Earstretching.net

Hey, Im sorry, im new to this forum and this is probably going to sound like a stupid question but i am going to do my very first stretch in a couple of days, i have a 1.6mm stainless steel taper to start. Ive heard a lot that you cant sleep in tapers so i was wondering what you use instead? is there a certain type of jewellery to use? the only ones i have seen are much wider on the outside than the 1.6mm bar in the middle? is there a particular nam for the piece of jewellery i use? do i just follow it through straight from the taper?

also, when i put the taper in do i push or pull it through, or does it not matter? how long on average does it take to get the whole thing through your ear? and lastly, if it starts to get sore should i just leave it half way through and try again later? i have a pretty good pain threshold but i really want to be careful not to damage my ears. Im thinking of having a shower in the morning and doing it after that, so then i have all day to get used to it before i sleep, is this a good idea?

That turned out to be like a million questions, lol!!

Thanks in advance everyone!

ok so first off the taper only takes like 1 min to slide thru , note i say slide .. you shouldnt have to force it. use alot of lube and as soon as the taper is almost thu butt a single or no flare plug up to and push it all thru and the plug . the plugs you are talking about are double flare and they are not meant to be worn in a fresh stretch .. good luck and happy stretching

Thanks so much, that makes more sense! Im looking forward to it!

Hey Charley, Jayne, as per usual, is spot on. There are a couple items I would add. First, if this is your first stretch and you are going to 1.6mm (aka 14g) , what gauge are you starring at? If it is a standard needle piercing, you may be okay as I know many piercers start people at 16g. If it is a gunned piercing (Claire's, Walmart, etc.) Then you are skipping 1-2 sizes.

If you are starting from a gunned piercing, then you should really go to 16g before you go to 14g. That's going from 1mm to 1.2mm, the next step after 1.2mm is 1.6mm which is where you are now.

Second thought for you, I would encourage you to think about getting curved barbells or captive bead rings for your ears at the smaller sizes. The rings are uniform in diameter and hang straight down, giving even pressure on your new stretch.

For curved barbells, find some that are internally threaded. For captive bead rings, there is no threading, so there is nothing to catch on your piercing, but some people have a hard time getting the bead in.

Um... I think that's all I have for you. Good luck!