Remember, ear stretching is a body
modification and should be taken seriously and responsibly.
Well,
first you need the ear pierced. Just a standard ear piercing, then
you need to wait. Generally it’s best to wait at least 3 months
before you stretch, some people think you should wait even longer.
Anyway, once you have a fully healed standard earring piercing, then
you can start to stretch it.
Different people have different
ways of stretching. This is my method. See further below for a link
to other methods of stretching.
I prefer to stretch up very
slowly, moving an expander further in, gently stretching the hole,
over a period of a few days... an expander, also called a taper or
stretcher is what you need for this. An expander is just that, a
shape that expands the hole as you push it into the ear. What shape
or material you choose is up to you. We have lots to choose from.
If
you are going to stretch your own piercings, be sure to wash your
hands with hot water and a liquid, antibacterial soap.
If you
are just starting to stretch from a fully healed standard ear
piercing hole, then start with a 1.6 or 2mm expander or crescent.
Push it in as far as it will easily go, then give it another push,
then leave. It should feel uncomfortable but not really painful. Wait
for the ear to settle down before continuing. This will probably be a
day or two. Then give it another push deeper in. Don’t be too
vigorous, you can seriously damage your ear lobes by rushing this.
Remember, take your time... Go slowly. It could take a day to go up a
millimetre, it could take a week, everyone’s different. Listen to
your body, don’t rush.
It shouldn’t really 'hurt' , it
definitely shouldn’t bleed, there should just be a warm glow in the
lobe, very slightly painful. Go slowly. You risk a 'blow out' (see
below) if you try and stretch too quickly. This causes permanent
damage to your lobe.
Some people find a little lubrication
helps. Clean your fresh stretches at least once a day with salt
water, dissolve a teaspoon of salt in a cup of warm water, remove the
jewellery and soak the lobe, this helps prevent infection. I find
pouring the salt water into an egg cup makes this easier.
Remember
to keep your ears clean. Remove the jewellery regularily and wash the
lobes with anti-bacterial soap. Massaging the lobes is a good idea,
use extra virgin olive oil, but remember to clean it all off.
The
larger your holes get the more dead skin, moisture, bacteria, and
dust can collect in them. This smelly, (cheesy) oily substance which
forms (called sebum) needs to be cleaned out on a regular basis. It
seems that the build up of sebum is not as bad with 'organic'
materials as these allow the ear to 'breathe'
When you want to
stretch again, an expander or crescent with a gentle increase in
diameter of a millimeter or two from your current hole size should be
chosen.
Only stretch up by a millimeter or two at a time. Then
wait for the hole to completely heal and feel fine before stretching
again. Probably 4 or 5 weeks later. Dont rush it or you'll damage the
ear lobe and increase the risk of infection.
Once the hole
gets bigger it stretches more easily. Some people find they dont need
to use expanders once they get to a certain size, and are able to
insert a plug of the next size up without one. A little lubricant can
help when inserting tight plugs, recommended lubricants would include
Satin Soap or other mild, liquid soaps such as Provon.
More
people seem to be getting very large gauge piercings now, 5mm and
even larger. A whole chunk is taken from the ear. This obviously isnt
ear 'stretching' at all, and in my opininion the resultant hole will
probably present problems if the person wants to stretch larger
later. In our opinion its better to stretch slowly like its always
been done.
Problems
If you follow the above
instructions you wont have any problems. If for whatever reason
though, your lobe does becomes infected, bathing with salt water as
described above is the first thing you should do. If the swelling or
pain doesnt subside in a day or two, go and see your doctor.
People
react differently to different materials, so its important that you
pay attention to what your body is telling you. If an item of
jewellery doesnt feel 'right' or a lobe is still hurting days after
the stretch, take the jewellery out. Try a different material.
Blow
outs
Blow outs happen when people stretch too fast, or try to
insert a big plug in a small hole !
The pressure on the inside of
the piercing is too much and the hole deforms itself by kinda
twisting inside out. Some tissue pops out of the back of the hole.
This can permanently deform the ear, and it looks ruff.
You dont
want this to happen ! Stretch slowly. Dont force plugs or expanders
in.
If it does happen, take the plugs out straight away. Downsize.
Hope that the tissue is re-absorbed.
