Earstretching.net

I'm new to this forum, but I have been reading through the various threads, and I have found them to be very helpful.

I have been wanting to start stretching my ears for about 2 months now and last Tuesday 6/26/12 I got my very first piercing, 10ga glass single flair plugs.

The piercer suggested that if I move around a lot at night I should put band aids on to keep from losing the o-ring and the plug slipping out.

I did that the first night, had no problems, by the third night I figured I didn't need the band aids, the left ear was fine but the right ear lost the o-ring, the plug stayed in. Last night (fourth night), I put band aids on but didn't do a good job of it and the right plug fell out completely and I lost the o-ring.

I fell asleep around 12am and woke up at 3am to find the plug had fallen out. I woke my fiance up and she helped me put the plug back in and a new o-ring. Washed the plug and my hands with hot water and anti bacterial soap before attempting to put the plug back in, so did my fiance.

Now for the questions, is there a better way to keep the o-rings from falling off other than the band aid method?

My ear is swollen. Was it ok that I put the plug back in myself? Is it supposed to be swollen like this (attached pictures)?

I bought a pair of sterilized titanium plugs from a online shop that have the o-ring grooves on them, how long should I wait before I can swap them in?

TIA for all your help.

If your jewelry is long enough and the o-rings are the proper size, they shouldn't fall out that easily. When your ears aren't swollen are the plugs too short? I'd suggest getting some new plugs with a longer wearable area. Bodyartforms.com has a great selection of single-flare glass plugs that are great for healing. Since your piercings are so new you might want have them autoclaved (Body Art Forms can do it for you) or have your piercer do it. Good luck!

Thanks for the reply.

I went in to see the girl that pierced me and she put in some longer plugs because my ears were way too swollen.

Been doing sea salt water soaks and the swelling has gone down quite a bit.

Going back in on Friday to get my other plugs back in.

id suggest keeping the longer plugs for more than a week , Id keep them in at least a month before I would go back to shorter ones , you really shouldnt be changing jewelry back an forth this soon ...in a fresh piercing


glad the swelling is going down , it looked pretty painful in the pic

Thanks, actually she just told me to come back Friday, she didn't say what for.

I'm glad they are getting better, I really like the way they look.

update:

so I went back yesterday, my lobes were no longer swollen, but the original plugs she pierced with are still too short.

she looked for something longer but they only had it in pink.
so I asked about CBR's and she said that it would work if my ears got swollen again they would have room to swell without the plug / earring falling off.

but this leads me to another question, the skin around my piercing is dry, after the salt soaks, i rinse with clean water but the salt is drying out my skin, can I put some kind of lotion on them?

Are you still wearing the plugs that are too short? CBRs would be better than that but they're still not very good for healing... If I were you, I would seriously consider ordering yourself a pair of longer plugs. I'd highly recommend single-flared glass plugs like these: http://www.bodyartforms.com/productdeta ... 1&index=15

As for your dry ears, are you putting too much salt in your SSS by any chance? There really should be no more than 1/4 teaspoon sea salt per cup of water. If it's not too salty, try cutting down on the time or only soaking when needed (like when they're irritated or especially crusty).

No she put the CBR's in, I still have the glass plugs that were too short and the really long ones she put in while my lobes were swollen as a motherfucker.

I like the way the CBR's feel in my ear, it's strangely a little more comfortable.

I use a 1/4 teaspoon, but I soak 2x a day whether I need it or not

Homes ice your ear a little it'll help loads and soak that up in sea salt...plus Lindsay hit the nail on the head most people just order plugs that look cool...you gotta get what's good for your ears a good wearable size

I just stretched yesterday from 10ga to 8ga and I didn't even feel the taper go in!

8ga cbr's look so much better than 10's, more masculine in my opinion.

Actually it did hurt but only when he pinched my lobes trying to get the bead in the cbr