Earstretching.net

How long do stretches need to heal before I can start to wear my acrylic plugs? I want to change to something more colorful lately because I'm bored with the same old plug everyday!

It depends on yourself
Listen to your body, you'll get the answer

As far as I know even when you're fully healed Acrylic isn't for long term use, it's just for decoration every now and again really.

This is in the Body Jewellery Shop Stretching Guide (which is pretty much the best one I've ever found):

"An entire book could be written on the dangers of acrylic and other improper materials being utilized as long-term body jewelry. There are many different types of NOVELTY jewelry that are produced out of a wide array of materials. This jewelry is just what is says: a novelty. There is no great danger in wearing them for a short while, but they should not be the primary jewelry worn as they are not of the same high quality as the other materials available. Acrylic is a porous substance and its use can lead to infection. It also begins to react with your skin over time - breaking down tissue and releasing toxic chemicals/fumes to be absorbed by your skin."

Iv worn acrylic in new peirceings& in all my fresh stretches. Im at 00 now and i have never had any problem with it, my ears dont smell or gunk up. But when i wear steel they smell like dead fish &gunk up tons. (i wash my ears &plugs every night) So everybodys different, just find out what works best for your body:]

brutalSKITTLES wrote:Iv worn acrylic in new peirceings& in all my fresh stretches. Im at 00 now and i have never had any problem with it

Same here, i tend to get a little gunk especially on fresh stretches.

Boffey wrote: Same here, i tend to get a little gunk especially on fresh stretches.

Ohh yeah, i got some gunk going from 2-0 but it stoped like 2 days after:]

That happened to me aswell, and from 0 to 00 lol

Acrylic is kinda risky, and shouldn't be worn long term.
Lots of people do, and they're fine. But the risks are still there.
They aren't inert or biocompatible, and alot of the problems you probably wouldn't even notice for quite some time. Plus, they get smellier than any other jewllery I own.

If you're looking for colourful, silicone and glass are a much better option. And horn comes in interesting designs.

Everyone's different when it comes to acrylic... some people can wear it in fresh stretches and continue wearing it for months, others can never wear it without their ears flaring up. But I probably wouldn't put it in until about a week after I stretched. If you stretched too fast and your ear is sore/has any wounds I would stay away from it until it's fully healed, though.
IMO, everyone needs a good pair of plugs (glass and titanium are the best materials for long-term use) and things like acrylic and silicone are good for a little variety. Since I'm planning on staying at this size for a while I stocked up on pretty, cheap acrylic plugs and I've been wearing those most of the time for about three weeks. But every now and then I wear my glass plugs, and a few times a week I sleep in them to give my ears a break.

What about stainless steel? Most standard earings are stainless steel arent they?