0g problem.

[twizzzieb]

I had my 0gs in for over a month..
I've had no problems until recently, with my right lobe.
My earlobes always itch - even before I started stretching. Thats not what bothers me, though.
I took out my taper (it didn't hurt, no blowout, nada) and I rubbed it a little - and there was a little bit of spotting. as in blood. so, I downsized to a 2, and let it "heal" for a while. My ear quit bleeding (spotting) and when I put the 0g back in, it went right on through with no problem but once again there is some spotting. Is it just a small tear, and I should let it heal some more? I'm not sure because I know it's not a blowout and I didn't stretch too fast.


Maybe it misses my jojoba oil. hehe

[corazon_de_oro]

2G-0G is a pretty big gap on its own, that's why it's good to go to an in-between size. I don't know why the gauge system goes from 2-0, it's pretty ridiculous. Anyway, it also might be because you're wearing the taper; they can get knocked around quite a bit and put pressure on your ear/delay healing.

[twizzzieb]

Oh I taped from a 2g to a 0g. It took me a while, but my ears were healed... I just looked at my lobe last night and I think it just got really dried out because I haven't had any jojoba oil.

[twosharks]

Get real jewelry if you're wearing a taper, since that's only meant for insertion. A taper is a tool, not meant to be worn long term. If it's acrylic, that's probably why it's itchy, and even metal tapers tend to be low quality unless you spent a good deal of money on them. Even in healed piercings, acrylic isn't recommended for long term wear, and it's never recommended for a new stretch. Sensitive skinned people will also have reactions to low quality steel, so unless it's a brand name metal taper it's not a good grade of steel.

"Spotting" is still bleeding, and blood means a tear, whether it's a slight abrasion or a serious rip. Stay at 2g for the time being, and hopefully your jewelry is either implant grade metal or glass or even teflon. You should treat it like a new piercing, so saline soaks and gentle treatment for several months to let it heal and get strong. While it's healing, do oil massages and research teflon taping, a more gradual and gentler way to stretch that using tapers.

As for the gauge system of measurement, it wasn't originally developed for body jewelry, it's actually for things like wires and strings, that's why it goes backward. So in stretching, you should actually use 1g as a size, going straight to 0g is skipping if we consider the previous size increments. If you don't use 1g or a gradual method like teflon taping, you can easily expect 5-6 months or more for 0g to be an easy stretch.

[twizzzieb]

Okay, thanks for the input!

I found out my ear was dry due to being out of jojoba oil.
As for stretching, I have been using tapers for ten years (they've never done wrong for me) along with teflon tape. My ears have always been itchy (even before I started stretching) so that wasn't a problem..

Anywho I bought some jojoba oil along with some plugs (00g) and my ears are fine.