Proper Way To Stretch Your Ears!

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!