A little tenderness & stinging after stretch

[illusionaria]

I just stretched my right ear up to a 12g from a 14, and i'm using acrylic. I didn't have the 14s in for a very long time, which is a no-no, (I know, I'm bad...). I don't plan to cut the healing time short anymore, it's just not worth it, I'm definitely waiting a good four weeks until I move up to 10s. I know that it is normal to have a bit of stinging, redness or soreness immediately following a fresh stretch. I did this last night at about 10:30PM, and it's still a tiny bit tender if I move it around, and I can't slide or turn the plug at all yet. I'm guessing because, again, it is a fresh stretch, and not fully accomodated to the jewelry. Is it normal to still have a little tenderness, or perhaps my ears were just not ready yet? I clean my ears once or twice a day with homemade saline solution, to be safe, so cleaning isn't a worry. But I'm just a little concerned, since it's the day after and there's a little tenderness and a very minimal stinging, hardly noticeable unless i try to move it, etc. Thanks for any advice!

[corazon_de_oro]

Your ears weren't ready to stretch and it might be a good idea to downsize back to 14G. You should be waiting more like 6-8 weeks between sizes, not four.

[illusionaria]

Wow, really? I've never heard 6-8 weeks before. Most places that I've read say about 4 weeks, or more if the ears aren't ready.

Hahah, by the way, I'm Lindsay, too

[corazon_de_oro]

That's awesome! Most people seem to spell it differently so it's always cool to see another Lindsay.

And yeah, there's tons of mixed information out there about stretching... I've always been told 6-8 weeks by people with a lot of experience. Plus my ears have never been ready to stretch in less than 8 weeks. That being said, there's really no exact amount of time to wait as long as you're not experiencing any pain or a lot of resistance.

[illusionaria]

Right! It's always Lindsey or even Lyndsei.
And thank you for your advice, I suppose you can never wait too long!