Earstretching.net

sorry for being a noob when it comes to this. i am looking to start stretching i am going to be pierced with a 14g needle however i am not one for CBR or barbell rings (my work place does not mind piercings close to the lobes but doesnt like too much bling or whatever... so my question is can i pierce with the 14g needle and go right to a 14g plug? if so what would you recommend for cleaning/after care since i couldnt exactly take it out for cleaning right away. thanks in advance and sorry if this is a totally noob question.

There are 14G plugs, but most piercers probably won't have them in stock to pierce you with. Maybe try seeing if the studio will order them for you? They'll have to be titanium, surgical steel, or glass for a fresh piercing.

You could also look into getting pierced at a larger gauge like 10G-8G. This will save time and money with the stretching process, too.

Aftercare is the same as most other piercings... sea salt soaks (no more than 1/4 teaspoon sea salt per one cup hot water) for 5-10 minutes per day. Or just leave them alone and rinse them in the shower.

My piercer stocks plugs in 14g on up. They can pierce you and use either glass or quartz. Quartz is stronger at small sizes. If they don't have anything like that, like Lindsay said, you can have them order plugs for you. Good luck!

Ok awesome so it should be ok to pierce right to a plug then without having complications with cleaning it?

I didn't have any issues with mine whatsoever. I was pierced at a 10g and stretches immediately to 8g to put pressure.on the wound so it would limit bleeding. My piercer put glass plugs in and they were great. : )

thank you for the info and advice, i got pierced today with 10g and glass plugs.

Sounds like you made a good decision! I was pierced at 10G with rings, which caused problems with healing, then when I changed to glass plugs they healed wonderfully! Make sure you wait about six months before stretching them.

Thank you! So far so good, cleaning twice a day with sea-cleanse (i think thats the name) organic cleaner similar to H2ocean, it is geting itchy around the lobes near the piercing, i am assuming its due to healing and/or the salt in the cleaner. Is there some sort of oil or other product i should spray on or apply with a q-tip or just keep cleaning with the sea-cleanse until healed then worry about the oils etc.?

I would encourage you to either rinse your ear after using the spray or, preferably, do sea salt soaks instead (1/4 teaspoon of salt to 1 cup of water heated to be quite warm, but not hot or painful) and then rinse your ears with fresh water briefly and then dry them.

The salt will remain on your skin and your jewelry which can irritate your skin. If you briefly rinse the area after soaking, the salt will rinse away, leaving your ears free of crusties, blood and salt. : )

As for the oil, I tend to be conservative and encourage people to only use oils on healed piercings.