Today, ear stretching is becoming increasingly popular. Ear
stretching is a form of body modification in which a HEALED piercing is
expanded or stretched to accommodate larger jewelry. Many people who
practice this do practice good stretching habits, but then you have the
others who don't really know what they're doing. I'm writing this
article to explain the proper way to stretch.
First of determine the size you are at. There are many different
sizes, but if you're at a standard ear piercing size, you're most likely
anywhere between 20G-16G. You may ask your piercer who performed the
piercing what size he/she used, or determine it various ways. It should be
safe to start stretching at 16G, though. If you are certain of your
gauge size, start stretching one size up from that. Two major rules of
stretching are to NEVER skip sizes, and to always make sure your ears
are healed before stretching them. If you just had them pierced, wait
4-6 months before beginning the stretching process.
Now that you have determined what size you are at, you may purchase
the jewelry and tools necessary to stretch your ears one size up! When
purchasing the jewelry, you're going to want to stick with smooth,
non-porous materials such as steel, titanium, glass, etc. for your
freshly stretched piercing. Also, you should only you single or
non-flared jewelry.
A set of tapers, tools used to stretch a piercing. (Photo credit:
Wikipedia)
There are a few ways you can stretch up a size. If you've been at
your current size for a while, it may be safe to just pop in the jewelry
without any worry. This is called dead stretching, and is only
recommended when you're piercing is beyond healed at its current size.
Otherwise, you can use the tapering method. Steel tapers are
recommended, but any taper will do, really. Buy a taper the same size as
your new jewelry, and know that tapers should NEVER be worn as
jewelry. Something that will also help this process is a water based
lubricant.
Now that you have all your supplies, you may begin the process! The
best time to stretch is after a hot shower. Wash your hands and
jewelry, and apply some of the lubricant to your ears. Begin to put the
taper through your ear (small end first) and push through. If you feel
any extreme pain or if the piercing begins to bleed, stop immediately!
This should not happen during a stretch. If this does, down size, and
wait until the piercing is fully healed.
English: Stretching a lobe piercing Deutsch: Dehnen eines Lobe-Piercings (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Align your jewelry with the end of the taper as you're almost
finished pushing it through, like the jewelry is an extension of the
taper. Push the taper the rest of the way through, slide in the jewelry
and done! You may feel a little discomfort, but nothing too extreme.
At larger sizes, some people prefer to use a method call taping. It's where you use, Teflon, bondage, or PTFE,
and rap it around your jewelry to slowly increase the size of your ear.
It's recommend at sizes 6G and larger, because it can be difficult with
smaller sizes. It can be done, though!
Through Rose Colored Glasses (Photo credit:
Wikipedia)
After care is minimal. If done correctly, there should be no damage
done to your ears. It should be treated as a fresh, new piercing. Salt
soaks and oil massages are always good for stretched ears trying to
heal! For a salt soak use 1/8 teaspoon of sea salt for every cup of
water, and soak your ears in it for a few minutes. For oil massages, you
may use oil such as emu oil, jojoba oil, and vitamin E oil. Gently apply
the oil to your ears, and massage them.
The fresh stretch should be left alone for a few days, and then you
should continue oil massages as they increase the blood flow to the ear,
helping them heal. You may resume these as soon as you can safely
remove jewelry, without if feeling overly tight.
Stretched Ear Piercing No Jewelry (Photo credit:
Wikipedia)
You may stretch 1-3 months after you piercing has fully healed, and
you never want to rush this! Serious damage could happen. Stretching is
awesome, but it does require patience. So be safe while stretching!
