Earstretching.net

Had my ears pierced for years and decided to start stretching. I was new to it, but did a little research and spoke to the women in the shop ... who gave me false info.

I went straight in with a 3mm. My ear holes are kinda larger than normal because I've warn big diamonds in my ears in the past that drag my ears down. The 1mm and 2mm just went straight through. The 3mm had a very slight amount of pain.

But, I was told I can wear a taper as jewelry and I should slowly insert it gradually day by day until it gets to the end and then move up. I can see how wrong this was from reading this forum. I got a 5mm today and my ears have been sore to touch, after reading threads on here I've decided to take action.

I've now removed the tapers and will get some 3mm jewelry tomorrow and start the process again once my ears have stopped being sore. I made the mistake of moving up far to quickly and now understand I should keep the jewelry in for 4-6 weeks before upgrading.

Am I correct in thinking tapers should push straight though and should only be used to stretch the hole enough to fit the new jewelry in?

What I don't want is a blowout or an infection. Although I think I may have a very small infection as I noticed a tiny bit of crusty blood around the taper rubber rings.

I've done the salt bath, and taken them out.

What advice can you offer from here so I can start again and do it properly?

You're not an idiot! You're doing the right thing to correct the problem rather than being stubborn and keeping them in. Definitely downsize to 3mm and let them heal for around 2-3 months, or just whenever you feel you can stretch with no pain or discomfort. This will give you plenty of time to heal so your ears will be ready for the next stretch.


You're absolutely right; tapers are not meant to be worn long-term and they are definitely not meant to be pushed through gradually. When you think about it, it causes a lot of trauma to your ears because the part of the taper going through the back of the hole is a lot smaller than the part at the front, so the back might actually shrink around the taper and have to be forced back open. If that makes any sense at all, haha.

It really doesn't sound like you have an infection. A little blood is normal after what your ears have been through. Infections are actually quite rare but if you notice any green discharge, have extreme pain and swelling, or the area turns BRIGHT red, those are symptoms. Keep doing the salt soaks (make sure they're not too salty!) and you'll be in great shape. Also make sure the new jewelry you get is steel, titanium, or glass and not acrylic, silicone, bone, horn, stone, wood, etc. When your ears stop being sore you should start doing some oil massages to help break down scar tissue. If I were you I'd wait 6-8+ weeks instead of 4-6 between sizes. Everyone has a different amount of time their ears can handle but just keep in mind that stretching should never be painful and you should never have to force it.

Good luck!

Thanks Lindsay, really appreciate the response. If there is any scaring is it likely to stretch ok without problems?

After a couple weeks you should start doing oil massages, which help break down scar tissue and help promote blood flow to the lobes helping healthy tissue to grow. Scar tissue can make it difficult to stretch but as long as your doing you soaks and massages to break it down you shouldn't run into major problems. Lindsay always gives great advice as well as some others on this forum. Just take it slow and listen to your body and you should do great....happy stretching!!!