Ear Stretching.?

Question

Hi, i'm fascinated about ear-stretching and was wondering if anyone could give me some clear information on it. For example; the different methods of doing it and which is best, various sizes of jewellery, age restrictions, average prices etc.
Thanks, i'll be really greatful for any help.

Answer 1

Methods:



Tapering-

You use different size tapers to gradually (about every 2-3 months) stretch your piercing. You insert the taper through the piercing's hole and it will stretch the piercing up 1 size (ALWAYS go 1 size at a time- skipping gauges is very dangerous).



Tape Wrapping Method-

Wrap 1-2 wraps of PTFE Tape (Plumber's Tape- it's non-porous and won't harbor bacteria) around your jewelry every 3-4 days to very gradually stretch up in size.

This is a much healthier, but much slower way of stretching.

It lowers the risk of blow outs and scar tissue which can make stretching larger in the future very hard or even impossible.



Gauges are the different sizes of jewelry/the piercing itself.

You do not gauge your ears, you stretch them (thank you SO much for getting that right! We die a little inside whenever we hear that people have 'gauges' or are 'gauged.').

Smallest to largest- 20g, 18g, 16g, 14g, 12g, 10g, 8g, 6g, 4g, 2g, 0g, 00g, 000g, 7/16", 1/2", etc.

Here's a gauge chart:

http://www.bodyartforms.com/measurement_guide.asp



There are no age restrictions on stretching your piercings and buying the equipment as long as you are doing it yourself. If you go to a piercing/tattoo shop to have a piercer stretch it for you, you will have to be 18, or have your parents with you if you're younger.



Stretching with tapers can be quite expensive over time.

Here's a GREAT site to order body jewelry and tapers from.

They have amazing prices (lowest I've seen), fast shipping, and great quality. I use them all the time.



Tapers:

http://www.bodyartforms.com/products.asp?jewelry=tapers&filter=customyes



You can buy them at stores like Hot Topic, but they're never cheaper than 10 dollars.

Stretching with the Tape Wrapping Method is by far the cheapest method.



EDIT:

Scalpelling lobes is generally used when you're stuck at a size (usually a larger size like 0g+), and you just can't get your ears to stretch any larger by tapering or tape wrapping.

A Body Mod artist makes a slit extending from the piercing's hole- which enlarges the size.

http://wiki.bmezine.com/index.php/Scalpelled_Lobe



EDIT #2:

Forgot to add that Blowouts are when you stretch too fast, and there is too much pressure put on the tissue of the piercing so it twists itself out of the back of the hole (usually the back, but sometimes the front as well).

http://wiki.bmezine.com/index.php/Piercing_Blow-out



EDIT #3:

I can't believe I forgot to add this...

Stretching can very well be permanent. More so at 2g+, but it truly depends on the person. I have 10g piercings that won't shrink at all, but 7/16" ones that will start to shrink up if I leave my plugs out for a few hours. I highly doubt they'd shrink up any smaller than 6g though.

So please keep that in mind before you begin stretching (if you do).

Answer 2

This is my mothers account and im just searching stuff but anyway :)



I'm 14 and my right ear is stretched to 10mm.(1cm)

There is really only one method to ear stretching, that is to start small and work your way up!

To stretch you buy a thing called a stretcher which is quite small at the start but gets bigger at the end.

I started off with a labret which is like a tiiiiiny bit bigger than a normal earring but still a bit bigger. I shoved that through and it REALLY hurt! I left it for about 2-3 weeks and then got my hands on a 2mm stretcher, i boiled it in a pan of salt to disinfect it and then covered it in vasaline to help it slide in, i then got my boyfriend to help me put it in my ear. It was quite easy to push in but GOD did it hurt!

You have to work your way up and each time you stretch you should leave it about 2-3 weeks before doing it again otherwise your ear could blow out (when you've stretched too quickly and the insides of your ear pretty much come out, not a pretty sight!)

Once you've stretched then you can leave the long stretcher ot taper in your ear which looks quite cool or you can buy a plug which is round and shows off the big hole in your ear.

I prefer both really :)

You can get up to really really large sized stretchers but the most nice looking would be from about 10mm-25mm.

Anything under just looks really small really haha and anything over can just look discusting!

You have to limit yourself to sizes though because it really depends on how big your lobe is, if you go too big it could end up snapping and you might have to get re-constructive surgery to get it fixed.

A problem about stretching your ears is that once you get to 10mm it most proably wont ever go back to a normal earring size, it will go small but not small enough and this may be a problem if your working for a certain company or school and stuff, some people have actually gone to the extreme of getting re-construcive surgery to get their ear back to normal for work.



As cool as some stretched ears look, sometimes it's just not a good idea!

Also, they cost about 25 quid for the stretchers/plugs!

There is also no age restrictions :)

ahahaaha i wrote so much :D

Answer 3

some methods of it is ;



tapering, scallpeling, dermal punch, weights.

i think the best would be to taper it.

that is when you already have a hole in your ear and want to stretch it more.



dermal punch is just for cartilage though.

since it is thicker.

jewelry size.



it goes,



20, 18, 16, 14, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, 0, 00, 000, 0000.

age, probably 14 and up.

maybe, idk.



if you go to a piercer to get them stretched, it costs about 10dollars.



have funn.



:)

Answer 4

As enough good answers have been said, I'll cover age restriction because no one else has. Basically, there is no age restriction, if there is it's 14. Because a lot of people don't go to a piercing studio to do it, you can buy the tapers or whatever else you need for cheaper, and it's still safe.

hope i helped. :]

Answer 5

It's called gauging. You can buy guages at Spencer's or Hot Topic. Ask the people who work there to explain it to you and to suggest what type of guage you should use. Don;t go up a size too fast though or you could have a blowout!

Answer 6

i prefer using tapered gages. the first 4 gages are the easiest and are barely felt. (20,18,16,14). after that its a little tougher to get the earring in. my trick is to ice your lobe, back and front, and wet it. or try sliding it in while your in the shower. the oils on your skin are surfaced then so it'll slide in better. after you get the tapered one in, leave it for about two to three days, or until you can twist it 1)without it getting stuck and 2) without it hurting. then you can change it to another taper or a plug or whatever you'd like. :)

hope this helped! :)

Answer 7

http://wiki.bmezine.com/index.php/Stretching

That has THE BEST info. No joke.

BMEZINE is known for anything and everything to do with body modification

Answer 8

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stretching_%28body_piercing%29