin. my question is, i took the flares out to put 2 gauge tunnels in and since then, all of the cartilidge in my right ear has been really sore, mainly my tragus and what seems to be my inner ear. since the left one is completely fine and not sore at all, i'm wondering if this can cause an inner ear infection on the right side. i've noticed these small hard knots in my right earlobe as well, which i'm guessing are keloids. since all keloids are, are a form of scarring, do you HAVE to have them removed? any help would be really appreciated.

Answer by 337theuprise
Submitted on 9/25/2006
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my gfriend is a body piercer and she says u only get blowouts if ur dumb. i'vegone from a 10g to putting fingers in my tunnes and never had one i'ma double 0 now. don't stretch so damn fast and don't skip gauges after 8 mayb 6 and blowouts aren't a problem that simple calm down and wait a week or 2 between gauges let them heal. also don't over clean them thats very important irritating them is bad and will hurt more when u gauge up. the blood thing is tricky and i agree with most people in this forum but u don't have 2 take out the jewerly unless u blow it out then u gotta let it heal and probably won't be able 2 do it again due 2 scar tissue. u will have buttholes on your ears nice eh.

Answer by Annie
Submitted on 10/1/2006
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Stretching is a kinda long process, so i don't suggest it for the impatient. You can also tell alot about a person with gauged ears. When stretching, it's not normal to bleed! That means you ripped your ear, which can result in scar tissue. If you have scar tissue you might not be able to gauge again, thats why I suggest you take it slow. Up to a zero they should close up to normal or, almost. From there on all it depends on your body. If you are in sports, i don't suggest doing it. You can, but it might take longer while transitioning because you have to take them out often. Also, i don't suggest gauging cartlidge. It doesn't go back and it hurts alot. Have fun! For awesome plugs and spirals, go to onetribe.nu

Answer by expired_creation
Submitted on 10/16/2006
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Hello all, I recently decided to gauge my left ear (my right one isnt pierced) so I went out and bought a taper to go from 14 - 8g, also an 8g plug so I tapered it and put the plug in, waited 3 weeks and went back to the store to get another taper, the woman asked me what size I wanted to go to and I said a 0 so she gave me a 0g taper and told me to just get it in as far as possible until I cannot stand any more pain or until it wont go any further. I got it about 1/3 of the way in (with minor bleeding) and I plan on just pushing it in a little further ever few days I was just wondering if this is an OK method, your feedback is appreciated. ~ email ~ hotguy237@hotmail.com

Answer by greenbeaner
Submitted on 10/17/2006
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alright, so, i skipped most of the posts on here after i got about halfway down. You guys really need to talk to professionals before you do this instead of asking other people who are doing it. Contrary to popular to belief you should not twist, play with, or even touch. This causes a spread in bacteria and could lead to infection and delayed healing. Secondly, do not skip guages say from 8 to 4, and uses a taper when increasing size. Guaging to fast, as someone said, can cause keloid growths (skin masses and lumps) to grow underneath the skin. Finally your ears probably won't go back to their original size, but they also may...It depends on the person and how well you take care of the piecing/guage. Avoiding the proper care instructions can preventing your ears returning to their normal size at all. If anyone has any questions they can feel free to email me at greenbeaner@sbcglobal.net Thanks and hope that helps!

Answer by alyssalyn.
Submitted on 10/24/2006
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wow.. duh you all are reallllly silly about this.. "ITS NOT NORMAL FORYOUr EARS TO BLEED!" "i wait four montsh between gauges.." um.. yea.. within the past month n half. i have gone from 18 gauge to 000 gauge and its fine. my boss (the person who gave me my job) came up to me and i have a white acrylic spiral 00 gauge taper in my right cuz i need it to shove my 000 gauge plug in.. and shes like "you need to take that out, today.." and i was in 'grill class' in teh basement. and shes like "now.." and i looked at her.. (im 17 btw..) and i said, flat out, "no." and shes like "what!?" and im like "i take this out, my entire ear will close up, get infected and reek for weeks. my friend had that happen and i will not allow myself ot let my ears look liek that whne ive been working this hard." she pulled me into her office. and i f-n LOVE my job, i work the drive-thru at a family owned restaraunt so there strict.. but then not.. shes saying, "well you need to have your plug in that side by tomaro.. or you need to find another job.. or and alternative." and i was thinking.. OMG.. i cant do that. i put in my 00 spiral taper in the day earlier so its almost to the "mad-tightening-and-little-blood-pussing" stage.. and i told her then, "if i rip my ear or get a blowout because of what imposssible you want me to do.. then im gonna sue Culvers(where i work) for however much it cost to have the surgery to fix it. i kno this room is like two years old.. but i liek going in here and reading al the dumb ppl.. that think they cant shove a 4 to a 2.. or something. its like... take the pain. or the little pinching feeling and KNOW your limit.. it should NEVER EVER EVER EVER bleed when your putting the gauge in.. but its ok (im my opinion) to bleed a day or two after when you clean it. :]

Answer by c
Submitted on 10/26/2006
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you need to take your time. i started at a 12 maybe smaller. every month i would go up one size. for the smaller sizes i never used tapers, but it might be a good idea. i never had a problem with pain or swelling. i started using taper when i got to a 0, and the jump to a 00 was really big. yesterday after having 00's for a year i went to a 7/16 with a taper. i put the tapers in over 2 days because my ears wouldnt stretch that far. now that i have them in they immediatly swelled and theyre pushing forward from being so swelled, they're making the insides of my ears hurt too. i dont know if this is normal, or what i should do, i waited a year to go up, i stretch it over 2 days and i didnt push my ears too hard. its been a day and they still havnt gone down. does anyone have any suggestions?

Answer by chloe
Submitted on 11/7/2006
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i decided 2 taper my ears about 8 weeks ago. I went: 18 > 12: with a little pain but it was the 1st stretch and healed in a week, only tiny. 12 > 8: and another week is all going fine. 8 > 6 6 > 4 4 > 2: up until then it didnt hurt with the slides but this was like OW,but didnt tear or rip. 2 > 0: i didnt get this at all,i was thinking am i trying to put one thats too big in,but it was right and the next size up but killed!and my ear was so sore for like 2 weeks so a salted it all the time and now its normal again,phew! I have had a 0 in for 3 weeks and want to go 00 but after that last time i am waiting at least another months to make sure its really healed. Dont rush like me!

Answer by DUDE
Submitted on 11/14/2006
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Im a trained piercer and i work in Skin-Vasion in Manchester...so listen up if your looking to stretch your ear lobes.... Ok, first things first....do not stretch too fast. Dont be impatient. because if you do, this is what happens. The back of your earlobe inverts itself, and the skin folds inside out. This then forms a blood blister on the back of your ear. And YES, its is PAINFUL. This is called a blowout, and trust me, I know from experience that a blow out is the last thing your gonna want. There is no 'right time' to stretch. only stretch when you feel your ready. Stretched piercings look cool wen they are healed and done properly, however they can look awful if you rush things. so dont. Dont listen to any of the jackasses on here that say they stretched their ear from a 14g to a 2g...because they didnt. or else they wudnt have an ear left to stretch. hope this helps.

Answer by appleface
Submitted on 11/20/2006
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PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE CAN YOU KIDS THINK ABOUT YOUR BODIES. If you ruin it now what are you gonna do in 40 years? Before even considering stretching think about it for a while. Why are you doing it? For yourself or to look cool? Talk to your folks, and do your research! Done all that? good. Next bit. You should only ever go up one gauge at a time if possible. It will be overall easier and better looking in the long run. If you want big lobes, they arnt going to happen over night. If your ears were pierced with a gun they probably are about 18ga/16ga. with a needle it can vary anything from 20ga - 14ga. you should wait at least 3 months when you get pierced before stretching! Use proper materials too. If you cant afford to go up a gauge right now, dont use a glow stick wait until you can afford it! A taper is used to aid the stretch. You can use lube like KY jelly or vaseline to ease the taper through your ear. YES I SAID EASE. THAT MEANS SLOWLY AND STOP WHEN YOU SEE BLOOD DUMBASS. Get the taper which is one gauge up from what you have now. In an ideal world, you should wait until your ears are completely healed inbetween each stretch, so about 2 months, 1 month at the least especially above 10ga! Your ear should not bleed or be excruciatingly painful when you stretch. Some mild discomfort is about all with crusties for a few days afterwards. Lastly, keep them clean. Infection sets in seriously easily and is a bugger to shift. You should treat them like a new piercing. Sea salt soaks and antiseptic sprays are all good people. This thread is scary! Do your sodding research people and look after your ears. what did they do to you? I have my ears at 00ga right now and it took me 2 years to get there with the right methods and materials. happy stretching and listen to your body, when blood is pouring down your face stop pushing! xxx

Answer by Chanta
Submitted on 12/16/2006
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To AB -- I also went from a 6 to a 2 very easily.. I pushed the plug hard, and it went against my ear and eventually popped in. There was a little bit of throbbing but it stopped hurting after about 7-10 minutes. But I thought I was putting in a 4g. (I had ordered a wholesale lot). I didn't know I even had a 2 in until I went to a store and they told me I had a two in when I told them I wanted to go bigger, and to give me a size 2. Haha. And to Jam -- your ears do NOT heal in 3-4 days.. it takes at least a month for a small gauge to even heal up completely. You should ALWAYS wait until lobes are completely healed to go up a size. If your ears bleed -- then there is ripped tissue and you should care for it because it could scar up and leave nasty marks, or deformed ear holes. I did it all wrong when I was gauging my ears & now I know alot more on the subject -- the CORRECT way of doing it. I went from an 18g to a 12g but took it out and then maybe 5 months later I got a 10g pincher and went from 18g to a 10g and that was excrusiating pain. I left that in for around, a month maybe. After that I went to an 8g. I couldnt quite get it in so I put a 12g in with my 10g. Yes -- it kind of hurt. I got the 8g in easily and I moved to a 6 next and it went in pretty easy. After that I thought I was going to a 4 but I went to a 2. I'm at a 2 now and I'm taping them up to get to a 0 at the moment. So I went from an 18g to a 2g in the matter of 4 months. It should have taken longer. My friend has got to a 00g in the matter of 2 months. I find it easier to stretch before they are healed up cause the skin is lose and stuff, but its not good to do that. To Q-tip -- your ears will NOT heal in one day. I'm 17 years old and my parents buy me my gauges. They have told me I can't go any farther than a 2 because they are worried that it won't close up but I my mom has been linenant, she knows I've been going to a 0g with tape. STRAWS AND PENCILS? Wow. How unsanitary. (And, fyi, electrical tape is used commonly, and is safe). Always go slowly, and safe. If you have normal sized peircing holes in your lobes -- It's probably an 18g or a 16g. Go to a 14, 12, 10, and so forth. Don't skip.

Answer by The only smart one here...
Submitted on 1/3/2007
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You people are ridiculous. I cannot believe some of the stupid ignorant stuff I am reading on this site, it makes me sad. First of all...eventually any size will go back down to where you look normal. If you are attempting this take all jewelry out and rub vitamin E oil on your lobes in the morning and at night. They will close up eventually. Second, it is NEVER a good idea to jump up many gauges in one stretch. Gauges are sized how they are for a reason. If you're too impatient to stretch your lobes right, don�t do it at all, you are obviously too immature and not ready for it. Your ears should never bleed or hurt for long amounts of time. If they bleed, you�ve ripped, if you�ve ripped your body will form scar tissue. Scar tissue is much harder than regular skin and will not stretch. Therefore, it will make it much harder to go up or down a size when you want to. Buy a taper and a plug or horseshoe in the size you need. Lube up the taper with some tea tree oil or Neosporin, slide it all the way through (but not out). Then put the end of your jewelry up against the taper and pop it in. This is the easiest and safest way to stretch.

Answer by champ
Submitted on 1/16/2007
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hey i think i just gaged my ear by accident... there was this thick plastic pipe i found, and thought it was for the back of my ear ring, like a protector... it fit onto my earing and i wore it all day, but when i went to sleep and woke up the thick plastic pipe thing on the back of my earing slide up into my ear, and i went a whole day without even noticing it, untill i tried to take my earing out for skool... and yeah... its uhh... stuck in there, i could proboly pull it out, but when i tug a lil bit i feel pain, like its streching and trying to heal up... its not infected or anything and im cleaning it, but i think im gageing my ear at the same time... how long will it take for a stretched ear to gage out, or heal up... so i can remove my earing for skool?

Answer by TheatreKat
Submitted on 1/26/2007
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Ok, sometimes I wonder where people get their information from....Firstly it is NOT normal for your ears to rip, tear, bleed in any way shape or form when stretching if done right. If it's ripping that means your going too fast and need to give your body more time to heal. Secondly, Dial is NOT a good soap to use on fresh piercings, why? because dial is an antibacterial with a 9 minute kill rate, which means....It takes 9 minutes for dial to kill the germs. Problem is that there is an ingredient in dial that that will cause your piercing to dry out in 9 minutes. Basically it's doing more harm then good. What you should use is an antiMICRObacterial soap such as satin or provon, both work great. Satin is a lanolin base and Provon is an aloe base. Or a sea salt soak, or even H2Ocean works great. But please PLEASE...avoid the dial.

Answer by boredchika
Submitted on 3/12/2007
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When it comes to gaging ears there is no right or wrong answer. Everything depends on you and your specific body and skin. Sometimes one person can put 0's in and take them out and it will shrink right back down to nothing, other people, and also depending on how long you've had them in, you can put in 0's and they will always be somewhat stretched. It rarely ever happens that you gage your ears and then when you take them out they stay exactly the same size. When going up in size I would never recommend skipping more that 2 sizes, and once your are into the bigger sizes, 4+, I would never skip any at all. When I started gaging my ears I started out at a 14, they hurt like hell for a week and then they were fine and every time I went up in size they only usually hurt for a day or 2. If your going from a 14 to an 8 that is pretty risky. If they are bruising and bleeding that means you've ripped the skin and you need to take out the jewelry, let it heal completely, which can take a couple of months or more, and then try again. Ripping the skin is VERY BAD. When you do that, you create scar tissue, which DOESN'T stretch, so while a regular ear might only hurt for a day or 2 when you put in a new size the ripped one is going to take a little longer cuz the rest of the skin that is still intact has to overcompensate for the damage that you have done. Gaging your ears is cool but you have to be careful. I went up about a size every week, but I could have gone faster than that. So it's not like it takes a lifetime. Also, tapered jewelry helps a ton, you can get posts that go from a 16 to a 0 and you never have to buy more jewelry. Hope that helps anyone with questions.

Answer by tommo1990
Submitted on 3/12/2007
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about 3 weeks ago i got my ear peirced and then after one week i decided to strech my ear because i had done it before with my other ear and i wanted to be simetrical so after one week i went from 16ga to 10 ga then two days later i went to 4ga i left it there for almost a week and3 days ago i put in a 0ga which didnt hurt at all so the next day i put in a 000ga and through all of this i didnt have any bleeding just allot of pain when i was putting it through but i generally upsized just before bed so i would wake up the next day pain free i have now put a plug in at 000 ga because i want it to come back to normal size but im unsure weather it will actually come back to any normal size

Answer by lysia
Submitted on 4/12/2007
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hay im lysia and im a professional peircer.if your gonna gage your ears out you should be smart about it. the gageing process can be painful but thats the price you pay. if you move up too fast you can break the shape of your ear causing scar tissue to build up and it will be alot harder to get your ears to shrink back down to smaller gages if desierd. i recomend you wait at least 3 weeks before you go up to the next gage and keep your ears claen.sticking objects such ad pencils,pens and erasers in your ears to retain the gage is not a smart move. your ears tearing are open wounds and by putting objects in it that arent used for the process normally puts you at a greater risk for infection. i recomend stainless steel gages for newly gaged ears because they do not hold on to bacteria as easily. if your gages get infected, i recommend taking them out and starting over. good luck guys!!

Answer by Dave
Submitted on 5/13/2007
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Well I got my ears pierced at 14 gauge, which is common. Doesn't really hurt so its a good size to start out at. Then I put some 12 gauge in, which was nothing, there's no point you might as well go from 14 to a 10. After that I went to an 8, then to a 6. I decided to skip 4 gauge and go to a 2, since the size wasn't much of a difference. It hurt pretty bad then the others but I got them in. The next few days they were bleeding a bit, I took them out for a few hours and put them back in. Few days after that I cleaned them and they seemed fine, the holes healed nicely and looked good. Now I'm waiting a month before I go to a 0. Skipping gauges early is probably a better thing to do because when you get bigger, it will be harder to do. 14 - 10 - 8 - 6 - 2 - 0 is pretty easy. Only been 2-3 months since I got my ears pierced.

Answer by Spug
Submitted on 5/18/2007
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stretching is indeed a beautiful thing, and no your ears shouldnt bleed, tearing and stretching are 2 different things, when you stretch your seperating microfibers gently and it causes them to heal at a better rate and it feels like a slight burning sensation, my ears at my peak were 3 inches but do to an unfortunate accident, they got ripped, now i had surgery and back at 1 and a half inches, becareful of blowouts, downsize a little bit if it happens becuase its not good for your ears, also remember not to stress them to much, if your afraid of stressing too much just wrap your plugs in a layer of electrical tape every few days, its gradual but safer for those who dont want to take big risks, also skipping guages is okay if the next size slips right in, if its painful and bleeds, dont do it, just some simple words of advice

Answer by Cassie [the one with the answers!]
Submitted on 5/26/2007
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Ok every single one of you, except for a few of you, are very very uninformed. For those who don't know what stretching[gauging] is: Gauging is stretching your ears GRADUALLY from the normal ear piercing. For those who want to know when you should do it and how long should it take: stretching is an individual thing. there is no real time frame to do it. YOU SHOULD ONLY DO IT WHEN YOUR EAR IS TOTALLY AND COMPLETELY HEALED. As a general rule, most people, like myself, feel that a month and a few weeks is when the ear is fully healed. But a good rule of thumb is one stretch every other month. For those who want to know if you do gauge your ears, will they ever "grow up" or shrink up. This question is very very vague. everybody is different. thus, their lobes will shrink at different points... the widely known gauge is 2 or 0. they are considered the "point of no return." its where your lobes are considered to be significantly less likely too heal to the size of a standard earring [18g] stretching is not an exact science and should not be taken lightly. there is never any guarantee that your ears will shrink back up. if you are going to stretch, PLEASE make sure that you will be comfortable at that size as an old wrinkly person and with having your children and your grandchildren ask why you have huge holes in your ears. For the ones who don't have a clue to what to do when you want to stretch: it is important to talk about proper waiting periods. when gauging you need to only gauge one gauge at a time. [18-16. 16-14. 14-12. 12-10. 10-8. 8-6. 6-4. 4-2. 2-0. 0-00. and so on. YOU MUST WAIT UNTIL YOUR EARS ARE COMPLETELY HEALED BEFORE STRETCHING AGAIN!!! Put lube or hot water on your gauge before sliding it in. then you push it in. IT SHOULD NOT HURT! YOU SHOULD ONLY FEEL PRESSURE AND HEAT. IF IT HURTS,BLEEDS, OR BRUISES. GROW UP! Allow your lobes to relax! you can do this once the hole is healed, by taking out your gauges for a few hours and massaging them... even better with vitamin e oil or jojoba oil. For those with very sore or bleeding holes: If you are experiencing any of these PROBLEMS, then you have stretched your lobes to quickly. Unfortunately, this means that you have to backtrack to heal your lobes before you can consider stretching again. Downsize your jewelry to at least your previous size, if not further. treat your ears as if they are a fresh piercing or a fresh stretch.Once you think that your ears are COMPLETELY healed, wait another 2 weeks and begin doing vitamin e oil massages for at least another month. prior to the stretching. properly healing your piercing after a damaging stretch should take 2-4 months to be safe. Blowouts are not something to just blow off. a blow out happens when you stretch to fast. it is a section of tissue that appears as a flap on generally the back side of the hole. there is a few things that you can do to recover from the blowout. first and for most downsize immediately. not doing this can result the blowout to heal and that usually takes surgery to fix. second, the piercing absolutely must be treated like a fresh stretch. this means religious sea salt soaks and aftercare. Blowouts go hand in hand with tears, and most blowouts result in at least minimal tears to the lobe, so the aftercare is most important. THERE. THERE IS MY ADVICE AND WISDOM. YOU CAN TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT BUT YOUR THE ONE WHO WILL SUFFER IF YOU DON'T TAKE IT.

Answer by gaugegirl
Submitted on 5/26/2007
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Hi! Today was my big day. My boyfriend, who wears 00, took me to get my ears gauged from a 14, which i did myself, with his supervision, to a 10. But I wanted plugs, and no shops had size 10 plugs. So I STRETCHED TO 8's! To all you pro gaugers, i'm sure an 8 doesn't sound like much. But I am soooo excited! And I want to stay at an 8, its perfect for me. Ok. Well my questions now. Will an 8 close up easily if I ever need it to? Because my mom freaked out and said it won't close up, I know it will, but I need some encouragement that it will. Hopefully you can help me with that. So will it close up to a normal size piercing ever? And what does an 8 look like when u take it out. Is it really a big hole? Also, when will it be ok for me to put in a pretty piece of jewelry instead of a metal one. Because my boyfriend and the piercer said to only strectch with metal so it heals right. So when can I make my bf buy me some cute pink plastic 8's??? Thanks!

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Question by Elyse
Submitted on 7/11/2003
Related FAQ: rec.arts.bodyart: Piercing FAQ 2E--Genital Piercings & Their Suggested Jewelry
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Im stretching my ears gradually with plugs, I went from an 18 to a 16 to a 14 to a 12 and now to a 10. Next i will obviously get a 8. Eventually i want a 4 or a 2. I was just wondering after about a year or whenever i decide to take my large plugs out, will they ever close up to normal size holes like my 18 gauges or will they stay as big as they are? and if they do close up, about how long will it take for them to close up ?

Answer by Danny
Submitted on 7/22/2003
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Well, i have been upto 6ga and they closed up so i could not get a 18ga in there, now im going up to 2ga and they will close up. any size up to about 0ga should close up eventually. and they shrink faster when you have the flu. Danny

Answer by The Casualties
Submitted on 7/23/2003
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I had in 4g flesh tunnels for about 6weeks then i had to take them out for track my holes closed to 8 gauge ..even with 8g holes your ears still look normal ..now after track i stretched my lobes to 0g ..I think im done though

Answer by roxycheerchic
Submitted on 8/4/2003
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please help me!!! I gauged my earing holes from a 14 to a 8. Is it ok for it to be hurting? It's bruised and when I take it out it's bleeding. PLEASE HELP

Answer by Phillip Smith
Submitted on 8/13/2003
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Sup People, My name is Phillip.. I have 1/2 gauges in my ears now. When i had in my 00's i went rock climbing and one kinda fell out. I was out of town and didn't have a 00 plug so in 3 days.. it had already grown up to where when i got home i couldn't hardly get a 10 in there.. So up to about 00's they will grow up.. Good Luck!!

Answer by superman
Submitted on 8/27/2003
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i have a question! is it ok to start with a size 14?

Answer by KiMiThIN
Submitted on 9/1/2003
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Well, yeah it's gonna hurt!! You should have gradually went in size Oh and yes it's okay to start w/a 14. that is normal. i highly recommend taking out the 8s if they hurt so much, but if you wanna try keeping em, i suggest icing them alot... but if theyre brusing... i seriously would consider starting over, and waiting awhile for them to heal.

Answer by willie
Submitted on 9/8/2003
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i have a 14 gage....i feel special

Answer by Sarah
Submitted on 9/18/2003
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hey sup i right now i have 4 gages and i am gunna go to a 2 and man its hard going to a 2. I have golf tees in now bcuz i lost my one plug soo these fit fine. Its an attraction to my ears everyone looks at me funny lol you should try it lol!!!Does anyone know an easy less painful way of puttin in 2 gages?

Answer by AB
Submitted on 9/22/2003
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4 to 2 won't really hurt at all, I went from 6 to 2 no problem. The thing that really makes stretching easy is when you have your plugs in to play with them a lot. This just stretches your ear slightly and makes stretching experience easier.

Answer by maine2457
Submitted on 10/4/2003
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do a persons lobes shrink back after being stretched

Answer by GerM
Submitted on 10/5/2003
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yeah i have mine at 0 and i went from 18 to 6 to 4 to 0 and yeah its painful and it bleeds its normal and people dont look at me funny cuz i have the curved ones and they look like hoops but wen people see em up close they go EWWW! and pull back i just laugh

Answer by georgif
Submitted on 10/8/2003
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Stretching quickly is a bad idea. You can get keloids, which are nasty and may cause you to have surgery to remove them. You can stretch up to a 2 g. without having problems getting your holes back to original size. After that, it just depends on your body.

Answer by Jam
Submitted on 10/13/2003
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I went from a 14 to an 8 and then from an 8 to a 4. It hurts a lot yea, and yea its gonna bleed. Just buck up and wait it out. It should heal in like 3 or 4 days

Answer by Evan
Submitted on 10/13/2003
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i'm thinking about stretching my lobes wondering what is the best to start with??

Answer by hILO_gIRL333
Submitted on 11/11/2003
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i WAS WONDERING IF i GO TO A 00 WOULD IT CLOSE CAUSE i AM AT 2 RIGHT NOW SO i JUST WANTED TO KNOW.

Answer by hILO_gIRL333
Submitted on 11/11/2003
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i WAS WONDERING IF i GO TO A 00 WOULD IT CLOSE CAUSE i AM AT 2 RIGHT NOW SO i JUST WANTED TO KNOW.

Answer by nick
Submitted on 10/16/2003
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i went straight from an 8ga to a 0ga in a week didn't hurt at all

Answer by Dan
Submitted on 10/19/2003
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i hear that when stretching your ears, it's good to do it after a hot shower because your ears will be easier to stretch. this is what i heard, haven't tried because i only just got 14 gages in my ears

Answer by michael
Submitted on 10/19/2003
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I now have 3/4 and i went 16 14 12 10 8 4 2 0 00 7/16 5/8 3/4 your ear should heal up after time, and yea when you skip gages your ear should bleed and swell up it's normal. (there's not any thing wrong with skipping gages)

Answer by Dale
Submitted on 10/27/2003
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hey iv had 2 gauges in my ears for about 2 weeks and now i got 0 gauges and there pritty swolen i was wondern if i should take them out or wait and see if the swelling will decrees or wat so like tell me wat to do

Answer by clueless
Submitted on 10/29/2003
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hey is it ok to gauge ur ears at home. and if so what is a good size. i want little one and i dont want them to hurt alot. how bad does it hurt? and when u go to a place how do they stretch it?

Answer by steve
Submitted on 10/30/2003
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I just started with 10's about a week ago. It didnt really hurt to bad, and i was wondering how long i should wait before stretching them to 6's. can someone help me?

Answer by Cory
Submitted on 11/1/2003
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Sup Guys.I started with a 12ga,then went to 10's,then 6's then 2's and last 0's in the span of about 3 weeks.Now they are healed and lookin alright.I think that if you are going to guage your ears just do it fast.And skip around.You dont have to go by 1 size, even thought its probably less painful.

Answer by urka
Submitted on 11/6/2003
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hi i went from an 18 to a 14 with no problem and am thinking of going straight to a 10 in about a week (i put the 14's in about 3 days ago and they are healing perfectly) is that okay or should i wait longer? please help. e-mail me at: urka5430314@yahoo.com

Answer by dead__last
Submitted on 11/7/2003
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Hi, if your ear is only about 0g or smaller it will go back to normal (14-12g) When you start stretching farther is doesn't look so good. It looks kind of like a cat bum. My ears are currently at 1 inch and 7/8th. Do it slowly and be patient. When you are poor and can't afford big jewelry all the time, use electrical tape, it works good and is a good ear stretching idea.

Answer by Kelsey
Submitted on 11/8/2003
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I started out slow from a 18g to now a 6g...but how long should i wait before streching to the next g??

Answer by tall steve
Submitted on 11/10/2003
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i started at an 18g then waited a week and went to a 10g then in 2 weeks i went to a 6g then in 2 weeks i went to a 4g then in 2 weeks i went to a 0g then in 1 week i went to 00g then in 2 weeks i went to 1/2 then in 3 weeks i went to 5/8s then in 4 weeks i went to 3/4s then in 2 weeks i went to 7/8ths and im about to go to 1" today i love streching my ears its so sick u get so much attenition.

Answer by connie
Submitted on 11/11/2003
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hey i have no idea what the hell i am doing.i had one friend from my old school do it and it looked sick so I'm trying to do it. basically i just stuck plastic rods in my ears ( i cut plastic bristles off a brush and soaked em in alcohol and antibacterial ish) and its lookin pretty good so far. haha im resourseful, eh?

Answer by poag
Submitted on 11/12/2003
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I dont know if this will help any one but i went from 18g to 14g and then from 14g to 6g and then from 6g to 2g... didnt bleed... just a drop here or there when stretching..

Answer by Chicken Wing
Submitted on 11/13/2003
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I have two, 1 inch gauges. Everyone who writes on this website are being whimps. I stretched my ears in a month. They bled constantly but i don't care. The gauges look sweet.

Answer by heffa
Submitted on 11/14/2003
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i stretched my ears from a piercing size to 00s i skipped a lot of gauges i went from 16-8 and 8-2 yea it hurts but its more a burning feeling don't even stress about the pain. use a tapper and do it before you go to bed for when you wake up you barley feel them. its no big deal!!

Answer by Jamie
Submitted on 11/14/2003
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Hey i went from about a 14 to a 10 guage and then from there to an 8 then from there to a 2 right now i have two's in my ears and i am probablly going to go to a 0 in the next couple of days once i get me some tunnels. They do bleed when you gage em and there is a layer of skin that pops out when you do it but just try to keep it clean and don't take them out when you do it if it hurts. It will stop soon and the effect is TOTALLY worth it. I love mine and i love the attention that i get from them because people think its weird. Something to use for a guage is some of them large hoop rings when they are small like about a 14 or a 16 guage cause thats how i started.

Answer by w.s
Submitted on 11/15/2003
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its not normal for your ears too bleed when you stretch. if they do bleed it means you ripped them. there's no point in stretching too quickly, because scar tissue that forms after a torn lobe is much more difficult to stretch. and well rips can lead to worse problems such as blow outs and well blow outs don't look good. seeings how i couldn't get all of what i wanted into this you can check bmezine.com for a lot of info.

Answer by deadbysunday
Submitted on 11/15/2003
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i would hate too see half of your ears. bleeding and tearing isn't good. its going to cause lots of nasty scaring. blow outs just don't look good. my ears are at 1/2 inches. i love them there wonderful. just stretch slowly. if your ears rip and bleed down size a gauge and let them heal then stretch again. theres no need in rushing and taking the risk of having nasty looking lobes. if your in such a hurry too have your lobes big quickely just go get dermal punches.

Answer by goodCharlotte_lover55
Submitted on 11/16/2003
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I have a 14g in my right now, can i skip to a 10?

Answer by Ape
Submitted on 11/22/2003
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What is a good size to start gauging at?