Earstretching.net

Hello! I’m interested in stretching my ears but I have a few questions I want to ask before I start.

A little background on my ears: I got my ears pierced when I was really young, probably around four years old. I’m pretty sure I got them done at a Claire’s, so I assume they were done at 20g with a gun. Up until a year or two ago I wore earrings every day without ever taking them out, but lately I only wear them on special occasions. The holes never closed up and I have zero difficulty getting earrings in when I do wear them.

So, first question, because I don’t wear earrings often, would it be okay to go from not wearing earrings to stretching to 16g? Or should I get back in the habit of wearing earrings first? I don’t know if that makes a difference or not seeing as I’ve had my ears pierced for such a long time. I don’t know if there’s a rule of thumb for this type of thing or if I should just try “listening to my body.”

Also, if I am at a 20g (which I’m not entirely sure, I could be at 18g), is it okay to stretch to 16g? I’ve read tons of stuff about the dangers of skipping sizes, but I’ve also heard of people skipping straight to 14g with no problems.

I know it’s important to wear nonporous plugs when you’re healing in between stretches, so materials like surgical stainless steel and glass, but how important is it to use surgical stainless steel tapers? That is, if I’m not planning to wear the tapers as jewelry. Would it be okay if I used acrylic tapers, or is that dangerous?

And finally, my last question (for now at least) is where the heck do I find 16g tapers? I’ve looked around online and I can’t find any surgical stainless steel 16g tapers. It’s also been hard to find 16g single flared plugs in stainless steel or glass or any good material for healing a stretch. Should I call around asking the local tattoo and piercing parlors if they sell them or is there a good place online to order from? I saw somewhere else on the forum that someone recommended instead of using a taper to just dead stretch from 18 to 16g using a CBR. Would that be a good idea in my case or should I keep looking out for tapers?

Sorry for the novel! I’ll probably end up finding a local piercer and asking them questions, too, before I get started, but I figured I’d try to see if you guys had any input.

Do your piercings feel like they're nice and loose or do they tighten up when you don't wear earrings? If they're fairly tight I'd start wearing earrings all the time, then try 18G as your first stretch. If you wore a lot of heavy earrings and you feel like your ears have stretched on their own, go ahead and try the 16G. Just don't force it, and if you have any pain stop and put in your previous size.

Acrylic tapers are perfectly fine as long as you're not wearing them for a long time and you put in plugs that are glass, steel, or titanium. A lot of people prefer steel tapers because they seem to go in a little more smoothly but if you want to use acrylic tapers it's no big deal.

18G-16G tapers are out there and you can find them online but they can be pretty expensive and they're hard to find. With your first few sizes you shouldn't have a whole lot of trouble dead-stretching if you leave plenty of time in between sizes. You can use CBRs or internally-threaded labrets/straight barbells. Plugs are pretty rare in sizes below 14G.

Thanks for the info!
I was actually able to find some 18g and 16g tapers on Ebay for a decent price ^_^ But now I have two more questions!

I know it's important to clean your ears with sea salt and water, but what's the difference between jojoba oil, vitamin e oils, and emu oil? I just feel like I get them confused a lot. Are they all for stretching or are some of them for healing? Are any of them essential to stretching, sort of 'gotta have it' items, or would one work just as well as another?

Is it okay to heal a stretch with plugs that screw on instead of ones with o-rings? Again, I can't find many plugs any smaller than 14g, except for a pair or two that are screw ons. I could just get some CBRs or a labret studs, but I would prefer having plugs if it doesn't make a difference.

Thanks again! :)

yyram wrote:Thanks for the info!
I was actually able to find some 18g and 16g tapers on Ebay for a decent price ^_^ But now I have two more questions!

I know it's important to clean your ears with sea salt and water, but what's the difference between jojoba oil, vitamin e oils, and emu oil? I just feel like I get them confused a lot. Are they all for stretching or are some of them for healing? Are any of them essential to stretching, sort of 'gotta have it' items, or would one work just as well as another?

Is it okay to heal a stretch with plugs that screw on instead of ones with o-rings? Again, I can't find many plugs any smaller than 14g, except for a pair or two that are screw ons. I could just get some CBRs or a labret studs, but I would prefer having plugs if it doesn't make a difference.

Thanks again!

use the oil ( all are pretty much equal but people have their own preferance , I just use vit e from the wal Mart pharm ) once to lube the taper and to get the plugs in after that lay off the oil for about the first week ( just so you dont irritate the healing process) and then after the first week start using the oil everyday after you clean your ears lube the plugs with the oil and do a quick message on the lobe it incourages blood flow and breaks down scar tissue which will make your lobes easier to stretch and plumper in the future and screw ons are fine just make sure they arent super heavy

Thanks for the clarification! ^_^

I have one more question, which is about sea salt soaks. Is like, grindable sea salt from the grocery fine to use? And like... do you just tilt your head side ways into a full cup? I stretched to 16 a few days ago and I just feel silly doing sea salt soaks. How long do you soak for? Just a few seconds or should it be a more time consuming thing? Should I get a separate glass of water with salt for each ear or is it fine to use the same cup for each ear?

I feel like those are all kind of silly, trivial questions, but I'd rather ask than be doing something wrong.

Also, I just noticed that my right ear has what appears to be a little scab (I stretched to 16g four days ago with no issues so far). When I stretched there were no tears and everything went very smoothly but I think maybe when I was changing earlier my shirt might have caught the plug and pulled it a little which might have caused the scab. Or it could just be dry skin? I don' know! Should I take out my jewelry and inspect it further or should I give my ears a few more days to heal before I take my plugs out?

If you didn't have any tearing or open wounds soaks aren't really necessary. But for future reference, I think it's easiest to use finely ground sea salt because it dissolves faster. Also, soaks should be done for about 5-10 minutes; if it's just for a few seconds you won't really get any benefits. It is boring and can hurt your neck but for lobes you don't really have to tilt your head much, just dip your lobe in the cup and you can watch TV or something while it's in there.

The scab definitely could've been caused by pulling your jewelry with your shirt. Just leave the jewelry in and don't worry about it as long as it doesn't get any worse.

Thanks for the quick reply!
I just took a shower and it seems that the scab, or whatever it was, has disappeared. My lobe is a little sore, so maybe I'll soak it just in case there was any tearing?