Hi, I'm new.

[CailinJ]

I've had my ears pierced three times, with a gun each time and had to take them out every time. I'm highly allergic to Nickel and I swell terribly. I was thinking of going to the shop where I got my lip pierced and having my ears done with either 10g or 8g needles. Should I ask if they have glass plugs first? I don't want to go too far with the stretching, in case I want to take them out later on.. And my biggest worry is them swelling so much. I'm not exactly sure about what I should do..

[corazon_de_oro]

I wouldn't worry too much about swelling; a professional piercer will give you jewelry with plenty of extra room, especially if you tell them you're a sweller. Actually, if you get pierced with glass plugs, most of them have a very long wearable area and you can just move the o-rings to make them tighter once the swelling goes down. You can also get pierced with titanium, it doesn't have nickel like steel. Actually, even high-quality steel that's used by most professional piercers has very little nickel.

You'll find that your lobes do much better getting pierced with needles than a gun. I had gunned lobe piercings as a kid and they were constantly sore and itchy, but when I got pierced with needles and proper jewelry they healed very well and I've been able to stretch with no problems. I was pierced at 10G and I'm really glad I was because it saves a lot of time with tiny sizes.

Just make sure when you do get pierced, you wait about six months to begin stretching, and 6-8 (or longer if you need it) weeks between sizes after that. Stretching should never be painful and you should never have to force it. Good luck!