I'm at a 20g :(

[Sethzilla]

So I got ears pierced about 4-5 weeks ago out of the blue with the intention to gauge it. I had realized that it was ill advised that you should start out with a 20g or an 18g when you want to gauge, but it can still be done. Any thoughts on what to do, where to start, and what to start with?

[magalo le matelot]

Why we're not supposed to start with 20g or 18g ? That's absurd, who said that ! Its just that if you begin with 6g or 8g needle, it will be faster to reach your goal size.

To start you can directly put 14g in (size of a tongue barbell), then wait the correct amount of time and stretch to the next size, etc.

[leighmarie]

I agree, you can get pierced at any size before you start stretching, just getting pierced at a large gauge gives you a bigger starting point, that's all.

PS. 'Gauge' isn't a verb. It's a unit of measurement, not the name of the process. It's stretch, not 'gauge'.

[Sethzilla]

Ah I see thank you both. I've got a question about the sea salt cleaning method. Do you dip a qtip or Cotten ball in the solution or do you literally dip your ear lobes in it?

[corazon_de_oro]

It's only bad if you get pierced with a gun, which you should never, ever do.
Start with an 18G or 16G and work your way up, one size at a time, from there. Wait at least 6 weeks between every stretch, use lube/oil, and make sure you stop and wait longer if you feel a lot of pain or resistance.

[corazon_de_oro]

And for salt soaks you dip your ear in the solution and soak for 5-10 minutes.
I've never soaked my stretches though; if you go slow enough you really won't be creating any wounds, so aftercare isn't really necessary.

[Narci]

^Wrong

A new stretch is to be treated like a new piercing.

Stretching creates micro-tears in your ear which is why you need to let them heal and ALSO clean them like a new piercing.

They are wounds and sea salt soaks and precisely the way to take care of them.

[leighmarie]

^ Not necessarily true, if you wait long enough.

My last two sizes have stretched themselves, so I clearly didn't need to treat them as fresh piercings.

And I don't think stretching should ever create "wounds".

[Narci]

Stretching creates micro-tears in the ear.

That is what causes stretches.

A tear is a wound. There-fore a new stretch is a wound and needs to be cleaned and maintained as such.

Doing otherwise invites infection.

Besides, even healed stretches need cleaned in order to get rid of dead skin inside of the fistula.

Telling a person that they don't need to clean their stretches is terrible advice.

[leighmarie]

Telling a person that they don't need to clean their stretches is terrible advice.

Who said that? Because I certainly didn't.

I clean all my piercings on a daily basis, but that's completely different to treating them like a new piercing.