points of no return

[hawaii5o]

I know there isn't a specific size gauge you can get to where your ear will never shrink back down, but i was just wondering what the smallest (as in tiniest) gauge size anyone has ever come across in which the person's ear didn't shrink back to normal. I'm new to stretching and i want to go to at least 4g but i still want to be able to be ensured that my ears will go back to normal (i love wearing earrings). I read online on another site that if you have a harder time stretching your ears and it hurts more that your ear will be less likely to shrink back as easily. Is that true? any one have a size recommendation i should go to that would be consider playing it safe? thanks : )

[HateJustin]

my friend stretched up to a 00 and they closed back up as if there never was a hole there. i'm pretty sure the point of no return is like 7/16 but you can never be sure, seeing as everyone has different ears. i think you should go up to maybe 2g and you'll be completely fine.

[twosharks]

I have an 8g piercing that didn't shrink past 10g after about 6 months without jewelry. I have several 14g piercings that didn't shrink after over a year naked, although some of them closed entirely. Seemed the older ones and the ones stretched instead of pierced larger were the ones less likely to shrink.

Personally, I wouldn't recommend you stretch at all, especially to 4g, if you know that you want them to be small again one day. I'm old, and my piercings are old, so they are set in their ways. If you're young and don't stay large for long, you may see lots more shrink than I ever will. Then again, you may not.

[Kryssa]

I've been up to 0g twice now (stretched slow and safely both times) and they've always gone back to 10g. It's a size where nobody notices my ears are larger than a normal piercing, but they are.

[Acacia]

My friend went to a 12G and her ears never returned to normal- when she puts earrings in now, the hole gets that granny-look.

[magalo le matelot]

If you don't want them for life, don't do them. Stretching is permanent.

[corazon_de_oro]

^ She's right. I mean, some people do shrink their lobes, but it should always be seen as a permanant modification.
Also, people who have a harder time stretching probably will have less chance of shrinking their holes because their skin isn't as elastic. Another thing that can keep ears from shrinking is scar tissue, and if you skip sizes or stretch too fast. But yeah, at any size it can be permanant. 4G isn't going to give you a huge, gaping hole or anything though.

[Hybrid]

Another idea is if you know that you want to stretch and wear normal earrings, stretch until 4g or whatever size you want to, and get your ears repierced.